IN MEMORY: Benjamin "Hoomer" Parkins of Atlantic

[imported_Joshua Rowan]

IN MEMORY: Benjamin "Hoomer" Parkins of Atlantic

It is with a great deal of sorrow that UO Stratics must inform our readers that one of the members of our community has died. Benjamin "Hoomer" Parkins, of the Atlantic Shard and the Blood Stone Of Evermoore Guild, was killed in an automobile accident on April 26 (see complete story below). Hoomer was a UO veteran and fan for nearly 8 years and has gained many friends throughout that time. With that in mind, we have created an "In Memory of Hoomer of Atlantic" thread in our Player Memorials Forum so that all those who knew him and all those that wish to send their condolences to the family can do so here.

The e-mail I received from Hoomer's mother really brought it home for me, and I think her comments will show you just how important Ultima Online, and this entire community, was to Hoomer. To quote her, "I know he played UO for about 8 years. He was very skilled and wealthy in gold and magic powers and had many personae...He had castles and stuff and used to talk about it non-stop and we nonplayers just glazed over when he did." - I think that all of us can probably relate...

Hoomer, who was 34, is survived by his wife and two children (ages 4 and 1), his parents, a brother and sister, and many nephews, uncles, aunts, and cousins. For those that would like to take the extra step and send in a donation, the Bank of Montreal has set up a Zachery and Hunter Parkins Trust Fund, account number 8058-251, transit number 0319.



For reference, here is a copy of the story that ran in Hoomer's local newspaper, The London Free Press, on April 29, 2004: <blockquote><hr>

Driver charged in fatal crash
A trust fund has been set up for the family of the man killed in northwest London.
KELLY PEDRO, Free Press Reporter
2004-04-29 03:04:34

A Dorchester driver has been charged in a fatal crash at an intersection along London's northern boundary. Amaral Desousa Celestino, 34, is charged with careless driving, police said yesterday.

Benjamin Parkins of Nairn was killed in the crash at Sunningdale and Wonderland roads on Monday.

Yesterday, as details were announced for a trust fund to help Parkins' children, a family friend recalled the 34-year-old as a "completely devoted father."

Parkins had called his wife at 5:15 p.m. Monday to say he was heading home after picking up diapers and toilet paper. Minutes later, the pickup truck he was driving north on Wonderland was T-boned by another vehicle travelling east on Sunningdale.

Parkins was taken to hospital, where he later died.

The driver of the eastbound vehicle also was treated at hospital and released.

Parkins's family has set up a trust fund to support his two children, Zachery, 4, and Hunter, 18 months, and his common-law wife of nine years, Shannon Burnke.

"We're a close-knit community here and a lot of people wanted to help," said close friend Heather Baker.

Support for Burnke has been overwhelming, she said.

"She's coping remarkably well. She's a strong woman."

East Williams memorial school, which Zachery attends, called in a grief counsellor and lowered its flag to half-staff.

Baker said Parkins supported the family, but did not have life insurance.

When he wasn't working, Parkins often did typical father-son things with his children, such as playing video games with Zachery or playing ball, Baker said.

The quiet man also attended all his son's soccer games, she added.

"He was a really involved father," she said.

HOW TO HELP
Donations to the Zachery and Hunter Parkins Trust Fund can be made at any Bank of Montreal, account number 8058-251, transit number 0319.

<hr></blockquote>

All our prayers and thoughts go out to the family and friends of all that knew Hoomer. Again, if you would like to share some thoughts about Hoomer, please post to this thread. Keep in mind that the Player Memorial Forum is a fully moderated forum and all posts require manual approval, so it may take awhile for your post to show up.

~Joshua Rowan
UO Stratics Managing Editor

 

[Halshand]

I knew him not and have only been playing for 2 years on the Drachenfels shard.
My thoughts and Prayers are with is family at this time.
His life a beautiful memory, His absence a silent grief.

 

[Pasiphae]

My Condolences goes out to the family and friends of Hoomer. I don;t know him but I will say my prayers for the family. I wish I could help Monitarily but Im not able too. I will help spiritually though. God Bless Those Children.

 

[Murdok]

Its sad to hear that a fellow gamer is taken away from thier loved ones in such a way.......Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family

 

[Spree]

Hoomer, Nilis, Lord IM OK, Frisky Vixen, and Brunner has touched many of our lives both in real life and in game. I have very fond memories of out times in game and when he would talk about his 2 sons. He would be in game and have to leave suddenly when one of his sons would wake up crying. I'm don't know how to put my feelings in to words.

