# chacoguy has passed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 10, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345 "2018-01-10T18:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/1 "2018-01-10T18:03:34Z")
It has been reported on giraffeboards that SDMB user **chacoguy** has passed. I have been unable to confirm his passing, but if we get more information I will update this thread and the thread title. Edit: This has been confirmed in the newspaper article referenced in post #2 of this thread. Also according to the folks over at giraffeboards, a gofundme has been set up (by his daughter?) to raise money for his final expenses. > **[Our dad's final expenses, organized by Jessyca O'Keeffe](https://www.gofundme.com/f/j5q4u-my-dads-final-expenses)** > > We just want to get him home. > > > > > > … Jessyca O'Keeffe needs your support for Our dad's final expenses The giraffeboards thread where this was reported is here: > **[Chacoguy has passed. - The Giraffe Boards](https://www.giraffeboards.com/showthread.php?t=45509)** > > Chacoguy has passed. General Blah Blah My condolences to his family and to those who were close to him. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/2 "2018-01-10T18:17:08Z")
[There is also this newspaper article.](https://durangoherald.com/articles/202907) RIP dude. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/3 "2018-01-10T18:22:20Z")
Very sad to hear this. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/4 "2018-01-10T18:23:27Z")
Very sorry to hear this; best wishes to his family and loved ones if they read this thread. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/5 "2018-01-10T18:30:08Z")
Condolences to all who knew him and loved him. RIP, **chacoguy.** You were one of the good. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/6 "2018-01-10T18:30:09Z")
Anyone know how old he was? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/7 "2018-01-10T18:49:40Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Anyone know how old he was? If his profile is accurate, he was 54. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/8 "2018-01-10T19:02:02Z")
so, too damned young ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/9 "2018-01-10T19:38:41Z")
Aw, hell. We had a little discussion in a thread about Chaco Canyon, which he was intimately familiar with. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/10 "2018-01-10T19:39:18Z")
I almost never post in these condolences threads, but I liked that guy. And what I do not like is people who are younger than me dying. But that seems to be trending up. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/11 "2018-01-10T21:22:35Z")
Very sorry to hear this. RIP ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/12 "2018-01-10T21:42:27Z")
RIP Tom; you were a good guy. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/13 "2018-01-10T21:57:34Z")
Oh no. That is terrible. It sounds like carbon monoxide is one cause being examined, because the dog also died. **ECG** thank you for passing the word. My condolences to the family. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/14 "2018-01-10T23:12:36Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Anyone know how old he was? > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > If his profile is accurate, he was 54. Same age as me. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/15 "2018-01-11T01:39:08Z")
I am shocked! . . . and I am devastated. I consider Tom one of my greatest friends, and had a great dinner with him last Spring up in Durango. He isn’t that far up the road from me. Never short on generosity and warmth, you could always tell when he entered a room; between his booming voice, commanding presence, and the fact the temperature dropped in the room because he was the coolest guy to be around. I’d had several trips with Tom. The first was the big ol’ Green River Trip in 2011 where several of us floated down the Green River to Canyonlands NP, and almost died in a thunderstorm. **SmartAleq** , **KidVermicious** , and a few others all had an adventure-filled trip with fantastic memories of lunch on the river, and ice cream at the pull-out. The second trip with him was to Chaco NP, where he guided me through all of the ruins, and we spent a laughter-filled couple of nights around a campfire, at a strategic spot in the campgrounds that when sunset hit, washed the entire gulch in beautiful red hues and his hearty laughter. The man knows his Earth. The third was down the Colorado just outside of Moab where we took out the boats for a “early-season test drive,” and when camping that night, came across this gigantic “hippie rave” on the far side of the river (inside NP boundaries) with a sound stage, music, and about 150 young kids taking a break from college. Tom’s buoyant, extroverted nature fit him right in with everyone there. Later that same trip, we went to see some tucked-away petroglyphs that few knew about just off of I-70. The man is a true National Treasure, historian, conservationist, and naturalist. He had stories about Native American sites that _very_ few knew about, including a sandal left on a mesa for 1,500 years that he admitted, “ **Trip** , I’ll take you there . . . because you appreciate things and are _not an asshole_.” As a former Infantryman in the Nebraska National Guard, the stories he’d tell of trips and adventures could keep you enthralled for hours around those campfires, and they may or may not have included some nefarious activities at collegiate football games. [sub]Brother, the statute of limitations is up . . .[/sub] The man is more than a guide, he’s a walking encylopedia of terrain, legends, stories, and artifacts. I had the privilege to have dinner with him up in Durango last year over enchiladas and margaritas. There is no exagerating when I tell you that his voice and roaring belly laugh had other patrons of the restaurant continually glaring at us–but to hell with them! If they only knew the man they were dealing with, they’d be pulling up chairs around our table to hear his tales. I don’t consider him “gone,” but just down the river past the bend a little bit. In due time, we’ll all float down to see him beached on a sandbar with Chaco and Kiva scampering around, just waiting for us to catch up. I am honored to have been a companion on a few of his adventures. I owe the man my life, not because he saved it, but because he enriched it **that** much. Tripler May your rivers be long and winding, my friend. I’ll see you downstream. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/16 "2018-01-11T02:11:36Z")
Tripler, thank you so much for sharing. Chaco Guy, RIP. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/17 "2018-01-11T02:15:06Z")
That was an awesome tribute, **Tripler**. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/18 "2018-01-11T02:27:34Z")
**Tripler** , I did not know **chacoguy** , but your tribute post makes me wish I had. He sounds like a hell of a guy. I am glad you had the chance to know him well, and those of us who didn’t are able to know him a little through your beautiful, moving post. Let’s note that the friends he chose speak very highly of him as a human being. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/19 "2018-01-11T02:37:34Z")
Wow, **Tripler**. Great tribute. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345/20 "2018-01-11T02:46:37Z")
Goodnight, chacoguy. I’m sorry I never got to meet you the way Tripler did. Condolences to his friends and family. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chacoguy-has-passed/806345.md?page=2)