RIP: Mog Decarnin

[gerisullivan]

I heard from both Rich Coad and tagwn that Mog Decarnin died this morning following massive heart attack last evening.

I never knew Mog well, but I liked her. I liked the intelligence and humor in her quiet voice. I appreciated our shared interest in fanzines and fanzine fans, many of whom kept in much better touch with her than I did. I'm pleased she was an official Friend of Toad Hall, to have shared hospitality with her there.

All afternoon, I've been feeling that disorienting shock that comes not just with the news of someone's death but also the awareness of just how little I've known about her life in recent years. I could have easily stopped and visited with her last month if I'd known she was in Michigan, right along the route I was driving. And I would have known that if I'd followed up on that notice in Ansible a couple of years back stating she was no longer in the LA area. But I didn't. The fact that life's like that doesn't make it any easier.

My sympathy to Mog's sister and to Rich, tagwn, Dave Langford, and other friends of Mog's around the globe. May her memory be a blessing.

Comments

[galacticvoyeur.livejournal.com]

This is indeed quite sad news. I suddenly heard Mog's little chuckle upon reading this for some reason. Last time I saw her was when I helped pack the moving truck as she departed the Twin Cities for parts west. I knew of her long before we actually met. Hanging around with Avedon in the late '70s, I was treated to a constant stream of Mogisms, mostly, I think, coming out of A Women's Apa. Very, very sad news.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I also knew Mog only very passingly, very long ago, but I liked her both as a person and as a fanwriter. Most sorry to hear.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Oh no! I'm shocked. Poor Mog, that's such sad news.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

I knew Mog well, many years ago, when we were all in our twenties and on fire for life and literature, but I had been out of touch with her for a long, long time. She was a terrific letter-writer; she brought a rare vividness and presence to the task of simply staying in touch. She was very good company in small groups despite being so shy.

[carbonel]

Oh, no! I knew she had health problems, but this is unexpected. I'd been hoping she'd make it to Escapade this year.

I actually saw Mog much more via media connection than from SF-related stuff. She wrote some amazingly good fan fiction.

[fractalmoon.livejournal.com]

I found this post while looking for a Highlander fic by her that I wanted to rec, that I read at least ten years ago. I was part of APA Lambda, a zine for lgbt sci-fi fans, with her around 1980. I met her in person through a friend of a friend in San Francisco. We didn't stay in touch, but from what little of her work that I've read, she was a heck of a writer. RIP.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Sympathy. It can be disorienting to come across sad news this way.