The Kingdom of Evermoore will be holding a candle light vigil at his Luna home Monday May 3 at 8 pm eastern It just west of Luna bank Pyramid vendors

Our heart go out to Ben's family

Jazzmine Lexx [BSE] Mayor of Valenor

 

[imported_Joshua Rowan]

The following was sent to me by Hoomer's mother so that we could all share in what she had to say about her son:
<blockquote><hr>


OBTITUARY NOTICE
[As announced in the London Free Press and the St.Thomas Times Journal]

Parkins - Suddenly as a result of a motor vehicle accident on Monday, April 26th, 2004, Benjamin William Parkins of Nairn, formerly of St. Thomas in his 35th year. Beloved husband of Shannon Burnke. Dear father of Zachery James and Hunter William. Dear son of Bonnie Parkins and Gerry Adams of London and Bill Parkins and Jo Darbyshire of St. Thomas. Dear brother of Joel and Tess Parkins of St. Thomas. Dear son-in-law of James and Sylvia Burnke of Ailsa Craig. Dear uncle of Benjamin and Hank Parkins. Predeceased by brother-in-law Shawn Burnke (2000). Also survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins. Resting at the T. Stephenson &amp; Son Funeral Home, Ailsa Craig where the funeral service will be held on Friday, April 30, at 2 p.m. with Reverend Ken Taylor officiating. Interment Nairn Cemetery. Visitation 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Thursday. Donations to the Zachery and Hunter Parkins Trust Fund would be appreciated.

E-mail Bonnie Parkins (his mom) to tell me any stories you have about my son [email protected]

=================

EULOGY

I'd like to tell you a little bit about my excellent son. Bill and I brought him home from the hospital on April 26, exactly 34 years ago. We were only teenagers, but we knew that this baby was going to be someone really special, and we were not mistaken. He amazed us from the beginning. Two of his first words were motorcycle and Volkswagen. And he started talking in complete sentences from the first. He was always after us to read to him, even the newspaper. What's that, what's that say? And by 3 and a half he started to read by himself. Many of you will be surprised to know that at that age Benjie never shut up. He talked every waking minute. Who'd imagine that he'd grow into the quiet reticent guy we know today.

Ben loved school, and was well-liked there. He played every sport and especially liked soccer. He loved winter and snow and when the water would freeze in the field behind our townhouse, Ben would go out in the morning and skate all day long. He played hockey until he was old enough for body contact. A few games into the season, he checked another player and broke the boy's wrist. After that he felt so bad he didn't want to play anymore. He was painfully empathetic. We started cross-country skiing when he was about nine and he was fast and fearless on the hills. Forest Park had a winter fair and Ben entered the ski race. He came home and told me that he had a good lead and could have won, but he knew it meant a lot to his friend to win so he slowed down and gave him the honour. It was a trait in Ben that I never understood. He liked to do well but was happy to give someone else the glory. In high school he became a certified scuba diver and later played for many years in the Easter broomball tournament. Ben was always an early riser. As young as two years old, he'd get up before us and start getting his own breakfast. He loved to get up and help in the barn at Aunt Sally's farm. Until he was old enough for his own paper route, he'd get up at 5 and help the neighbour boy with his route for a quarter. He'd often come in and tell us how beautiful the sunrise was, or the snow falling or the stars. He had mono for weeks when he was twelve and never gave up his route, but lost his energy for a long time and with it his fondness for early mornings -- but not his drive to work hard and long, rarely taking a holiday. Ben's love of building started when he was a little guy too. He'd build models and lego things for hours and started working with his uncles doing drywall when he was just 17. He told me how patiently Uncle John would show him how to mud a nail hole. Once he took Joel to work and tried to get his "artsy-fartsy" brother interested, but after finding him making a sculpture out of drywall mud he said, "I don't think this is the kind of work for you." And for Ben's part, he was always there when someone in the family needed a hand. He spent his last summer after high school building a house for Uncle Mike. Another summer he helped Uncle John with his pool. Later, when he was a professional framer he was able to give the team advice when they all framed Aunt Marianne's house together. It was always his hope when it came time to build his house, they'd be there for him. If he knew you very well, I'm willing to bet he helped you with some project. At university Ben chose engineering, and paid for it all himself with his drywall money. When it didn't work out after two years, he went into construction full time, because, he said, he just went into engineering because he loved to build anyway. Last week, I called him on his cell and he was working on the outside of the 20th storey windows and he wished it wasn't so windy, "But you should see the view, Mom." I told him I wished he hadn't put the image of him dangling outside a 20 storey building in my head.

