A couple of days ago it dawned on me that I hadn't heard from Dick for quite awhile. We used to trade PM's and emails about issues on this site, the hobby, our work, and pretty much anything that was on our minds. The first thing I thought of when I heard of his passing was I wish I had contacted him when I thought of him a few days ago.

I don't remember ever being a target of DB's wrath, but he was the target of mine from time to time when I was a moderator and admin on this forum. He often admitted that he was too hard on people on here. His message was usually spot on, it was his delivery that was too matter of fact for some. He didn't like phony people or people that were too full of themselves. Under that gruff exterior was a very nice and helpful guy. I remember him saying he cried when Chris Holt died.
One thing is for certain, the hobby lost one of it's most knowledgeable contributors. Back when we had several regular weekly and monthly features in the showcase forum Neal Dunn hosted a contest called Neal's Gas Pump Challenge where he'd post a picture of a small portion of a gas pump and people would post what kind of pump they thought it was. Neal discontinued the contest because DB would always win the contest. It took DB all of 18 seconds to post the correct answer one week. He was instrumental in identifying many rare pump images when Jim was building the gas pump album.

DB would watch the weather and send me an email when the forecast high would be 10 below zero here in Illinois saying he'd be thinking of me while working in 80 degree temps that day.
DB's passing is a huge loss for the hobby, and and equally huge loss for those of us that considered him a friend.

My sincere condolences to Judy, and all of DB's family and friends.
Bob Drake

Wanted: Gas pump globes:Sinclair & affiliates, IL companies. Ripple bodies. Anything Sinclair, Stoll, Pierce, 4 Bros.


http://www.lastgas15.com/