Rest In Play - 2020 - 2029

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

Ryu Asada, a well known Hot Wheels designer, passed away on March 23, 2021 after a long battle with cancer. He was 42 years old. Ryu was born in Osaka, Japan and came to the US for college, where h...e attended the Art Center College of Design. After graduating, he worked for Matchbox from 2004 to 2012. His first time designing for Hot Wheels was in 2009, and joined the team officially in 2012. Over the course of his 17-year career, Ryu designed dozens of vehicles for the $1 Hot Wheels mainline assortment, most recently serving as designer project lead. Some of his designs include the '94 Audi Avant RS2, ’67 Ford GT40 Mk.IV, Lethal Diesel, Tooned Twin Mill, Dodge Van, and the foodie-themed Car-De-Asada. He will be deeply missed by family, friends, and colleagues alike, all of whom have nothing but fond and loving memories of his passionate creator.Show more

Domenic Bettini was born on February 4, 1968 and passed away on September 28, 2023. He was 55 years old. Domenic was an expert in the toy industry in his role of Director of Business Development at... Playview Brands. He will be deeply missed by all those who loved him.Show more

Richard Gottlieb, founder and CEO of Global Toy Experts, passed away on October 26, 2023. Richard attended the University of Richmond, and after graduating started with Southern Distributers in 19...71. In 1984, he joined Western Publishing Company. In 1990, he went to Cadaco. Richard founded Global Toy Experts in 1994, where he offered business development consulting, helped manufacturers enter the North American and global markets, and provided intellectual property development and third-party placement to inventors and designers. In 2010, Richard launched Global Toy News and published his own thoughts on the industry as well as articles from play industry experts on the toy business. In 2019, he began producing and co-hosting The Playground Podcast.Show more

Jim Southworth of Larian Studios passed away in November 2023 after a short battle with cancer. He was 56 years old. Jim led the Baldur's Gate 3 cinematic animation team, and has been working on th...e project since 2019. Baldur's Gate 3 earned one of the highest review scores in PC Gamer's history. Other projects Jim has worked on throughout his career include sandbox MMO Boundless, multiple PlayStation EyeToy games and the early PSVR development, and '90s animated series The Animals of Farthing Wood. Jim's friends, family, and colleagues already miss him dearly. He was a caring and loyal friend and always knew how to bring a smile to the faces of everyone around him.Show more