Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

Peter Woods, former Fence Club chairman, passed away in April 2021. throughout his career, Peter worked at Disney, Warner Bros, and Repubilc Pictures before joining Ideal Toys, Western Publishing and ...Dekker. He was the chairman of the Fence Club in 1980, most notably remembered for setting up the annaul golf tournament in 1979 in memory of Teddy Simmonds. Peter loved film, The Arsenal, and spending time with family and friends, all of whom love and miss him dearly.Show more

Richard Halliwell, British game designer, was born on March 29, 1959 and passed away on May 1, 2021. Richard has always liked war games, playing tabletop miniatures with his friend Rick Priestly a...s a teenager. While still in school, the pair decided to create a fantasy miniature wargame called Reaper. A small company, Tabletop Games, published their game. This would be just the beginning of game designing for Richard. Soon, Richard and a team of others, including Bryan Ansell, Rick Priestley, and Tony Ackland developed Warhammer, for the company Games Workshop. Richard went on to produce several other GW games, including Judge Dredd, Block Mania, Slaughter Margin, Citi-Block, Dark Future, and Space Hulk. Richard won two Origins Awards for Space Hulk.Show more

Michael Loveland spent his entire career in the toy business, most notably with Bandai. He played a pivotal role in the formation of the UK-based operation in 1982, when he and his brother Nigel were ...tasked by the Japanese parent company to set up a UK subsidiary. Michael became the European marketing director, and was part of the team that brought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the UK and European markets. Michael was also involved with both the British Toy and Hobby Association and the Toy industries of Europe throughout his career, serving as an active Board member in both organisations.Show more

Melvin "Mel" Squires passed away on April 23, 2022. Mel was the leading buyer and general manager for A Ponnock & CO. a leading toy wholesaler who serviced the greater Philadelphia area and Mid-Atlant...ic states. Mel later served as a key account executive at both TYCO and TYCO Preschool. Mel is remembered for being tough but fair, a hard work ethic, a keen eye for product, his love of sports and a great sense of humor. He will be missed by all those he worked with during a long and distinguished toy career.Show more

Lucky Evani had an extensive career in sales, working for 13 years as a buyer for Toys 'R' Us, specifically focusing on video games and toys. After leaving Toys 'R' Us, he was hired by Bensussen Deuts...ch & Assocites (BDA) as director of sales, working his way up to president of sales and vice president of sales of the consumer products division at BDA.Show more

Alan Fine was a Senior Vice President of Marketing & Entertainment at Mattel, heading up such functions as marketing research and strategic planning, licensing and entertainment, new business developm...ent, media planning and buying, packaging and consumer affairs. He was also the president of his own company, KaleidOScope, where he did marketing for various brands.Show more

Philip Goodall was born in the UK in 1930. From a very young age, he developed an interest in flying, and he completed his National Service in the RAF and decided to stay and train as a pilot, eventua...lly joining Bomber Command. He spent 25 years in the RAF, flying various different aircrafts, from a Canberra to a Concorde. He retired in 1975, and the same year, he and his wife, Helen, purchased a family-run cycle business. Helen came up with the idea of introducing toys, and the independent toy store The Pied Pedaller was born. The store became one of the largest independent toy shops in the country. The Pied Pedaller eventually joined the Andover based toy buying group, Concorde. Philip was a director of the group for several years before leaving to join Toymaster for a few years, before switching to Youngsters, with whom the business stayed. Philip also joined the committee of the National Association of Toy Retailers (NATR), now the BATR, for which he was chairmen for five years. Philip retired from the business in 2004 and in the following years authored a book, titled ‘My target was Leningrad’, covering his years in the RAF and the Cold War strategy.Show more

Rob Auerbach owner and CEO of CandyRific, was born on March 28, 1952 and passed away on May 7, 2024. Rob was an industry icon, a toy and novelty candy creator for over 40 years. He first founded Ra...inbow Blossom Natural Food Markets in 1977, before founding CandyRific in 2000. Rob ensured that his candy not only tasted delicious, but was free of synthetic preservatives, artificial colors and flavors. Outside of his career, Rob was an avid pilot, loved horse-racing (he attended the 150th Kentucky Derby on May 4th, just before his death), as well as cycling, beekeeping, live music, and traveling. He will be deeply missed by all that knew and loved him.Show more

Jane Garner was born in 1963 and passed away in early May, 2024. Jane's career was on the PR side of the licensing industry. She started out running the PR department at Copyright Promotions before se...tting out on her own and creating Kilogram Media, her own agency, where she specialized in supporting licensors and licensing agents from the UK and the international market. Jane attended Reading University and started her career in journalism, editing Pony Magazine, before moving into the licensing industry. Jane was an animal lover, surrounding herself with dogs and horses. She will be deeply missed by all those who knew and loved her.Show more

Shelly Morick, a former Mattel sales executive, was born on December 21, 1937 and passed away on May 7, 2024. Shelly attended Cornell University as well as Thunderbird School of Management in Inte...rnational Business. Throughout his 50+ year career, he worked for companies like Mattel, where he was the Executive Vice President of Sales. Shelly also enjoyed traveling, exploring the jungles of Africa, the Pyramids of Egypt, and even the North Pole.Show more