Sad News about Charles P. Demas

[The Old Bear]

MetroWest Daily News
Sunday, December 19, 2004

Charles P. Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham,
formerly of Springfield and Needham
-----------------------------------------

FRAMINGHAM -- Charles P. "Chuck" Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham, formerly
of Springfield and Needham, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2004, at Brigham &
Women's Hospital in Boston following a brief illness.

Born in Springfield, he was the son of Eleanore (Vassos) Demas of
East Longmeadow and Charles P. Demas who died in May 2004. He was
educated in the Springfield schools and graduated from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute.

He was an engineer and consultant for many years in the Boston
area and had been a professor at Western New England College for two
years.

He was a master bridge player, enjoyed chess, ham radio and the
Internet.

Besides his mother, he leaves a sister, Christine C. Thayer and
her husband, E. Barry Thayer, of Framingham; an aunt, Agnes Cokkinias
of Springfield; and two nieces, Wendy Thayer of Somerville and Julie
Thayer of Springfield.

A private family service will be conducted at Dickinson-Streeter
Funeral Home at the convenience of the family.

Burial will be in Hillcrest Park Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the Framingham Heart Study,
73 Mt. Wayte Ave., Framingham, MA 01702.

[Smokey]

Post by The Old Bear
MetroWest Daily News
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Charles P. Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham,
formerly of Springfield and Needham
-----------------------------------------
FRAMINGHAM -- Charles P. "Chuck" Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham, formerly
of Springfield and Needham, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2004, at Brigham &
Women's Hospital in Boston following a brief illness.
Born in Springfield, he was the son of Eleanore (Vassos) Demas of
East Longmeadow and Charles P. Demas who died in May 2004. He was
educated in the Springfield schools and graduated from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute.
He was an engineer and consultant for many years in the Boston
area and had been a professor at Western New England College for two
years.
He was a master bridge player, enjoyed chess, ham radio and the
Internet.
Besides his mother, he leaves a sister, Christine C. Thayer and
her husband, E. Barry Thayer, of Framingham; an aunt, Agnes Cokkinias
of Springfield; and two nieces, Wendy Thayer of Somerville and Julie
Thayer of Springfield.
A private family service will be conducted at Dickinson-Streeter
Funeral Home at the convenience of the family.
Burial will be in Hillcrest Park Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the Framingham Heart Study,
73 Mt. Wayte Ave., Framingham, MA 01702.

What a shame. We've lost a unique voice in this newsgroup. I didn't know
Chuck personally, but I gathered from his posts and posts about him that he
went through a lot with his health problems. RIP.

Smokey

[g***@hanley.net]

Post by Smokey
What a shame. We've lost a unique voice in this newsgroup. I didn't know
Chuck personally, but I gathered from his posts and posts about him that he
went through a lot with his health problems. RIP.
Smokey

Indeed. His posts always had an informative and non-confrontational tone
to them which I admired.

I did not know Chuck personally either but I suspect that his health
issues were never an obstacle for him to enjoying life.

-- Gary

[Christopher K Davis]

Post by The Old Bear
FRAMINGHAM -- Charles P. "Chuck" Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham, formerly
of Springfield and Needham, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2004, at Brigham &
Women's Hospital in Boston following a brief illness.

Dang, I'll miss his posts.

Thanks for telling us the sad news, Old Bear.

[Brian Bay]

Hi Old Bear, Smokey,

Post by Smokey
What a shame. We've lost a unique voice in this newsgroup. I didn't know
Chuck personally, but I gathered from his posts and posts about him that he
went through a lot with his health problems. RIP.

Yes I agree. Chuck invited me to the last Shore.net clam bake where I
got to meet Chuck and some of the other local personalities who used
to hang out in these news groups and some who still do. Chuck had his
health problems but he gave them the good fight and the world is a
better place for having had Chuck in it! I will miss Chuck

Post by Smokey
Smokey

--Cheers,
Brian

[Cheryl Isaak]

On 1/2/05 9:54 PM, in article

Post by The Old Bear
MetroWest Daily News
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Charles P. Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham,
formerly of Springfield and Needham
-----------------------------------------
FRAMINGHAM -- Charles P. "Chuck" Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham, formerly
of Springfield and Needham, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2004, at Brigham &
Women's Hospital in Boston following a brief illness.

Oh dear; he and I spoke a few times early last year while he was recovering
from one illness or another.

May his family and friends find peace.

I'll miss him.

