Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Mission Monitor Board Another Legionnaire has passed on...

From the Facebook wall of Dawnstar & LSH fan and regular LW Facebook page participant STEVE REED:


Gail Burt

For all of Steve's friends, I guess his brother is not able to sign in to Steve's FB. I'm very sad to let you know that Steve passed away two weeks ago. I'll miss him dearly. He was a good friend and a great and gentle soul. RIP, dear friend.


For those who don't know...that's Greybird....

RIP

So sad. I'm just stunned.

Oh damn it.

He commented on some of my stories on DeviantArt.

I'm very sorry to hear that.

RIP Greybird.

One can only hope that you finally get to fly with the angels.

Very true, a beautiful thought.

I probably wouldn't have made my way here without Grey. He was always appreciative of my art especially when it featured Dawny. At least he got to see her back in the monthly title before he passed.

Hope he makes his way to Starhaven.

Greybird's posts on this forum were one of the key reasons I joined. I was so delighted by his singular devotion to the character of Dawnstar. It was real love, not base or prurient (not that there's anything wrong with that). Just love. It's the power of this medium and the Legion in particular, I think, and Greybird's was its finest example. I never had that kind of love for one character, but I understand the affection. I think back to lonely nights as a lonely kid, talking myself to sleep with my Legionnaire friends. Dawnstar never had much to say to me. She was saving her few words for Greybird. RIP sir. We miss you.

I never knew Steve during his time on Legion World, but had interacted with him for several years on the DC boards.

He had, certainly, one of the strongest personalities that I've ever met online, but was the very embodiment of two traits that I've always admired in a person - eloquence and passion.

Steve had an amazing and unapologetic flair with the English language, always choosing the precise words to express exactly what he wanted to say. As others have stated, that eloquence was often directed toward the passionate defense of the character he loved so much and viewed as his spiritual sister. On that he never wavered.

Rest in Peace, Grey. From time to time, I hope you'll pause in your flight and glance down at those of us who are still wingless to give us a {rueful grin}.

oh no....Greybird and I always get online to chat about Dawnstar and her potentiality. sigh. I am gonna miss him dearly, no one will replace him as the expert on Dawnstar. He's #1 Dawnstar fan, no argument at all, ever.

each time I see the merchandise or toys such as Heroclix, I informed him right away and he was very thrilled about it . I send him the Dawnstar heroclix and he was happy with it.

dang, I am stunned to find out and am saddened...too many greats has passed away this year - Gary Carter, Whitney, and many others.

sigh *sniff* please excuse me...I am devastated.

At least he gains the wings as he s soaring higher and flying free and meet the Great Spirit. Fly free, Greybird, Fly free!

"A true shock. He was posting his thoughts on FB as late as Sunday night. We never know when the cosmic trap door will open." ---Steve Reed AKA Greybird, on LW's Facebook post about legionJOHN's death.

Probably the only direct contact I had with Grey was a birthday wish I gave him in my first year on LW, "Happy birthday to one with wings that work".

Requiescat in pace.

Very sad news. My condolences to Grey's loved ones and friends.

I remember Greybird from the period I was on rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh., before I found LW. I don't recall if he and I ever interacted there, but I remember him for his passionate and eloquent posts, and of course his love for Dawnstar.

Greybird was such an integral part of this community for so long, it's hard to believe he has passed on.

I enjoyed debating with him on the DCMB, and he could always be counted on to make an eloquent case. At his best, he challenged me as a poster, and I appreciated him for that.

I'll never forget that he sent me an email to keep in touch after I had temporarily left LW during 2004-05. That email, assuring me that LW was still growing, was partly responsible for my eventual return.

Farewell, Steve. May you fly in peace.

In the decade plus since I first discovered online Legion fandom, Greybird was easily one of the most prolific and vocal posters in all that time. People didn't always agree with him, but he had the courage of his convictions and always believed in what he said.

To think that I will never see his posts again on an online forum beggars my imagination.

More Greybird thoughts that just occurred to me:

1) He was the ringleader behind the effort to save all of the posts at LegionPics when that ship was going down. I don't know whatever happened to them in the end, or if anyone else still has them, but it was a thankless job.

2) When Steve Lightle elected to form a new Legion Yahoo! Group, he asked Greybird and myself to be co-moderators. It didn't catch on, but for a while there, we were semi-important.

3) He was almost on Rosie O'Donnell's old show because he had seen Moulin Rouge, like, a million times. I think he said 'no' after he said 'yes', and I don't know why he turned it down, but if he hadn't, it'd probably be on YouTube now.

4) I remember him being really excited when I ran a piece of original art that he owned (Dawnstar from Who's Who in the DC Universe by Jim Sherman) in The Legion Companion and credited him as Steve "Greybird" Reed. That made it official!

5) Back in the pre-Legion World days of the old DC board when the LMBP kept expanding, the joke was that it was a force to rival the Legion itself except the real Legion had a Hall of Heroes and the LMBP didn't. Off the top of my head, this is the fourth person to pass away since then, and I've probably missed others. Life imitates art.

Farewell to a challenging, passionate personality. May he enjoy his wings.

I've lost two friends this month, Ruthie and Steve, and I've found out on the same day.

I guess I needed a good cry and now I'm having one.
It's hard to type.

I've known he's been sick for awhile now but the news still comes as a shock. After all these many years I've just gotten so used to seeing him online, first at the DCMB's where he presaged even me, then here and then Facebook. His passion for certain topics and his insight & intelligence were qualities I'll always admire.

His passion for Dawnstar is what we all recognize foremost but he cared a great deal about other things, especially human rights. In that regard I found his Facebook posts even more full of vim and vigor in all the best ways.

We'd known each other since 1999, but it was after LW that we really became friends. I always loved most when he'd let himself goof off with us, like his Welcome Alt ID to Test the Problem thread. He even began the Legion World Triumvirate with Eryk and I. I always held out hope we'd get back to the silliness eventually.

As said elsewhere, I hope you're flying now, Steve.

Surprised at this, I am.

http://www.legionworld.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000857

Damn.

Soar high, Steve. Soar high.

I'll always remember him for this beautiful post he contributed to a thread that I started:

http://www.legionworld.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=001802#000010

Rest in peace.

Greybird could be very exasperating at times and be very nit-picky, but it was because he cared about how things were.

My sympathy to his friends and family.

Anyone thinking about pulling together a Greybird's greatest posts thread?