Paulinskill/Owen Sturm has passed away UPDATE 11-10-2011 4PM

Walter,

this comes as a complete shock, I had just spoken with him last month at York.

Owen was one of the best, we couldn't have a better friend in the hobby.

My thoughts for his family, and God bless him.

I am stunned and saddened. Owen Sturm was one of the genuine "good people" across the board and in the hobby. It is still hard to believe.

My deep condolences to Mary and the family.

Ed Boyle

Own was one of the really "good guys". He was a friend that I always looked forward to seeing at York. He will be missed by all who knew him. May he rest in peace.

My heartfelt condolences to Mary and the rest of his family.

Indeed a shock and very sad news. As many will post I just spoke to him last month at York, and always enjoyed time spent talking to Owen. My condolences go out to Mary and the family, may God give you peace at this time of sorrow.

my condolences to his family, I never met the man but whenever I had a guestion about something he was kind enough to give me a very good solution,and he knew the area where I lived whitch really surprised me. may he rest in peace, its sad to loose such a good person on this forum with so much knowledge.
walt

Darn, I just saw him at York. He was always friendly and would go out of his way to say Hi to me

What a tragic loss

I am so sorry. Owen was a great guy. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations at York. He was a true gentleman and will be deeply missed. My whistles shall sound in his honor this evening.

Along with others I offer my deepest sympathy to his family and friends.

God speed Owen.

Owen was one of the great ambassadors of this hobby, reaching out to anyone who enjoyed trains. He's the reason I'm in the TCA and on this forum. I'm sure many others can say the same. He will be greatly missed.

My prayers go out for his family.

I, too, will miss seeing him at York. I always enjoyed talking with him. Rest in peace, Owen.

Andy

Owen always made it a point to stop by at York and talk. Most recently about his future plans. Upbeat and enthusiastic about the hobby and life. Will miss our fall conversations. Rest in peace.


Bill D

Very sad news. A helpful gentleman to all in the hobby. My prayers to his family.

Paul

He`ll be sadly missed.Owen was one of the first to offer frienly advice when I first started out in O gauge.
So sorry....................
James

My deepest sympathies to Owen's family. Owen was always ready to help a newcomer here on the forum and always great to talk trains with - a real ambassador for the hobby. I'll miss my visits with Owen at York.

Rest in peace.

Jim

Sorry to hear of this- he was a great person and will be sadly missed-

On my, very sad news indeed. He will be deeply missed.
Rob

Shocked, I am at a loss for words. He was one of the best among us in the hobby. York and this forum will not be the same without him.
This picture was taken earlier this year at the Clinton Station Diner. Owen is the guy wearing suspenders.


Rest in peace Owen, I'll see you on the other side.
Scott Smith

What a shock. My deepest sympathies to his family.

I always enjoyed chatting with Owen at York. I was once one of the new guys that he was more than willing to talk to.

What a loss for the OGR family.

Shocked is the word. Owen was a great guy and easy to talk with and loved the people in the O gauge enviroment.The few outings i got to be at over the last few years Owen was always there to talk trains. He will be missed. Prayers for the family.

I am shocked too. I just saw Owen at the 50th Anniversary Metca party. I have enjoyed talking with Owen several times at the York meet, the York Layout Design meeting, and at Trainstock. He was truly a gentleman and a great guy. I am very saddened by this news as I was just getting to know him. I really liked Owen. I send my sincerest condolences to his family.

Sincere condolences to Owen's family and his many friends from all of us in the OGR family.

I never met the man but I'm saddened by the news. I will pray for him and his family.

Thank you for letting us know.

Bob

So sad. Owen and Locolawyer were over to my house to play trains just a couple of weeks before York and then I spent time with him at York. A really good guy. He will be missed.

My sincere condolences to Mary and his family.

Gerry

I am at a loss for words. I always enjoyed chatting with Owen at York. The halls will seem empty without him.
My deepest sympathies to his family and close friends.
May he Rest in Peace.

I just talked to Owen at York and at the OGR get together and it is very sad to hear about his death. R.I.P. Owen.

Dave

May his memory be for a blessing.

I remember when I helped arrange the purchase of the layout that makes up the layout he has been building. I really got a kick how he walked in to the basement where it was with a reciprocating saw and proceeded to saw it into pieces and haul it out. It was a pleasure to see it come together the last 2 years. I will always remember him as being one of the people that no matter what was a half full person.
Hope your at the throttle wherever you are Ownen!

I never met the man, but I know from his posts that he was always trying to be helpful. This is a real loss for the forum and the hobby.

My sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

Very sorry to hear this sad news. Owen was one of the first people to introduce himself at the first Lug meeting I attended. He really made me me feel welcomed. My condolences to his family.

Deep regards to his family. Owen was even known here in Colorado, as he stopped in Mizell Trains here and bought parts and called for repair advise.

I am stunned to learn this news. Owen was a good friend to all of his O-Gauge buddies. He was a fixture at York and at the Thursday night Forum gathering. He had that infectious smile and always shared a good word with you.

Condolences to his wife Mary and to his entire family. He will be sorely missed.

I too am very saddened to hear of the passing of Owen. Not having the opportunity to have met Owen, he was one of the forum members that you just felt like you knew him. My thoughts and sympathy go to his family.

Ken

Sad news. My deepest regrets to his family. His final journey is on an everlasting train bound for glory.

I had the pleasure of meeting Owen at York a couple of times. He was a really warm and welcoming person. May God bless him.

Life can be so sad . . . . we must grab all of it we can and Owen did just that.
I sit here shocked and devastated. There were Owen's suspenders and the engineer's cap. There was his wonderful smile.

Owen was a wonderful friend. Not just a train friend. Owen loved what he did and no one I ever met loved his hobby and his train friends more than Owen.

Owen came to my home and we laughed and spoke of how much we love trains. He spoke lovingly of the layout he was building and invited everyone he knew to come and see it. He enjoyed his time at my house and I loved having him here as a guest.

Owen was a down-to-earth wonderful fellow. He showed up at train events with a smile. He was glad to see you. Not the kind of "might be" glad. He was genuinely glad. Owen cared about you. He wanted to know how you were because he cared. His hobby was an extension of his life. My life is changed because someone special is gone. I am so inexpressibly sad.

For folks like Owen, let's make certain we appreciate the little things as well as the big. Let us not forget to kiss someone special good-bye in the morning and welcome them home with open arms. If they're special, tell them they're special. If they love something as much as Owen loved trains put your arm around them and tell them how great that is.

Owen . . . . I owe you a pinch of happiness, my friend.
God Bless you and blow the whistle for me.

Eliot Scher and Ginny Munoz

Well darn it!

Another good one called up to the bigs. As many here have said, he was one of those who was always a breath of fresh air on these forums. I will miss reading his posts. I never had the privilege of meeting him in person, but felt I knew him just as well through this place.

I'm sure he is at the throttle of his favorite WP loco, and has the highball....

Condolences and best wishes to his family.


ps. Eliot, I just read your post. You summed it up perfectly. Thank you

When I read this thread earlier today, I was too upset to write and needed to gather my thoughts. As others like Scott Smith have said, I am "shocked" by this.

Like many of you here, I had been friendly with Owen for years such as when I saw him at York. Owen was a very friendly guy and very approachable. However, after I moved from New York to New Jersey 15 months ago, Owen became a true friend. After the move, Owen was the train friend who made me feel the most welcome at my new home. He invited me to his house last November to run trains, and he picked up some of my repaired engines from Marty Fitzhenry (who lives in Massachusettts) while he was visiting Marty in June, and personally delivered them to me. He also stopped by the house a couple of times just to say "hello" when he was in the neighborhood.

Perhaps what is most shocking is that Like Phil Gatto (HudsonJ1e), I last saw Owen just three evenings ago, on Saturday night, at the METCA 50th anniversary dinner at the NJ HiRailers. I sat next to him and his wife Mary for most of the night and we talked.

Later this month, I will be celebrating 10 years back in the hobby. However, today is probably the saddest day for me since I have been back in the hobby.

Owen, you will be surely and sorely missed.

Erol Gurcan

Very sad. I will add Owen and his family to my prayers. Till we meet again.

Sat next to him at the DCS users group meeting at the last York. We talked quite a bit and he showed me pictures and a track plan. It was becoming a special layout. He definitely enjoyed life and was fun to be around. He will be missed by many.
Dan

While it may out of line for me to recommend this, I sugggest that we dedicate January's Trainstock to the memory of Owen. I think Owen would gave been flattered by such a dedication since he enjoyed going to the NJ HiRailer's layout.

Erol

I was totally shocked when I heard the news about Owen. Like many others I had spoken with him at York and enjoyed seeing him at York and Trainstock where he was a familiar sight.

He really enjoyed this hobby and was always willing and able to pass on good advise to anyone who needed his assistance.

He will be missed by all of us. My condolences go out to his family at this very sad time.

May his memory be for a blessing.

Steve Tapper