RIP - We lost a GUF Member this week

[allstarsplus]

I was contacted by Joe G. of the Forum that Gary Hong (FridgeFan) may have passed away this week, but Joe wasn't 100% sure this was the same Gary Hong that we knew.

I sent an email to Gary in hopes that he was still OK, and unfortunately this was not the case. I received this response:

FROM: Stephen D. Cain, Instructional Dean, Montgomery College
SUBJECT: Lifelong Learning Institute

I regret to inform you that Mr. Gary Hong died on Sunday, May 25, 2008. If you have a matter concerning the Lifelong Learning Institute, please forward it to me at Stephen.Cain@montgomerycollege.edu. Thank you

For those of us who knew Gary, he was an avid and passionate Washington Senators, Washington Nationals, and Maryland Terrapins collector. He was also a sterling member of his community and where he worked at Montgomery College in Maryland.


Gary made only 23 posts on the Forum and this may have been one of my favorites regarding his passion:


04-17-2007, 08:21 AM
fridgefan (http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/member.php?u=613) http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 23


http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/images/icons/icon1.gif Re: I would like to see a game used convention
A game used convention has been done. From 1993-98 Gary Hong and Phil Wood developed and promoted the annual Nationals Sports Equipment & Vintage Memorabilia Show in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area. Each show was typically Friday night and Saturday and Sunday and featured 40 tables of dealers and collectors. No cards or beanie babies were allowed! The shows were very popular; however, its a lot of work, but it can be sucessfully done! The two also published a bimonthly newsletter, Diamond Duds, the only newsletter specifically for collectors of major league baseball uniforms and equipment, from 1991-1998.


This was posted online:

HONG GARY CHEN HONG (Age 58) On Monday, May 26, 2008, Gary Chen Hong of Silver Spring, MD. Beloved son of the late Chen and Pearl Hong; brother of Gloria Hong, Joyce Yee, Audrey Hong and Bruce Hong. Also survived by four nephews, one niece and one grand-niece. Relatives and friends may call at COLLINS FUNERAL HOME, 500 University Blvd., West, Silver Spring, MD, on Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m., where funeral service will be held on Monday, June 2 at 11 a.m. Interment George Washington Cemetery, Adelphi MD. Memorial contributions may be made to Montgomery College Foundation, c/o Gary Hong Memorial Scholarship, 900 Hungerford Drive, Suite 200, Rockville, MD 20850 or to a charity of your choice.

Gary, we pray for you and your family and you will be missed.

[ironmanfan]

RIP Gary...That is very sad news as Gary was very helpful with my Ripken collection, particularly while he was part of the Diamond Duds newsletter..

[allstarsplus]

This was my last correspondence with Gary a little over a week ago as I always enjoyed working on his "wishlists" and what we collected was so similar.



In a message dated 5/20/2008 10:22:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Gary.Hong@montgomerycollege.edu writes:

Hi Andrew:




Currently, I only I need a 2007 home jersey with the "RFK" patch and a 2008 home with the inaugural sesaon patch.


Gary

[icollectDCsports]

Gary was a really good guy. This really is a shock.

[Eric]

Very sad. Our thoughts are with his family...

[metsbats]

My condolences to the Hong Family.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Life is fragile. My best wishes of comfort to Gary's family.

[otismalibu]

Did Gary have an AOL page with a bunch of vintage sports photos posted? I bought some old hoops prints off a fellow a few years back and this name seems to ring a bell. Just wondering if it's the game individual.

[metsbats]

http://insidemc.montgomerycollege.edu/showStory.php?id=3979

Here's a link to the Montgomery College page regarding Gary Hong's passing and information on donations.

David

[Eric]

Gary's obituary appeared in the Washington Post yesterday

Gary C. Hong
Montgomery College Official

Gary C. Hong, 58, who had spent the past decade as program director of the Lifelong Learning Institute, a continuing education program at Montgomery College, died May 26 at his home in Silver Spring. He had coronary artery disease.

For the learning program, Mr. Hong started a speakers series that included L. Paul Bremer, President Bush's top civilian administrator in Iraq, and Mike McCurry, a press secretary for President Bill Clinton.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Hong was a researcher at Congressional Quarterly; a writer and editor at the American Health Care Association; and manager of a clergy leadership project at the National Council on Aging. He was chairman of the Montgomery County Commission on Aging in the late 1990s.

Gary Chen Hong was born in Washington and raised in Silver Spring, where he was a 1968 graduate of Montgomery Blair High School. He was a 1972 government and politics graduate of the University of Maryland.

He was president of the Montgomery County Young Democrats group in 1975 and 1976, followed by service on the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee. In 1982, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates.

He collected athletic memorabilia related to the University of Maryland and Washington's baseball teams. He coached softball, including a women's softball team that competed in the National Senior Olympics in Orlando in 1999.

An amateur photographer, he won gold ribbons for his photos at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair.

Survivors include three sisters, Gloria Hong of Rockville, Joyce Yee of Derwood and Audrey Hong of Silver Spring; and a brother, Bruce Hong of Clinton.