Remembering GTPlanet Member Steve Travis, a.k.a. "FoolKiller"

I might never have known the guy, but it's a huge bummer to hear of his death. Very sad news.

RIP.
 
Steve's struggle for a heart pushed me into finally signing myself up as a donor. He's also one of the members who made me realize that drinking a bottle of Coke a day isn't the brightest thing. I loved how he talked about his government job. His recipes. His relentless passion for the Heart organization.

What I will miss the most is, no matter what happened to him is that he was always positive about life.

And for what's it's worth, my eyes get wet again just typing this. That's the impact and legacy Foolkiller has left behind.
 
This hits harder than expected.

I realized that he had a condition and he made posts in the food thread and even made his own thread, but I didn't know it had this severity.

I've always thought about being an organ donor, but I guess now is a good time to finally sign up.

I hope his family hanging coping well.
 
Saddened is the only way I can describe how I feel right now, my thoughts are with his friends and family.

I'm going to miss the discussions I had with Steve and his passing is a loss to the community here at GT Planet.

RIP.
 
I've had many spirited conversations with him through the years, sometimes it would irk me that he would restate my words but I realized just the other day why. He would clarify what I said so I would not have to answer silly questions from others.

That is the kind of unselfish gentleman he was(not to mention his understanding), he will be very missed on these boards for years to come.

Sincerest condolences to his family, carry on FK carry on.
 
Sadly, I never crossed paths with Foolkiller. Based on Jordan's article and the remembrances I'm reading in this thread, I see what an important figure he was in many people's lives here on GTPlanet. While I never met Foolkiller, I know the importance of organ donation. The liver that I received, saving my life on Christmas Day 2008 came from a young man, aged 27, who lost his life on Christmas Eve 2008 in car accident. It was that selfless act, from a man I had never met, that allows me to type these words today.

In the United States, approximately 20 people die each day, waiting for an organ that never comes. Each organ donor can save up to 8 lives! Those 8 saved lives can also be joined by ~50 more lives severely improved from the eyes & tissue donated by that same generous donor. Please...Please consider becoming an organ donor if you aren't already.

Rest well, Foolkiller.
 
Steve was a great example of why so many people stick around the website even if they no longer play video games. He had over 25,000 posts and I don't know if a single one wasn't a well thought out post. As many have already stated he was also insanely unselfish even when his condition was giving him trouble.

The fact that 4 people have already raised $141 just a few hours after the page went up should tell you how much respect people had for the man as well as his cause. I myself have donated $50 and hope others will donate as well, even if it's just $1!

R.I.P. Steve, hopefully you went knowing people around the globe have been positively affected by your life. :(
 
He'll be greatly missed. Such a genuine person and a great friend to the community on this board.

I always loved chatting with him about beer and cooking. I found his low sodium cooking thread really inspirational too. Salt has been the cornerstone of flavour in cooking since the beginning of time, and he was able to give it up and be creative for the sake of his daughter. To me that sums up who he was very well.
 
Shaun
While that is truly understandable try not let it be that way.

Steve played the cards he was dealt, sure it wasn't the best hand one could have but that's the way it was.
He made the most of life he could and it's his wife Stacey and Daughter Tova that he loved and lived for. Thing is I know even in the limited time he spent with Tova I know he would have and will continue to be and huge influence on her.

Life is cruel at times and while I'm not a religious man I do take solace in the fact that sometimes sadly it's the good ones that are taken way too soon from us.

RIP Steve.
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Indeed, My Niece was born with the same condition as Steve 7 and a half years ago. Her parents were given the option to abort if they wished but they thought if they just giver her a chance at life and a good life even for just 5 years it will be a blessing.

She passed away in April 2014, but she had an amazing 5 years and was a gift to us all. So rather than focus on tragedy and sadness, better to focus on celebrating someones life.

RIP Steve.

P.S this is why i support little hearts matter. They help make people aware of CHD.
 
I only heard of this just now and never heard of the guy, but it seems as if he lived a great life, advocating better health and the fact that he's a game enthusiast just like most of us here.

It also seems to remind me how painful it was when I lost my grandmother during September last year, in which it doesn't feel right to lose some really good people, although it comes to us all eventually.