Ben was an intellectual kind of construction worker. For a long time in his 20s he'd read a book every night and finish it in the truck ride to the job site in the morning. His genre was Fantasy, which speaks to his active imagination and often brilliant sense of humour, which otherwise ran to jokes about poop and a collection of joke shirts. At night, after the boys were in bed, Ben had other jobs - he has been a dragonslayer, an arrowmaker, a fisherman, a wizard, and sometimes a real esate agent dealing in medieval properties in a computer game called Ultima. In his fantasy life, he had lots of online friends who banded together to kill evil monsters and wraiths and dragons. He'd roam this world looking for people in trouble and use his magic powers to help them. After years of playing he had accumulated castles, gold, wisdom, and magic powers that were actually worth thousands of dollarsUS on e-bay. No matter how badly things were going in real life, in Ultima he was powerful and successful. And when he died, which could have been several times a week, there was always a magic spell to bring him back. Ben has been an avid gamer since PacMan came out. Okay, he was obsessed. I took the kids to the west coast when he was 11. On the ferry to Victoria, his first time ever to see a ship or the ocean, he headed straight for the arcade and wouldn't come out til he made the high score. In his school journal when he was 10, he wrote these things,

[*]Oct 10 I am unhappy when my laser base gets destroyed in Space Invaders.

[*]Nov 12 Wouldn't it be nice if Mr. Carrington would stop the class and watch me beat the socks off David Edwards in Space Invaders.

[*] Nov 29 Secretly I wish I could have a space invaders game. It cost so much money my mom could never afford it.

[*] Jan 5 I enjoyed my Atari game system the most at Christmas.

[*] Mar 4. I feel sorry for the space invaders because I killed them.

[*] Mar 9 My children won't have to watch tv; they will play Atari on the tv.

And that brings me to his greatest love, his children. Ben has always loved little kids. He had a special relationship with my sister, Marianne, who was more like his own sister and friend. When her girls, his little cousins, were born, he became their loving Uncle Ben. And I am proud that his admiring brother Joel named his first-born son, Benjamin after Big Ben. When Zak and little Ben were babies, the dads would sit in front of their computers, babes on laps, and talk into their camcorders for a visit. Ben would let me see his boy while I was in Edmonton, by this space age technique. Ben has been a devoted and caring father, concerned and present for his boys. We spent Easter day together as a family, Ben gentle and firm with Hunter and Zak, fostering their sense of adventure, caring about Zak's stories and safety, Hunter's nap and diapers. He was so proud of them, bragging just the other day about Zak's karate red belt. He was a good provider, putting their needs far above his own happiness. As you know he was heading home with $182.09 worth of groceries when his life was interrupted. As strong as Shannon seems to be, there is a hole in her life. I know what it is to be a single mom. And, while nothing will replace the love Ben had for her, I hope many of you will step in and help her with the projects and chores that he would have done.

Zachery and Hunter will need all our stories of Ben to keep his values and character alive in them and to keep his memory ever fresh. In his last Journal entry in 1981, Ben wrote, 'I wish I were ..."

I'm glad he was and I wish he still were.


<hr></blockquote>

 

[Fallout BSE]

Ben was my friend in game and out for the last 6 years. He was the very first person i met when i started UO. He gave me my first trip to a dungeon my first bit of gold just about my first everything. We talked on the phone often and in icq. We have shared views and thoughts on almost every subject imaginable. So he was newver just an online friend to me nor was i to him. Ben is and shall always be my friend. I am going to miss him greatly. I will be making a donation to Bens Family in the name of his guild BSE. Anyone wanting to throw in items or gold to be ebayed off for his kids fund feel free to icq me at 27467085

 

[OneEye]

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and most of all his children. I have seen Hoomer around several times on Atlantic and he was always surrounded by a crowd. He will be missed in this game as I am sure he will be in real life. Sorry for the loss.

Darben - Tamer of Atlantic
One Eye - Archer of Atlantic
Dagon - Fencer of Atlantic

 

[Guest]

IN MEMORY: Benjamin "Hoomer" Parkins of Atlantic

Who has left our Realm...

We have lost a committed and dedicated friend who brought
life and hope into some of the darkest corners of our communitys life.
Your energy and dedication will be greatly missed.
We miss all that you were.
We miss all that you would have become.
We miss all that you did.
We miss all that you would have done.
We miss all that you said.

We miss all the love you had for us, and dreams for the future
of our Realm.

We hold on to our precious memories.....
Missing you always.....
Loving you forever.....
Forgetting you never.....
Rest in peace Benjamin "Hoomer" Parkins

 

[phaero]

