Jennell Jaquays passed away early on Wednesday, January 10. She was 67. She was recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome. From the GoFundMe:
“On Sunday evening on
October 15th, she fell ill and with[in] 36 hours she was barely alive and
hooked up to a respirator. After numerous X-rays, cat scans and blood work
finding nothing, they determined she is suffering from a neurological disease.
She is responding to the blood treatments and has started regaining motion in
her hands and feet, she is looking at a minimum of 2 weeks (more like 4) in the
hospital and six to twelve months of rehabilitation.”
(https://www.gofundme.com/f/jennell-jaquays-has-a-long-road-back?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=facebook_cta_variant&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook)
Jennell was a legend in
both the Role Playing Game world and in the computer gaming world. As such, many different website, blogs, and
sub stacks have posted wonderful tributes and histories of her. Even the New York Times published a tribute!
I won’t repeat all those
things. Yes, they are matters of
Fact. But Jennell was my friend as well
as being a legend. I want to write about
that- the Jennell I knew. One facet of
an incredible person. I know whatever I
write won’t capture how I feel or who it is that we’ve all lost. I’ll try though.
I first encountered
Jennell’s work years before either of us transitioned. In 1993, I was working as a freelance editor
for TSR, the company that created and published Dungeons and Dragons. My assignment was to edit an adventure module
called Swamplight by Jean Rabe. I
did general editing, including checking illustrations, etc. One piece I was sent was the cover, which was
by someone named Paul Jaquays, whom I knew by reputation only. I knew they’d written some epic adventures
for other companies as well as art for TSR.
Decades later, I heard
about someone in the gaming industry who’d transitioned. I was building up toward that myself, so I
messaged her on Facialbook, and she was kind enough to reply. She let me ask her a lot of questions, and
eventually we became friends. We bonded
over our common gaming interests and our time working for the gaming industry
(which, for me, was in the past.) We
shared tips for painting miniatures and sent each other goofy memes. I was honored that she asked me to dome
editing work for her, including writing a piece for her new Central Casting
book, which will be published posthumously.
When she fell ill,
everyone who knew her was concerned, and were willing to do whatever we could
to help. Her wife, Rebecca (a computer
legend herself), set up a GoFundMe to defray the huge medical expenses. Jennell seemed to be slowly recovering, then…
she didn’t.
Like so many, I was
stunned. I’m still numb. I can’t imagine what her wife is enduring
now. As per her wishes, Jennell will be
cremated wearing her Viking helmet and outfit.
If nothing else, this tells you all you need to know about her.
Jennell was a true
polymath- a genius in so many ways. She
was a beautiful soul, and her life touched so many others that she never even
met. I will treasure our friendship, and
miss her dearly.
Sleep well, Jennell. May the four winds blow you safely home.
