Patrick Bohnet (Quu) Has Passed Away

[Coderjo]

While I may have conversed with Patrick on the AMV mailing list between 1999 and 2001, I first met him in person at AWA 7, back in 2001. It was my first convention ever, and I traveled all the way down from Michigan to check out the DDR project, which I had heard about on the AMV ML. That year, even though I had paid to attend, I helped out in a number of ways in the VAT, including running interference for Patrick while he tried to finish the assembly of the project. I had such a great time, and met several good friends, that I've been retuning to AWA ever since, as a member of the VAT staff. Since then, I've attended many other conventions, as well as staffed a few. We talked shop many times, both online and in person, and it was quite easy to see his joy at being a father. I was looking forward to seeing him again in September. Having met him has changed my life in several ways, and I will miss him. He was a great man, and a good friend. My heart and thoughts go out to Debra and Sylvia.

[JaddziaDax]

[Phade]

Hey Everyone,

I'm checking with others to see if there is already a place to make donations to the Bohnet family. I should know definitely by tomorrow. If we can, we should direct donations to the official site. If not, I will set up a donation method here and present the collection as soon as we can. I would like to push to have as many donations ready in the next two weeks. Funeral expenses are a sudden financial jolt and the Bohnets may need help as soon as possible. We can also leave the donations up until AWA and make a second presentation there. Patrick has given so much to this site and community, so it's the least we can do in this time of crisis.

Phade.

[TritioAFB]

It's the last thing we could make, even though several of us didn't have the chance to meet him in person

[Waldo]

When great tragedies happen, people are often asked: "Where were you when you heard the news?" I remember exactly where I was and it'll be a long time before I forget that moment.

I was in the Publications Operations room of Otakon preparing for the Con Feedback Session. I saw Amanda come into the room looking distraught and thought I heard her say: "My pet's dead." But as she got closer, my gut tightened up when I understood she was saying "Pat's dead." And from there most of my memories went into a haze.

Like many of you, my first interactions with Pat were online via the AMV Mailing List and IRC. Initially it was a bunch of techno babble about video playback systems and offering to mirror Waldo's FTP. We didn't meet in person until 2002 or 2003 at Anime Weekend Atlanta -- yet had sent hard drives back and forth through the mail countless time prior keeping our archives in sync. Over the years I got to know him better and understood why he poured so much of his blood sweat and tears into the AMV community. To him, AMVs were a form of art and he was like a curator. He wanted to preserve them and present them to the audience the way the creator had intended. I think that's one of the reasons he spent so much time researching and tweaking the Netstream 2000 playback system that is still in use today. But no matter how much you love a hobby, life comes first.

I remember in 2005 he called me up out of the blue and asked if I'd be interested in taking over the Iron Chef competition. He was suffering burnout from running the AMV tech at so many anime conventions but wanted to make sure that the work he started would continue. I agreed and a short while later a heavy box full of Iron Chef medallions arrived bearing the phrase "Celerius Difficilus Maius", which roughly translates to "Faster Harder Louder". Eight years later his event is still running strong and has branched out to four conventions.

Pat and I lost touch for a year or so when he stepped back from convention work but we eventually reconnected through food. Pat loved to cook and was always trying out new recipes or new variations on his favorites. He was always fond of this one German sandwich (whose name escapes me) and would bring a box of them to AWA on Thursday or Friday night for the VAT staff. Always the inclusionist, he came up with a vegetarian version for me to try using eggplant cutlets instead of the usual meaty version. We'd spend hours at AWA or online talking about Alton Brown's latest MacGuyver-esque cooking techniques or some other facet of the culinary arts. I can still remember his excited hand gestures as he talked through a recipe and acted out the steps in mid-air. He was so full of enthusiasm.

He'd told me about his heart condition years ago but I never thought it would have taken him away so soon. Pat was a great man first and foremost. He loved his wife Debra and always beamed with pride over his daughter Sylvia when I saw them outside the VAT at AWA. His passing is slowly settling in but I know that his memory will live on through all the people he touched and the community he helped inspire. Goodbye Pat, we'll miss you.

[Kionon]

Waldo,

Good to see you here. Those early conversations were so full of wonder and potential. To think... So much of what we spoke of has come to pass. I don't think any of us could have imagined what were starting, and Patrick least of all, who put in so much. He was an absent minded tinkerer, and his vision was always of a universe he simply saw clearer than others, with no personal stake or benefit desired.

I miss those conversations, and I bluntly put, especially with all of his recent work, those conversations had started happening again.

Folks, as a community, we have been robbed.

[Kionon]

Here is the online memorial guest book.

[freya13]

I was in the Publications Operations room of Otakon preparing for the Con Feedback Session. I saw Amanda come into the room looking distraught and thought I heard her say: "My pet's dead." But as she got closer, my gut tightened up when I understood she was saying "Pat's dead." And from there most of my memories went into a haze.

Unfortunately it had only taken the short walk from AMV Ops to Pub's for it to hit me as hard as it did. I'm sure my blubbering was hard to interpret.

Pat was an amazing friend, it's hard to think of the fact that I will no longer see him at AWA anymore. Among the many things listed in this forum, if it weren't for him I wouldn't have an awesome contest that I mascot proudly for year to year.

~A

[Diegao]

This is sad. Rest in Peace.

[NS]

I talked to him a few times, mostly when he ran #amv_op or whatever it was called. He seemed very smart and kind. Beyond that there isn't much I can say other then rest in peace good sir.