IN MEMORIAM - SKIP NATOLI

Skip was a great guy, and will be missed.

Thanks, Ben. You're a class act.

Thank you Ben, a very nice gesture!

Skip was a good friend of our club   He was MISTER Christmas but he was also Mister nice guy, mister sociable, mister New York Central etc etc etc   The list goes on  In other words we lost a great promoter of the hobby.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to him at Trainstock once.  Of course the conversation started out about trains then naturally went to Christams and the Walking Tour and quickly became two Bronx kids talking about family, friends and growing up in the northwest Bronx.  Even though we didn't know each growing up we shard so many of the same memories it seemed as if we did.

The clip of Skip singing should be added to this memorial page.

Skip is and was a huge asset and hobby promoter for toy trains, in particular, New York Central. Always had a nice chat with him at Trainstock and at York. I had an open invite to come up and visit him and his layout.
He surely will be missed. Perhaps, we can start a brick fund to purchase some TCA museum bricks in his honor.

Thank you Ben for starting this memoriam.

Skip was a gem. Big loss to the hobby and the forum. Thanks, Ben.

Thank you, Ben, (@bluelinec4) and Don (@dk122trains) for honoring Skip!  Skip was always someone that I admired and wanted to meet in person.  I enjoyed reading his article in OGR and did his NY Christmas walk a few times whilst in the city on business.  Skip will be missed.   

Skip was a great friend to both me and my wife, Wendy, and he certainly was a highly valued contributor to OGR magazine, not to mention a great ambassador for our hobby. I really miss him in so many ways, and that will be especially true during the upcoming Christmas holiday season this year because he truly loved that special season (as do I). I most certainly will be thinking of him when I start working on our Dec. 2024 issue, and I am planning to do a bit of a commemorative in his honor.

Thanks to Ben and Don (two other very good and treasured friends) for establishing a Memorial Membership in Skip's honor.

Kudos to OGR for memorializing Skip Natoli (Mr. Skipsmas) in the current Christmas edition of OGR magazine.  Very well done and as noted, we are all going to miss Skip’s annual NYC Christmas walking tour photo thread.  

@Allan Miller posted:

Skip was a great friend to both me and my wife, Wendy, and he certainly was a highly valued contributor to OGR magazine, not to mention a great ambassador for our hobby. I really miss him in so many ways, and that will be especially true during the upcoming Christmas holiday season this year because he truly loved that special season (as do I). I most certainly will be thinking of him when I start working on our Dec. 2024 issue, and I am planning to do a bit of a commemorative in his honor.

Thanks to Ben and Don (two other very good and treasured friends) for establishing a Memorial Membership in Skip's honor.

Nice remembrance in the Magazine, Allan.

Peter

Skip and I were "kindred spirits" due to both of us being urban modelers.  He and I had discussions about our layouts and in particular the skyscrapers.  Skip will always remain a special person in our hearts....we miss him!!

What a magnificent article Skip did showing his fabulous O Gauge layout showing New York City railroad and harbor scenes.

Skip was one of a kind, special, endearing, talented. The list of adjectives is endless. His passing has left a sadness for my wife and I that may ebb over the years, but his presence will never. That is the great and overpowering understanding of life. Everything comes to an end and we must accept that.

Jerry