No words… Godspeed, dear heart.
I agree. I never had any sense of how old she was from her posts. She’s been here ages though so she couldn’t have been a teenager but she stuck me as ageless.
And, really dedicated to this board. She went out of her way recently to help me with a subscription issue. She exchanged email with me as if it was the only thing she had on her plate (it certainly wasn’t).
A fine, upstanding woman. May she rest in peace.
For the better part of twenty years we spoke almost literally every day. When the death of someone near me would bring the black dog of depression she was always able to talk me in off the ledge. More often than not she referred to what she said was her favorite discourse on the subject, thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant.
I have not even begun to process this, I have no idea how. Usually I would text message her and talk to her. And she would help me. No matter how busy she was doing something else.
So I will say what she would have said to me.
So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
Can we go on without her?
She would want us to. So we’ll soldier on. Or I will at least.
Well, this is a horrible thing to discover upon returning to the Dope completely at random for the first time in I don’t know how long.
I didn’t interact with TubaDiva much back in the day, but given her swift and deadly skill with the banning wand, that was considered a good thing.
I didn’t appreciate then what sheer, constant aggravation it was to keep an online community going without it descending into a Trainwreck.
She was the Iron Queen Bee of these boards. It’s hard to imagine she could be so mortal.
RIP
I’m a mostly lurker (been around since the mid-2000s) who really cherishes this board – this news has hit me very hard. I’m so sad to hear of her passing. TubaDiva was such an important part of this community and although I didn’t interact with her directly as far as I can recall, she was everywhere: a friendly and approachable mainstay. The lack of her presence is gutting.
I’m also ready to donate whatever I can to her family, and to this board – and I will do my best to gather the courage to post more, to help honour her memory and help keep this beloved board alive.
Wow, I figured Tubadiva was immortal. She worked so hard at this board, and every interaction I had with her over the years was friendly. Rest in piece Tuba, it’ll be near impossible to find people to fill your shoes, but if we all act nicely for the next couple years, perhaps we can grow this place into something she’d be even prouder of. I intend to give that a try.
Wow, this is a shock. And after everything she has done to make this transition possible. Not to mention all of the hours and conversations over the years and years. RIP TubaDiva and thank you for your service to this community.
It’s taking me a while to process this. I didn’t interact with TubaDiva very much. But she was one of the main reasons I started posting here more frequently when she took over the admin. position. She cared about the SDMB. It was so obvious. She was welcoming and kind.
My condolences to the people who knew her well and to her real life family and friends.
She will be missed.
Long gone, and very late to this thread; I saw Tuba more often in other social media, where I passed the occasional word with her; whilst I cannot call Jenny a personal friend, she was more than just a well-known internet presence to me. She was good people.
Her wit, intelligence, humor, and durable dedication will be sorely missed.
from Intaglio and myself;
May you find the Fiddler’s Green well-populated with good friends and and a proper fete in your honor.
Edit:
I should note that I’m well-gratified to see a lot of the great old names coming out of the woodwork to pay tribute.
Condolences to her family and y’all. It hurt to read this. 
As mentioned above, I had no idea how young/old she was. She always struck me as the sophisticated, cogent, and witty Oracle of the SDMB. I took it for granted that she would always be around because she was so young-in-heart and the Boss of us all.
Goodbye, TubaDiva–this board will go on, but it will never be the same… 
Well, damn.
OMG. Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse.
RIP sweet Jenny.
[quote]Edit:
I should note that I’m well-gratified to see a lot of the great old names coming out of the woodwork to pay tribute.[/quote]
Ditto.
Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that Monday proves me wrong but it is entirely possible that there will be no services for Jenny unless we here make it happen. I know that some of her racing friends were here possibly we could arrange to have her ashes at one of the race tracks she enjoyed, if the family will allow this, but if not we certainly cannot, I for one will not allow her passing to be left uncelebrated. Let us wait until tomorrow to see what transpires but in any event let us begin to make plans for a celebration of her passing. My apologies if somebody else has already suggested this.
If any dead ever deserved a speaker, it was Jenny. Join me in speaking for her.
Such terrible news, rest in peace TubaDiva
If her family intends no services, is it possible that this is in accordance with her wishes?
no. On multiple occasions she made it very clear to me that she hoped it was a party. Her family may not have the means nor inclination.
Ah. Thanks for reply.
I first came in contact with Jenny in the AOL Straight Dope forum. This was in 98, I reckon. After I had been online for 3 months she hired me on as a SD chat host. And I was adopted into the Adams Family, all the SD online staff and some fellow travelers. She was a good mother to all us chat hosts. The summer of 99 we had our first Dopestock in Chicago and we got to put faces with the screennames. Those became annual gatherings at least until AOL and SD parted ways. Or at least that was when I sorta drifted off; the new VBB board intimidated me.
She was a good friend who I’ll fondly remember and sadly miss.