I just read, this afternoon, of the passing of our friend, CJ.
It is reported and covered in a very honouring way, over on the “Narrow Gauge Discussion Forum” web page.
John Pritchard, CJ, Chili John; passed away on July 14th. May he rest in peace.
So sorry to hear that. Good friend
God damn it!
That sucks.
Jon.
Dang…
I’m so sorry to hear that. A really fine gentleman right up there with Piute, Jersey George and Tiny. I’ll miss him and remember him as I have the others.
I am so sorry to hear of his passing.
We broke bread a couple of times some years ago. A thorough gentleman. He will be sorely mssed.
I am so sad to hear that news. He was a member of this forum from very early on. My wife and I enjoyed our chats here with him going back to what, 97? He will be missed.
Jeff & Mel
Holy Cow! That’s a shock.
I am deeply shocked to hear of this passing of a thorough gentleman. Not only a friend to me, but also for a time the sole distributor of Outback Turnouts in North America. Rest in Peace CJ
HOLY FRACK!!! I had just had a conversation with him…prolly THAT DAY!!! Was kidding him about leaving me his Live Steam Shay in his will…man do I fell like a heellllllll He had been having some health issues, but sheesh…what a total surprise…
Bob,
Not the best choice of words in this situation.
Perhaps more appropriate:
Condolences to the family,
A fond memory of CJ, how well you knew him.
A link to an obituary.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik
If I may, I believe this is the link to the thread Fr. Fred mentioned:
http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,133070
Joe
In my searching I noticed that Bob shared some by-lines with CJ.
They must have been good friends.
Sorry for your loss, Bob.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik
CJ and I were pretty good friends. I went out to visit him a couple of times, and rode the CTS with him, all the while getting the history of the line from one of the guys that helped save it. He had a very varied background, but had some hard luck in the last dozen years or so. This is a big shock, I knew he was having some health issues, but I wasn’t expecting this.
Just as a aside this was a tribute to Chile John by the C&T recorded some days ago by someone who was kind enough to post it on the Narrow gauge forum. About 2 minutes long.
Fond memories of lunch with CJ and Rick Blanchard in Chama a few years ago.
Grant - Thanks for posting that link. Very nice whistle tribute and I learned from teh comments that CJ was part of the original group that saved the C&T from the scrapper when D&RG abandon the line.
Rest In Peace CJ
[unknown guy], Me, Rick Blanchard, JayBawb, and CJ in Chama in 2003
(http://zbd.com/photos/Vacations/LSC2003/Digital/DSCN0218.JPG)
I learned more about the CTS on that trip than I have reading all the books about it. I had a live, running commentary about just about every tree and road crossing from CJ, all the way from Chama to Antonito.
Bob,
It is nice to have friends like that.
He will be missed.