Terrible News: Jim Blumenthal Passed Away Last Night

[bostonmarathonman]

My buddy and I had the pleasure of sitting at the same table as jim at the psa set registry luncheon at the 2008 national in chicago; i was sitting next to jim and struck up a nice conversation with him prior to the presentation of the awards and I had no idea he would be winning an award until joe o called his name and he left the table to accept his award; when he returned to the table I felt honored to be at the same table as someone who won an award (and not just any mundane award but rather the award for best pre-war set; certainly nothing to sneeze at!!!!). I immediately congratulated him and asked if I could see his plaque as i know i'll probably never be lucky enough to receive one. I must admit, I'm more of a post-war guy although I do dabble in pre-war on occasion so I didnt know much about the E93's at the time but when I looked up his set on the registry later that day I was truly in awe of its magnificence. The three of us chatted for a bit after the luncheon concluded and I found jim to be a warm, affable guy who, like us, was so passionate about this great hobby. We exhanged a few emails a week or two after the show and then lost touch but I ran into him again, albeit briefly, at the national in chicago in 2013 when he happened to walk up next to me at a table I was at perusing cards. I said "hey, remember me?!?!?!" and reminded him we shared a table at the psa luncheon five years earlier. Upon hearing this he immediately remembered who I was and we spoke for a minute or two; I remember reading a post of his maybe a few months back (perhaps prior to this year's national??) where he mentioned he was having health issues; as soon as I saw this thread a few minutes ago I was devastated and got sick to my stomach. Just horrible, horrible news. My deepest condolences to his family; may he rest in peace. I will never forget him.