Findra, SpinDizzy admin and FC organizer, reported dead
Chris Sturtivant, better known among furs as Findra, reportedly died this week at the age of 44. Close friends reported his passing as "sudden and unexpected".
Update (21 Oct): A gathering is to be held in Memorial Park (luge n1 w1) on SpinDizzy MUCK from 12-3PM PDT on Sunday 23 October. A memorial meeting will also take place on the afternoon of November 5, at Las Palmas Park.
Findra found the fandom in 1995, becoming a wizard and server administrator for SpinDizzy, a member of puppeteering group PawPets West, and serving as Further Confusion's hotel liaison, business director, executive secretary, Ursa Major delegate, and vice-chair in a five-year period.
Findra was an amateur pilot, flying with and to friends within the fandom. He also administered the Plushie Mailing List for over a decade.
See also: Reflections on good times with Chris from fluffy - BunnyHugger's favorite memory of Findra - Royce's loss
In real life, Findra studied Computer Science at the University of Cambridge, and received a PhD in signal analysis and pattern recognition from Loughborough in 1999. From an initial career as a dolphin trainer, he went on to work for Silicon Graphics, FastScale, EMC and VMware.
About the author
GreenReaper (Laurence Parry) — read stories — contact (login required)a developer, editor and Kai Norn from London, United Kingdom, interested in wikis and computers
Small fuzzy creature who likes cheese & carrots. Founder of WikiFur, lead admin of Inkbunny, and Editor-in-Chief of Flayrah.
Comments
Findra had resigned as the Further Confusion representative to the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association in January 2009, but he remained an active individual member of the ALAA up until almost the last minute. He had just e.mailed us on October 2nd offering to help publicize the Ursa Major Awards at the coming FC in January. We will miss him.
Fred Patten
Although I did not know him, I will mourn the loss of a great member of the Fandom. I propose a toast to Findra, for his contribution to the fandom and the lives of those around him.
Jeez, it hurts me twice as much... I only knew him as his fembunny form on SpinDizzy, but his character was my first major friend I made there. When I read the news post on the SD board, I just sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes before bawling my heart out, both OOC and IC. I'm currently raising money for a Children's Miracle Network hospital in my town in his honor. If anyone cares to check it out (And apologies if I'm not allowed to do such a thing here) the link is: http://www.extra-life.org (Search for my name Joshua Cox)
~Featherwing
Sadness is only felt, because Findra was not only the first person I've really met in SpinDizzy, but was also the first friend in there I made. His character was not only pleasant, but also quite down-to-earth. He always had time to put silliness aside, sit with a pot of tea and chat when it was felt needed. There was nothing short of friend-love between us.
I wish that I had spent more time with her, that we could have been closer friends out-of-character. I mourn losing her, but pray that he's in a better place.
RIP, Findra.
Rest well, my friend.
The memories and friendship you granted me will never be forgotten.
How did he die? :|
I asked for more details about his death in an e.mail. The reply a few days later was, "Please don't. Fluffy, his current boyfriend, has asked that the details be kept private. I hope they will be as well. A memorial would be wonderful." I have respected that and not asked further.
Fred Patten
As a followup, I should point out that Findra had e.mailed the ALAA Committee on October 2, just before his death on the 12th, offering to help promote the Ursa Major Awards at Further Confusion in January. "I don't know what's involved in sponsoring a dance. To the best of my knowledge, that's not been done at FC before. If it's a low-impact presence, then it could just be 'Friday's FC Dance, brought to you by The Ursa Major Awards', for instance. The cost would likely be zero, since FC has supported the UMA before. If we want to do more than that, we could have a table or something outside the dance giving out info. If we're serious about this, I will talk to the Programming people, but I'll need a 'Go ahead' first. It's unlikely I'll be able to commit to manning the table, since I'm on the Exec. Staff for FC, and hence my time will not be my own during the convention, and limited close to it."
This certainly indicates that less than two weeks before his death, he did not have any expectation that he would be unable to participate in FC 2012 in January. So presumably his death was unexpected and sudden, and not due to any preexisting condition.
Fred Patten
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