Steel True and Blade Sharp - to John Fernandes

Sven · Post by **Sven** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:29 am

It is with profound sadness that I must pass the word that my dear friend John Fernandes has passed away this afternoon. He was enjoying the crisp Spring weather with a walk in the park and holding hands with his beloved Beverly when he suffered a massive coronary and quickly passed.

Though most folks only know him for his contributions to the wargaming community, his quick wit, his friendly and giving nature at conventions there is another side that a few of us were lucky enough to share. Few know of his courage during the Tet offensive. During his time in the Marines, his genius saved many a life by putting together diverse facts into a cogent whole and seeing patterns before troops could get caught in them. His life touched me then, his friendship has touched me since.

One of his greatest joys was to surround himself in his books as he delved into a project and rooted out the smallest of facts. He put his head, heart, and hand into his publications. I raise a horn to celebrate John Fernandes: Steel True and Blade Sharp, every inch a Knight! I salute you.

Drekk hael, elsk hael, lif hael, deyja hael, fara hael, VES HAEL!

David F · Post by **David F** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:53 pm

My Condolences to you, as one of John's friends, and especially to his family. I only met him once (at a con) but can say that he impressed me by being quite a friendly and cheerful person.

Dave

microgeorge · Post by **microgeorge** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 10:50 pm

What can I say about John? He was my best and oldest friend. If you have one friend in your life of John's caliber, you can call yourself lucky. He will be missed greatly by those of us who were fortunate enough to know him. He was always a man who was fiercely loyal his friends, family, and country. The world is a much emptier place now that John is in Valhalla. Goodbye my friend.

dnichols · Post by **dnichols** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:03 am

Many on this board knew John Fernandes only as the designer of both the GHQ WWII and Modern Micro Armor rules.

I knew him as a gifted historian, with an attention to detail and the ability to distil multiple diverse facts and concepts into a coherent and understandable format.

I knew him as an innovative game designer, whose works were the inspiration for my own Micro Force: American Civil War.

I knew him as a patriot, fiercely proud of his country, humble over his decorated service in Vietnam and full of pride for his beloved Marine Corps.

I knew him as an engaging story teller who could share experiences from his life in such a way as to make you laugh till you had tears in your eyes or bring a tear of sadness to your eyes.

I knew him as a loyal, devoted, loving and protective husband. His wife Beverly was the center of his world. Their relationship was a model for a positive happy marriage.

I knew him as a loyal, trusted and dear friend. I feel blessed to have known him.

Take your place Marine among the honored in heaven.

You will be missed.

ghqtechnoid · Post by **ghqtechnoid** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:17 am

Greetings,

I spent many wonderful hours with John and Beverly, and worked closely with John on the Modern Rules, I got to know him very well. As was noted by others, John was a brilliant man and a great friend. My life, and the world, is better for having had him in it.

Mike "It's a Hardware Problem" Tugwell

groundlber · Post by **groundlber** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:57 am

I don't believe I ever met the man; it appears I missed a chance to know a great person. My condolences to his family and friends.
Groundlber

Steel Arrows · Post by **Steel Arrows** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:08 am

I met John a long time ago at Historicon in Lancaster PA. He struck as a very wonderful person. I feel very previllege to have made his aquantance. The micro armor hobby world had lost a true and passionate gamer. May his contributions to our hobby be remembered. My condolences to his family and friends.

"A contribution should always be remembered. For it enriches our time together!"

DAK · Post by **DAK** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:06 pm

A 21 gun salute to a fallen hero.

Post by **GHQ** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:24 am

John was someone who put family, friends, and his country ahead of everything else, including himself. He will be missed by the many people who he touched around the world. You could always count on him being upbeat and optimistic, no matter what the circumstances. Everyone who knew him will never forget him, and we are all better off because of people like him. I will miss his weekly phone calls that always began with "Hey Buddy, how are you doing?" It's easy to take little things like that for granted, but hard when you realize that they are gone.

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:34 am

As well, though I never met the man, I enjoyed reading his designer notes from GHQ's: Microarmor the Game and could tell from the helpful nature of the writing, that he was an asset to the gaming community.
I truly wish I could have met him and talked shop.

Im sure he will be missed by those who loved him.

TR

Carl67 · Post by **Carl67** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:39 am

I too have only known John Fernandes through reading and playing the games rules that he has produced. I found his WW2 set of rules to be very playable and enjoyable. Many have been influenced and impacted by this man -- even those he never knew.

My thoughts as well are with his family at this time.

Sincerely,

Carl

microgeorge · Post by **microgeorge** » Sun May 03, 2009 6:56 am

I just wanted to let those of you that have posted that John loved to browse this forum, especially the "Show Us Your Stuff" thread and look at all the amazing work. Ritter, your pictures have amazed both John and I over and over. Pete Skaar is another poster whose work we talked about quite often. He truly appreciated the talent displayed here.

Steel True and Blade Sharp - to John Fernandes

Steel True and Blade Sharp - to John Fernandes

John Fernades R.I. P.