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RIP Paul Opitz (Opie)


Steve Krenz

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Paul Opitz.jpg

Dear Guitar Gathering family,

I just found out that our good friend and long time guitar family member, Paul Opitz (aka Opie) has finished his battle with throat cancer and passed away on December 28th.

Paul was a faithful supporter of all that we do here.  He was a faithful attendee to many Guitar Gathering conferences and for many years was our defacto videographer of the conferences.

But more than that, he was a good friend, a kind and gentle man.

You can learn more about him, his wit and his gut wrenching walk with his terrible disease here in his blog... http://massivelyuninformed.me/

You can see his coverage of our Guitar Gathering conferences here... http://massivelyuninformed.me/category/guitar/

Paul was one of the good ones and his presence in our guitar family will be sorely missed.

-Steve

 

 

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Oh, no, no, no. The tears are starting. Paul was one of the sweetest, most generous, most soft-spoken men I've ever known. I will always remember him sitting with me outside Third and Lindsley in the late afternoon sunshine, chatting and waiting for the show, only weeks before he discovered his illness. I followed his blog over the months with hope, growing apprehension, and sheer astonishment at his courage and candor. He took the picture of me over there. I'm heartbroken to have to say goodbye. 

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Oh no!!! Paul was such a sweet person. A truly kind soul....  he will be missed by many. :(

May he rest in peace, and prayers for his family at this difficult time....  :( :( :( 

 

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I am so sorry to hear this. I have followed Paul's 'throat blog' for the past two years and was occasionally in contact via email to see how he was doing. His wit and wisdom were always on display through the incredibly difficult and painful procedures he endured. He has been an inspiration to me and will be missed.

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Such terrible news. Paul was such a great soul and such an important and well-liked member of the Gathering family. I still remember testing Yamaha silent guitars with him at my 1st NAMM, and how we were so tempted to succumb to our shared GAS. I am deeply saddened and can only offer my deepest condolences to his friends and family.  He will be missed.

Greg

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We are not the only group that will miss Paul. There are ten pages of condolences at this site:

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/paul-opitz-passes-away-at-age-59-after-his-battle-with-cancer.399238/

His life touched many.

Edited by Dave White
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So sorry to hear this.  He was a very nice and humble person.  Thoughts and prayers to his family.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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I only met Paul at one Gathering, but he was very kind to me and I enjoyed talking with him. It sounds like my experience with him was typical, he was loved by many people.

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So sad to read this. I met him at a Gathering as he was doing videos. He was such a nice guy. He did a fantastic job doing all the vids. RIP Paul!

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