User Blog:
Loss of a GM and a gentleman

Alex Baker, long time member of Chuckling Cthulu, lost his battle to cancer yesterday evening just past 6pm Pacific Standard Time, in his home in Concord, CA.  His wife, Johanna Mead, described it as a peaceful death, after a long battle.

I have not known Alex for very long, but whenever I dealt with him, he struck me as not only a gentleman, but as a character of razor wit and amazing personality.  He served for many years in a long-running Vampire LARP known as Diablo's Children (or DiaChi for short) in the East Bay of the San Francisco area.  It was a huge LARP, hold ing as many as 50 players at any given time.  It ran for aobut three years, which for many LARPs is almost legendary.

The Chuckling Cthulu site has this short blurb about Alex:

"Alex has been a GM of assorted games - tabletop and live action - for nearly twenty years - since his mother introduced him to Dungeons and Dragons, in fact. As a long-time addict to the writing of HP Lovecraft and a player of all flavors of Chaosium's Cthulhu RPG, Alex comes to Chuckling Cthulhu as a former GM of Serious Moonlight, as well as several Vampire LARPs in California and Alabama.
Alex enjoys movies, comic-books and dark chocolate covered raisins."

While this describes him, it does not do the man justice.  He could be at home with a crew at a pizza parlor, chatting about the latest upgrade to his system, or one could find him during a convention in costume (pith helmet explorer, gentleman space pirate, crazy mad scientist) completely in character, boasting about whatever adventure he currently was on.

He enjoyed Dickens Fair, and could be seen sharing a pint with friends at the dockside Ale House, listening to the girls sing bawdy songs at Mad Sal's.  One friend remarked that it just wouldn't be the same without seeing him, tankard in hand, tipping his hat to the passing can-can girls.

Even at the end, it was truly amazing how he could inspire such confidence in those around him.  About a month ago, shortly after he was told his cance was terminal, a gathering stuffed a house full of friends, all with the desire to let him know he is loved.  After his comment that a memorial would just not suit him, someone commented 'How about a roast?' and that familiar gleam of evil genius sparkled in his eyes, and a firm 'I like it!' was heard, much to the amusement of the assembled.  At the gathering, held at the appropriately named Rabbit Warren, Alex sat in a sofa chair like a king holding court.  Indeed, several attendees amused him by kneeling at his feet and calling out 'All Bow Before Zod!'