Reposting this from facebook:
I just read on Rebecca Heinemans page that Jennell Jaquays has passed. I cannot even begin to tell all of you the influence she had on my life, and especially on the convention. She was one of our initial special guests and has attended the convention every year until a move to the west coast made it difficult, then made a return a couple of years ago when she and Becky moved back from the west coast to her old house east of Dallas. Jennell drew and donated our logos from Year three through Year ten (eight years/logos in all), and had discussed with Gary and me about doing another for 2024. She has been so amazing giving donations to the con of every sort, including allowing us to reprint her Night of the Walking Wet with updated info and new cover (a dream project that Zach Glazar and I had to throw together in a single week) and sell with proceeds going to the convention.
Professionally, her Caverns of Thracia was one of the most influential adventures on my career as a
DM (I didn't find Dark Tower or others she created until later). Her Dungeoneer fanzine for
JG got her a job with Judges Guild, where she created classics like Caverns, Dark Tower, Book of Treasure Maps, and others....all before the age of 25! She went on to work for TSR, then into the video game industry with Coleco and ID games. Her legacy was going to be a huge reboot of her Central Casting books, sadly she did not completely finish, hopefully this will see the light of day.
I considered Jennell not just an incredible creator but a personal friend. We talked a lot online during the year and I always sat with her at the con to catch up on her projects and life. She was honestly one of most creative individuals I have ever interacted with. She meant so much to the convention, she was one of the initial inductees into our Hall of Honor because of her contributions, and she ran games like Runequest, Heroquest, and others that struck her fancy at the time rather than more traditional
RPGs. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed seeing both she and Becky at the con every year because of her presence and vibe...always positive and welcoming.
I am so upset right now it's hard to really write down the things I want to say but this will have to do for right now. The industry has lost a massive talent and piece of our history, and the convention has lost one of it's founding members and biggest supporters. I know somewhere she and Doug are sharing a laugh and Doug is trying to get her to play in one of his stupid storytelling D&D games where no one rolls dice.
Please go to Rebecca Heinemans page and offer her words of consolation, I cannot imagine what she is going through right now. Also if you haven't yet please donate to the Gofundme set up to pay for Jennell's hospital bills, the amount is bound to be astronomical. If you have any memories of Jennell from the con, please share them here....I know she touched the lives of many gamers especially those attending NTRPG con.
Mike B.