Cheryl

[Mary Malmros]

I met Chuck at an ne.food dinner at Ginza (any of y'all remember that?).
It was his first sushi experience, and he went for it with gusto and a
refreshing absence of prejudice. On reflection, it sure seems like a
good recipe for enjoying one's life, and I'm sure he did.

[c***@post.harvard.edu]

That's sad news. I'll miss him.
I spoke with him in person once, at a (World?) gathering
at Polcari's on Route 1. He was at least as pleasant
in person as on line.

[Dan Logcher]

I met Chuck twice, both times were at BSS sushi outings. He had a love for
sushi, chili, and food in general. Usenet will not be the same without him.

[metalart]

I just returned from traveling abroad and just read about Chuck Demas.
Too bad, I will miss his posts.

-k

Post by Dan Logcher
I met Chuck twice, both times were at BSS sushi outings. He had a love for
sushi, chili, and food in general. Usenet will not be the same without him.
--
Dan

[w***@gmail.com]

This is Chuck’s niece, Wendy. Just posting to see if anyone who knew Chuck still gets alerts from this group (15 years later). Would love to connect with the user, The Old Bear. Thanks!

[Professor]

I'm sorry to hear about Chuck's passing away. He will be missed.

[Robert La Ferla]

It is sad. He contributed much to these groups. Rest in peace...

[Ron Newman]

I only met him in person once, but I'll miss him here.

One of his recent .sigs:

Eat Healthy | _ _ | Nothing would be done at all,
Stay Fit | @ @ | If a man waited to do it so well,
Die Anyway | v | That no one could find fault with it.
***@theworld.com | \___/ | http://world.std.com/~cpd

[tonyp]

Post by The Old Bear
FRAMINGHAM -- Charles P. "Chuck" Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham, formerly
of Springfield and Needham, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2004, at Brigham &
Women's Hospital in Boston following a brief illness.

God dammit. He was one of the good guys.

--TP

[j***@parmetpc.volpe.dot.gov]

Post by tonyp

Post by The Old Bear
FRAMINGHAM -- Charles P. "Chuck" Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham, formerly
of Springfield and Needham, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2004, at Brigham &
Women's Hospital in Boston following a brief illness.

God dammit. He was one of the good guys.
--TP

I never knew him in person, but we exchanged a couple of e-mails. Yes,
definitely a genuinely good person.

Just doing a walk down a small portion of the threads he posted to
<http://groups-beta.google.com/group/ne.general.selected/search?group=ne.general.selected&q=demas+&qt_g=1&searchnow=Search+this+group>
is enjoyable. He'd be right there, going at it with the best and going
at it with the rest. And I always liked his posting style and his sense
of wit.

Post by tonyp

Post by The Old Bear
My latest junk mail from the Globe indicated that 52% of respondents
to their (admittedly self-selecting and unscientific) Web poll

thought

Post by tonyp

Post by The Old Bear
the random searches were a good idea.

Yeah, ... as long as random means "someone else." :-)
Chuck Demas

RIP, Chuck.

[Pete from Boston]

Post by The Old Bear
MetroWest Daily News
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Charles P. Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham,
formerly of Springfield and Needham
-----------------------------------------
FRAMINGHAM -- Charles P. "Chuck" Demas Jr., 57, of Framingham, formerly
of Springfield and Needham, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2004, at Brigham &
Women's Hospital in Boston following a brief illness.

It is sad, considering there are so few civil spots on the internet and
this was someone who contributed to one or more being so.

It's strange, and I know this has been discussed before, but you have to
wonder when someone like him passes on if his family ever knows about
the esteem which this community largely of complete strangers held him in.

[B***@fractious.net]

Post by Pete from Boston
It's strange, and I know this has been discussed before, but you
have to wonder when someone like him passes on if his family ever
knows about the esteem which this community largely of complete
strangers held him in.

Hard to say.

A correspondent of mine from another mailing list passed
away a couple of years ago. An online guestbook was
created and there ended up being *hundreds* of entries,
almost every one from folks who'd known him only online.
Since the responses were all centralized like that, I'm
quite certain that the family knew and saw it. I hope
they went and saved it/printed it out or something.

Additionally, I know quite a few folks took the moment
or two to drop a card in the mail to the family. I did
and eventually got a brief note back from his wife thanking
me for the sentiment. In retrospect, I hope that the
outpouring of sympathy didn't overwhelm the poor woman
with a feeling of obligation to send 'thank you's to
everyone who wrote. But I have not doubt at all that
she and the rest of his family knew very well how much
the fellow in question would be missed.