I met Hoomer nearly 5 years ago when I purchased a small house in Ultima Online. Soon after moving in I was greeted by my neighbor to the north, Hoomer. Hoomer took me in and taught me the ropes of the game and was the first friend I had met. I will never have the writing skills to convey how helpful Hoomer really was. If you ever needed anything; He was there. Never did he ask anything in return. I remember only days after I started playing he took me on a treasure hunt and broght me back to life after an unfortunant event involving a fire elemental. From the very first day he was a friend. Many nights we stayed up chatting about Ultima and his kids. I always had to have the update on how they were... I remember the terrible two's like they were my own kids. In fact, the last thing he said was that he had to put his youngest to bed and he'd be back. I didn't hear from him agian that night and hadn't talked to him in a few days, but that wasn't that surprising. Often It would be 3 or 4 days before I got a chance to talk to him, he seemed always at work or with family. It never crossed my mind that when our paths finally forked that it would be so tragically. Life seems to always make you lose touch with friends, many of the old players are long since gone. But I was always glad to see Hoomer online. He was always good for a chat about the game and the never ending tails on how his oldest was walking and getting into everything! Truth is I just always felt better when he was online, I was never alone. Needless to say I never heard back from Hoomer. The next day he was gone. My deepest condolences go out to his wife, kids family. I always felt that I knew the family since I had heard so much over the last few years but hearing his wife's voice today made it all too real. Today a family and a close knit circle of friends mourns the loss of a great, great individual. A person I thank God I met. A person who helped me through darkness and personal loss. I hope that knowing that others feel a trememdous loss will help his grieving family know that, no matter what, Ben will never be forgotten and Heaven shines even brighter now. If anyone in his family ever needs anything, I will be there to help... just as he was always there for me. Agian, my heart goes out to all that knew him. In what is without a doubt the hardest words I've ever said, Goodbye my friend.

Joe Gaddis
phaero
[email protected]

 

[Rose Cotton]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Warmest condolences.

Rose and Hephaestus

 

[imported_Joshua Rowan]

A message from Ben's Step-Mom that I want to make sure is included with his memorial:
<blockquote><hr>

Ben's Dad and I would like to thank all of his UO friends for making this part of his life such an enjoyable one. He talked quite a bit about his adventures here. I can remember when he was only making arrows.

Please remember his wife and boys in your prayers.

Jo Darbishire
(step Mom)

<hr></blockquote>

 

[Guest]

It is too hard to put into words my sorrow either. Hoomer will be truly missed, and to his family I am sorry for their loss. I wanted to support him as our family member (BSE guild) by writing about some memories of Hoomer. In the game hoomer was able to make a great fortune, and build empires. All of his characters were the highest levels, plus he could play their abilities well. What made Hoomer special was his ability to be well-liked, respected, and "looked up to" by others. When Hoomer was on the game with us it was as if all were looking at him, waiting for him to speak. He just had that natural ability. It was really fun to be with his treasure hunter "Nilis". We would all gather around him (newbie to skilled) while he opened the treasure chest. Somehow we would manage to kill all those hard monsters by working together, but mostly by players such as Hommer who knew how to work their characters. And he always shared the loot-- even if your newbie just ran from the monsters. It might not have been what he planned on, but besides the entertainment of the game, Hoomer had made a family and long time friendships, and we had fun here. Again, i am sorry and will miss him.

Kamora,
Atlantic, BSE Guild.

 

[sybill]

Is there any way that I may take part in the vigil in Luna?
(as an observer, not player)
Ben tried to get me hooked on this many times and I never bit.
Now, I am.
Ready for basic training.
Have really old computer, not a lot of memory.
Will read faqs from site.
Need link please.
Thank you

 

[imported_Joshua Rowan]

Hi all,

We have received several requests asking about how to get money into the "Zachery and Hunter Parkins Trust Fund" at the Bank of Montreal for Ben's children. With that in mind, here are the details you will need in order for the Bank to get the money to the correct fund:

Donations to the "Zachery and Hunter Parkins Trust Fund"
Account #8058-251, transit #0319

MAIL TO:
Bank of Montreal
295 Boler Road
London, ON
N6K 2K1 [this is the equivalent of a Zipcode in Canada]
Canada

BRANCH PHONE w/?'s: (519) 667-6191

 

[HoomerMom]

Thank you all for your support. Last night, Hoomer's brother, Joel, and I, Bonnie attended the vigil at Hoomer's Luna pyramid home. We were delighted to be able to enter the world where he spent so much time and had so many friends. I had spent many hours watching over Ben's shoulder when he played. He was proud of his accomplishments there and I was proud of the gallant way he played. It was a very moving service thanks to Fallout's kind and hearfelt words. Ariel made us comfortable and gave us new clothes. And Ferbert and Speedman honoured us with their presence. We can't tell you how grateful we are for your respect for Ben. Before we left last night, we were shown a town in Ultima that Ben helped build. There are many monuments in our world like that. We were in an internet cafe just steps from the 20-storey building that Ben was working on just before he died. Our hears are broken and we appreciate your sorrow and your kindness to us last night.
Bonnie Parkins

 

[B Sabbath]

I did not know him but it is a sad thing when a father of two children pass on.My thoughts and prayers to the family.Peace be with them all.

 

[HoomerMom]

Thanks Kammie, you really gave me a sense of what it was my son, Ben, did in the game. He was just as great in person, but UO gave him a chance to be his best, night after night.
Bonnie
[email protected]