Jack McGeorge Passes: 18 August 2009

Reposted from LolitaSir:

"I am who I am. I am not ashamed of who I am -- not one bit."

Harvey "Jack" McGeorge passed away on August 18, 2009. He was 59 years old. The quote above is what he said when the Washington Post outed him in 2002 when he was a weapons inspector with U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). He did offer his resignation to Hans Blix, who had known of his BDSM from the beginning. Blix refused to accept his resignation. Jack was a former Marine, a munitions expert, a sharpshooter and a chemical and biological warfare expert. He had his own consulting company, Public Safety Group.

Jack was a bondage enthusiast and a metal bondage collector. He acquired his first pair of handcuffs when he was eight years old. His first explorations with others came while he was in the Marine Corps and, then later, in Mensa. He was a founding member and an emeritus board member of Black Rose in DC and served in several capacities including Chairman of the Board, President, Secretary and Co-chair for BR10. Additionally he had been a member of TES, GMSMA and Delta where he had served as a chief DM.

Jack was also passionate about latex, role play, teaching and activism. He taught on a wide variety of topics for many froups and events over the years. Jack served for five years on the Leather Leadership Conference board, was the Co-chair for LLC2000 and an Emeritus Board Member. Jack was a past Chairman of the Board of National Coalition for Sexual Freedom and served as Chair for the CARAS Board.

Over the past dozen year, Jack explored a passion for Master/slave dynamics. He established a household, the Order for Discipline and Service. He was greatly influenced by monastic and military structure and developed household manuals, uniforms, brochures, and a household philosophy. Jack and slave raven held the Northeast Master and slave title in 2005.

His community awards included:
Black Rose Vaughn Keith National Education Award in 1998
Dr. Anthony F DeBlase Professor of SM Arts and Letters in 1999
Pantheon of Leather Mid Atlantic Regional Award in 1998 and 2000
Black Rose Elder Award in 2000
Pat Bond Community Service Award from TES in 2003
Pantheon of Leather Man of the Year Award in 2004

Jack was my primary partner from 1993 to 1999. He seduced me with his fascinating stories and kept me enthralled with his incredible play style. Together we built our first leather family. I helped him with his metal bondage collection and he encouraged me with my teaching (It's not a real presentation if there's no handout!). We worked together on projects like BR10, LLC and NCSF. We did not always agree on everything, but we were always on the same side. And we were friends until the end.

Many others in the BDSM/Leather community were touched and inspired by Jack. This is a huge loss.

Funeral Arrangements for Jack McGeorge are as follows:

Service Sunday, August 23, 2009 7PM
Mountcastle Funeral Home
4143 Dale Blvd.
Dale City, VA 22193

Please, no flowers.Times have been hard for many, including Jack and his family. If you would like to send a donation to help, you can do so by sending a check or money order to:

Justin Tanis
8750 Georgia Ave Apt 131A
Silver Spring, MD 20910

There will also be a basket at the service if you would like to place a donation there.

Jack's wishes were that the community be able to attend his funeral service. It is our hope that those of you who can attend do.

A Leather family Memorial Service will take place on Saturday, August 29th at 2pm at the Crucible.

Goodbye to an Icon: RIP Willy "Mink" DeVille

Willy DeVille, who became an underground punk star fronting the band Mink DeVille in the '70s, has died at the age of 58. His tragic passing comes shortly after doctors discovered he had pancreatic cancer. In fact, a news update on his website dated only June 15 entitled "Keep Willy in Your Thoughts," says, "It is with a broken heart that I have to tell you that while the doctors examined Willy to prepare him for the Hep C treatment, they discovered that he has pancreatic cancer."

DeVille, who moved around to several cities to try his hand at music, including London and San Francisco, convinced his Mink DeVille bandmates to return to New York City, where he had first moved in the '60s, in 1975. The band found its time and place as a regular house act for the legendary CBGB scene and he played alongside the giants of that era, including the Ramones, Blondie, the Talking Heads and more. Drawing the attention of Capitol Records, the group released its debut album, 'Cabretta,' in 1977 and scored a top 20 hit in the UK with 'Spanish Stroll.'

The group followed 'Cabretta' with 'Le Chat Bleu,' an album that scored even better with reviewers, being named the fifth best album of the year in the Rolling Stone critics poll. Though that was kind of the way things went for Mink DeVille. Despite their impressive lineage, good critical reaction and heavyweight industry support from the likes of songwriter Doc Pomus ('Save The Last Dance For Me'), Ahmet Ertegun, who signed the band to his Atlantic label for a spell, and producer Jack Nitzsche (the arranger for Phil Spector's Wall of Sound), Mink DeVille never broke through.

DeVille summed it up saying in an interview once, "Ahmet Ertegun and I got along, but we never got anything done." He had some greater luck striking out on his own, recording his solo debut, 'Miracle,' with Mark Knopfler producing, and scoring an Oscar nomination for his song 'A Storybook Love,' from 'The Princess Bride.' Despite that impressive start to his solo career, DeVille remained more a critical and cult favorite in the US. After laying down roots in both New Orleans and Los Angeles, where he recorded four albums, DeVille returned to NYC in 2005 and released what would be his final album, 'Pistola,' in 2008. Fittingly, the album received great reviews, with NME calling it "Among the finest of his recording career."

His wife Nina told the German Press Agency of his passing, "It was very peaceful. I was by his side."

(article from Spinner.com)

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