He was the brother of my sister in law. I grew up with him. I loved his posts since I left. We emailed some a few years ago. His sister posted on Facebook today, cause unknown.
It's always shocking to hear of an unexpected death, even of someone you don't know in person but only through RfM and other similar interactions. It's amazing how you can get to feel close to people just through their posts.
I appreciated FreeAtLast's contributions here as he so often posted fact-based information about cults, psychology, and the history of the Mormon Church. He also shared some personal experiences, often about his mission in South America and how he became seriously ill there but his mission president not only didn't get him the needed medical assistance on time but failed to inform him of his true diagnosis (meningitis iirc). Everybody should know their own medical history. I remember Free saying that his mother, a nurse, would have made sure he returned home immediately with such an illness in a farflung land, in a town where medical help was distant and of questionable quality. He survived that and stayed on his mission, unaware of his true medical problem. He also got intestinal parasites while a missionary and said that it took him 10 YEARS after his mission to be diagnosed and to start recovering from that. It affected his life always.
He had an interest in flying and in journalism and he combined the two by writing for several plane-related magazines. He was also interested in psychology, as we could see by his contributions here on the board.
Free lived in my general neighbourhood for a while and we got together a few times. I relished the opportunity to meet and chat with another exmo. He came to my home once and we went out a couple of times for meals. He was interesting to talk to.
I was sorry for all his medical trouble on his mission, just as I am for all the missionaries out there, past and present, who suffer unnecessarily in many ways that I have observed firsthand. I think it's so sad that it took Free (and others) 10 years post-mission to recover physically and perhaps longer than that emotionally and mentally, if even then. Then, Free apparently passed away suddenly and/or unexpectedly at a relatively young age. My first thought was to wonder how much his health was compromised by his mission and I am sad to think of maybe 30 years or more cut off his lifespan. This is speculation on my part as I haven't come across any IRL info about him but I'll keep looking.
I will certainly miss his posts here about "cultic Mormonism" as he so often called it. They were factual and informative with plenty of links to great articles and were sure to help many, exmo or questioning mo alike.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/07/2014 02:45PM by Nightingale.
I am very sorry to hear this. He was so informative and helpful. He was definitely one of the people who have made this board the great resource that it is. I will miss him a lot, even only knowing him through the internet.