Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Dennis Watts, founder of Arbon and Watts and Mail Order Express, passed away on December 24, 2020 after a long battle with illness. Dennis entered the toy industry in 1974 when he took over his fat...her's toy shop. In 1978, he acquired another local toy shop, and from the two shop names, formed the Arbon and Watts business. In the 1990s and 2000s, his two store won the Midlands region Toy Shop of the Year award five different times. In the mid 1990s, Dennis created Mail Order Express, with the goal of working with selected supplier partners to carry entire ranges. The company, which launched online in 1990, rode the wave of the initial internet boom and met great success. Dennis retired in 2005 and spend the rest of his years traveling the world and exploring his passion for photography. He leaves behind his wife, Judy, his sons, Clive and Paul, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, all of whom will deeply and dearly miss him.Show more

Kelly Flock was born on August 10, 1953 and passed away on December 30, 2020. He was 67 years old. Kelly was an influential toy industry executive, holding positions at Sony, LucasArts, and THQ. At... Sony, he was CEO of Sony Online Entertainment. At LucasArts, he was the manager of LucasArts Entertainment, and at THQ, he was the executive vice president of worldwide publishing. His colleagues credit him with pulling the trigger that created Sony Santa Monica, greenlighting Twisted Metal 2, Black, and Jet Moto. He will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more

Jennell Allyn Jaquays was born on October 14, 1956 and passed away on January 10, 2024 was an American game designer, video game artist, and illustrator of tabletop role-playing games. She was most kn...own for her work on Dungeons & Dragons. Jennell grew up in Michigan and graduated from Spring Arbor College in 1978 with a degree in Fine Art. While in college, she became interested in science fiction and fantasy gaming. She started playing Dungeons & Dragons in 1975, and created the Fantastic Dungeoning Society with several of her college friends, a group of friends that went on to publish one of the earliest periodicals for role-playing games, The Dungeoneer. After graduating, Jennell worked at Judge Guild, where she worked on two stand-alone D&D modules for Dungeons & Dragons, Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia, which were completed before she left the company in October 1979. In the 1980s, Jennell started working on video games too, with publishers including TSR, Chaosium, West End Games, Flying Buffalo, and Iron Crown Enterprises. She produced illustrations for Game Designers' Workshop (GDW), most notably creating all the starship illustrations in Traveller Supplement 9: Fighting Ships. Outside of her career, Jennell was also an activist, and was the creative director for the Transgender Human Rights Institute in Seattle. She was integral in the petition to create Leelah's Law, which outlawed conversion therapy of LGBT youth. In response to the petition, President Barack Obama called for the banning of conversion therapy for minors in April 2015.Show more

Karen Tenenbaum, founder and owner of Tenenbaum Law, P.C., passed away on December 23, 2023 after a sudden cardiac event. She was 64 years old. Karen was not only a very successful tax attorney for... more than 25 years, she also founded Money Masters, Inc., an organization that provides financial literacy information and tools for both children and parents using an animated character, Walter the Vault. Walter helped teach kids how to be responsible when it comes to money. Karen was an active member of the New York Metro Chapter of Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment. She regularly attended WiT events to connect with other inventors and entrepreneurs. Karen graduated from Brooklyn College in 1980 and then attended Brooklyn Law School as well as NYU Law school She founded her own firm in 1996 after working as an accountant for several years. Her company, Tenenbaum Law, P.C. was named among the New York Law Journal’s Largest Women-Owned Law Firms in New York State and as a top tax firm by both the New York Law Journal and Long Island Business News. Karen leaves behind her husband, Larry, daughters, Allison and Stacie, and grandchildren Asher, Jordan, Remi, and Arley. She will be deeply and dearly missed by all those that knew and loved her.Show more

Bernard Smith passed away on January 18th, 2022. Bernard had a long and successful career in toys, starting out in 1967 as area sales manager at Mattel. He then took on roles at Tonka, Peter Pan, JW S...pears, Mattel, Kitfix Swallow, United Overseas, Upstarts, and University Games. In 2013, Bernard was the recipient of a Golden Teddy at the Toymaster Show, and his industry peers and friends described him as "honest, kind, trustworthy, hardworking, loyal and friendly – he brightens up the office with his great sense of humour."Show more

Philipp Gosch, Austrian game devleoper Philipp Gosch passed away in September 2023 during a flood in Thessaly, Greece. Phil was a lead software developer and technical artist in Graz, Austria. He ...was a founding member and vice president of the Game Development Graz association. Phil created a number of games during local game jams, including Rootsy Tootsy Platformer. Phil was also an avid skater, an activity he bonded over with his wife, Michaela, who also tragically passed in the flood.Show more

Craig Mair, well-known member of the UK Toy Trade, passed away in September 2023. He spent most of his career working at The Lego Group, having also spent some time at Wizards of the Coast, Funrise, a...nd SpinMaster. Craig was a key member of the Lego UK team, and was instrumental in winning the Lego Group some highly coveted retailer awards. He was a leader, a coach, and a mentor. Outside of work, Craig loved sports. Water sports, cricket, hockey, rugby, skiing, diving, you name it. He also loved to host backyard BBQ's and had an extensive music collection. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.Show more

Gleda M. Estes was born on March 4, 1932 and passed away on March 30, 2024 at the age of 92. In college, Gleda met Vernon Estes, whom she married on May 16, 1951 and had three children with. She he...lped run Vernon's construction office, but eventually the business shifted to mail order rocketry. Gleda did much of the work for their company: she rolled body tubes, typeset and printed instructions, stitched the first Estes catalogs on her sewing machine, printed instructions, handled the bookkeeping, packed rocket kits, and processed and shipped orders. She managed the mass mailings of catalogs, Model Rocket News, and other publications. It was her job to oversee the opening of the mail, and make sure each order was shipped out in the afternoon mail. When Estes Industries was sold to the Damon Corporation in 1969, she was managing more than 100 employees. She retired from the company in 1972 and has since worked with Vern in his office in Canon City. Gleda was the first female to compete nationally in model rocketry. The first time out she won two trophies and beat out two Air Force hotshots who thought they were going to take first and second place in boost glide. She was also the first woman to win awards at an international meet, and her daughter, Betty, was the first teenage girl to compete internationally.Show more

Richard "Rich" Rooney was born on may 14, 1970, and passed away on March 27, 2024. He was 53 years old. Rich went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in 1994. Having always harbored... a passion for toys, he pursued that industry after graduating, and ended up in Supply Chain Management & operations for several international toy companies, including Hasbro, Zizzle, Ridemakerz, and most recently, at PlayMonster, where he was the Chief Operations & Logistics Officer. Rich married Erika Salmen in 1999, and together they had two children, Connell and Colleen, all of whom already miss Rich dearly . Rich was an avid fan of the Minnesota Vikings, the Twins, and the LSU Tigers. He loved traveling, watching his kids play sports, and truly lived with an unmatched passion and enthusiasm for life.Show more

Barry Walker, owner of Conways toy stores and a former member, director, and chairman of the Toymaster buying group, passed away in April 2021 after a long battle with cancer. Barry was described ...as instrumental in the formation of the Toymaster buying group and the Toymaster brand. He also served on the board of the British Association of Toy Retailers. Much of Barry's work has laid the foundation for the modern independent buying group structure. He was one of the founder members of the White Rose buying group, which ultimately joined with other groups to form Toymaster. He also broke the mould in the way he ran his toy store, which eventually saw Conways grow from a single store into a chain which spanned Yorkshire and the North of England. He will be deeply missed by all those that knew and loved him.Show more