R.I.P. man. My sincere condolences and thoughts.
 
I didn't know this guy personally, or see his comments, or even really knew he existed here. Hell, I just read the news. But I can tell this passing really hit the community hard, and most of it won't be the same without his presence.
By the sounds of it, I think I would have really liked to have gotten to known the guy for a bit when I had the chance.
 
All my condolences to Steve's family, may he rest in peace.

I'll be honest, this has made me even more sure that my decision of being an organ donor is right and it's surely something I also can't encourage enough. 👍
 
Despite not knowing Steve personally, or having conversed with him - as well as not having myself contributed remotely as much as most people here - his presence and activity here still made a huge impact, which shows how great his character was. His posts were a joy to read and I can't think of one that wasn't knowledgeable, funny, thought-provoking and respectful. Learning how he battled with his health problems, how he took the hand he was dealt with in his stride, was inspirational.

Couple of things stick out right now. Before I ever posted and was just lurking I remember reading his thread about the birth of Tova. It's a beautiful post worth reading/re-reading; shows how much love he had for his wife and daughter. Sadly, the picture at the bottom is no longer there but I distinctly recall it was of Tova lying on a bed in front of a GTPlanet-themed t-shirt. :)

Then there was a post he made fairly recently reacting to the amount of support he had been receiving; it's from the Premium section so I hope sharing isn't frowned upon but there's just a couple of lines that for me couldn't sum him up better and will always stay with me:

FoolKiller
I don't know what to say. On the inside I still feel like that nerd from a farming community that no one cared about. Somewhere between then and now I did something right and all I did was be me.
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RIP Steve. Thoughts with friends and family.
 
It was heartbreaking to see the news when it popped up on Facebook and it brought me to tears.

What Steve did that had the longest lasting impact on me was a couple years ago when I hit a super rough patch and everything went wrong at once, he helped me put things into perspective and ultimately helped me get through that time. Here's a guy I'd never met in person who genuinely cared for my well being while his own life was difficult and always full of worry (although he never showed it).

He also helped me rethink much of what I believed to be true about politics, which is always something that impacts your life on a daily basis.

I'm really going to miss him and there is a hole in the community that will never be filled.
 
To be honest, I had no idea of his health condition. Being so respected and giving so much is worthy of respect. It just makes me respect him more than I have previously.
 
Although I have seen some of his posts before, I never had the opportunity to converse with him. I can see why he was such a figure to GTP: he was selfless, opinionated, and his posts (at least the ones I've seen) were detailed. The article showed how important organ donation can be. As a minor, I cannot legally donate any organs, although I would like to have my organs donated when I pass.

I'd also like to give everyone who knew him, either physically or digitally, a virtual hug. :) I even considered using his avatar in his honor, but I'd like to give a shoutout to @RACECAR for filling the void. I feel intimidated when I share another user's avatar, although there is no rule against that.
 
RIP. Though we didn't interact much, what little we did will be worth it now. I left a condolence on the obit page.
 
I vaguely remember having had a few discussions with him several years back, probably politics or religion. Although I'm still on the gtp several times a week, I've become more of a passive member within the last years avoiding heated discussions of those kind of threads, so I didn't follow FoolKillers last few years on gtp. However I knew about his heart condition. Being a M.D. myself death is part of my daily life, still it's a strange feeling, maybe because remembering his committed discussion style makes me remember some good old times on gtp... r.i.p.
 
Losing Steve is hard, especially when so many of us were hoping for him to have his happy ending. I knew him through the gardening thread where he would patiently answer questions and offer up his own experience and knowledge. Wolfe and I have watched his update posts closely these last few weeks just hoping for him to find a donor.

Rest in Peace, Steve. Perhaps, someday, his daughter will find his words here and have the chance to know him as an adult.
 
RIP Steve, I've not been active in the forums for a long time but I have popped in silently from time to time to see who's still around and the news etc. But Steve was a member back in the old days of GTP and I'm sad to hear the news.

I never met him in person, but he always seemed like a genuine nice guy. I hope his family are looked after by those close to them at this time.
 
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Although we never crossed paths, it's sad to hear that someone who meant quite a lot to this community by reading this thread passed away.

My condolences to his family and close ones.
 
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