A member of the Tolkien community is gone. Jeffrey “Jef” Patrick Murray died Monday, Aug. 3 unexpectedly, at the age of 55.
Jef, living in Decauter, Georgia, was best known to many as a Tolkien artist, and was a selected artist at the upcoming Dragon Con in Atlanta. He leaves behind family and friends who know him as more than his work and will miss him dearly.
Jef was scheduled to help the Tolkien track of programming at Dragon Con this year, as he has many others, and will be missed and remembered. He was active year round in a Facebook group dedicated to the convention, where he posted his art weekly. He put his effort where his passion was and it will be hard not to notice that he hasn’t posted each Tolkien Tuesday.
Jef had a deep spiritual connection with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and credited the professor and his writings with his conversion to Catholicism. Besides leaving his mark in Tolkien fandom, he was involved as a writer and artist in religious publications and websites. He also wrote his own stories and poems.
Murray received a note of tribute from fellow artist and friend Ted Naismith, noting his passing and explaining that the pair kept in contact via email despite different viewpoints of the world. He said in part:
“I’m proud to call Jef a friend, fellow artist, scholar and colleague, and deeply mourn his loss. My deepest condolences to Lorraine and Jef’s family and close friends. He was a very lively and dedicated voice and talent in our community, and he leaves an impressive legacy. I’m truly saddened that he has left us, it’s simply too soon! I’d like to think he is now free to roam the width and breadth of Middle-earth and Valinor with his canvases and songs.”
Tolkien scholar Constance Wagner, who got to know Jeff at Dragon Con also spoke of her sadness at his passing:
“He has gone Into the West to paint forever with starlight. I will miss his wit and kindness and sense of fun. I will miss his talent. But mostly, I will miss him. Namarie, Jef. Elen sila lumenn’ omentielvo.”
The Tolkien Society knew Jef and his works well. He often contributed to its publications Amon Hen and Mallorn. It published a notice of his death, expressing sadness at his passing.
It is interesting to note, that he graduated from Georgia Tech with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering according to this obituary.
TheOneRing.net wishes our deepest condolences to those hurt by the loss of Jef, yet we honor his works and his passion and his life.
Some of Jef’s creations are posted below but to see a full compliment of his works, visit his official website.
He also left behind his own words about himself:
“Although it’s thought good form to speak about oneself in a “Biography” section, I’m always embarrassed that I’ll either say too much and sound pompous or too little and sound elusive. I intend neither, so beg your pardon in advance if I strike the wrong balance.
I’ve sketched and painted natural and mythological wildlife and landscapes since my childhood years in the north Georgia hills. I suspect I’m best known for my illustrations from Inklings-themed publications, although I’m very grateful that my work has also been published in many other books and journals.
I love the writings of G. K. Chesterton (see my artist’s statement), and a good deal of my work explores the connection between myth/fairy tales and Christian thought. I am Artist-in-Residence for the St. Austin Review (StAR).
My illustrations of whimsical tales and poems and my stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications worldwide, including Amon Hen, Mallorn, Silver Leaves, the St. Austin Review (StAR), the Georgia Bulletin, and Integrated Catholic Life. My most recent book illustrations appear in Seer: A Wizard’s Journal.
Lorraine and I reside in Decatur, Georgia with hamster-in-residence Ignatius, and up to 60,000 honeybees.”
Mel is gone.
It has been weeks now and this isn’t news. I have felt the loss personally and thought about the loss for so many.
Melissa Theresa Petrey Kern, 42, is gone. In her real traditional obituary, it says she was of Lawrenceville, Georgia. Respectfully, I disagree, or I want to state on the record, that while that may be true, it isn’t the whole truth.
More of the truth would say that Melissa Theresa Petrey Kern, 42, a notable figure in the Tolkien Community, died March 8, 2015, after a long battle with ALS. She lived among us, the fan community, and was our neighbor and shared her life with us and is missed by us, as she is missed in Lawrenceville. You could write about more places she lived and is missed too.
I remember, fortunately a few conversations we shared that didn’t seem especially significant at the time, but feel pretty lucky now. We talked about an artist that visited Georgia. We talked about the Tolkien Community in Atlanta. We even talked about specific people she wanted good things for. We talked about fandom, that included her own early love for the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. We shared some moments and I value them, as part of the beautiful experience of our community and they are just a tiny sample of many such moments she shared with many people.
More memorable than the things she said were the people she influenced. The Georgia costuming community, I think it is fair to say, wouldn’t have been so organized or so unified if not for Mel. The Arms of Middle-earth might not have existed at all without Mel, but I don’t pretend to know the reality of that claim. We can safely and accurately say, she was at the heart of the community.
There is a photo, I am sure dozens of people have it, where a significant number of Tolkien costumers were all gathered together in an impressive array of characters from “The Lord of the Rings.” It was during Dragon Con in Atlanta, before the convention had matured to quite the level it has now. Groups of costumers were less frequent and large numbers of themed costumes were rare. There, in that spot, was organized and gathered an outstanding display of fans, living their passions and forming a genuine fellowship. It was a very fine cosplay effort but it was a transcendent community effort. Continue reading “Tolkien community loses Melissa Petrey Kern”
ATLANTA — Prompted by Hobbit actor John Bell, Jed Brophy took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge while a guest at this year’s DragonCon in Atlanta. Jed was there as part of the “Tolkien’s Middle-earth” programming track and along with Craig Parker, Adam Brown, Manu Bennett and Billy Boyd, served as celebrity guest for the show.
As part of his efforts, he visited the swimming area at the Marriott Marquis and took the icy plunge to raise money and awareness for ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He also challenged Parker and Brown to accept the challenge.
There’s fun for all ages at TORn’s table at DragonCon – one of our youngest visitors yesterday was baby Stephen, who happily posed as Sam in our photo op. (Thanks to his parents for sharing the pic with us!) Continue reading “DragonCon is in full swing!”
The convention season is about to start in a big way with TheOneRing.net appearing at shows across the U.S. and even at a special event in Europe. HobbitCon in Bonn, Germany, is packed full of Hobbit and Tolkien guests, including our own MrCere (Larry D. Curtis) who will present several panels about, as you might guess, The Hobbit.
Joining him is an amazing collection of 12 star guests that includes actors from The Hobbit film and Royd Tolkien, great-grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien. The lineup of special guests includes Sir Richard Taylor, some fan films and other prominent figures from the world-wide Tolkien community. Tickets are no longer on sale online but day or weekend tickets can be purchased directly from the event at the Maritim Hotel If you are in Europe this is an event without peer.
WONDERCON
From the same folks who stage the world-famous San Diego Comic-Con, comes WonderCon in Anaheim, with a pretty incredible lineup that also includes TheOneRing.net staff previewing the last movie from Peter Jackson about Middle-earth, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.” That can’t-miss panel takes place Saturday, April 19 at 5:30 p.m., in room 300DE.
We also will have a table on the sales floor to get exclusive TORn t-shirts and talk to staffers about all things Middle-earth. Our all-volunteer staff has an abundant representation in Los Angeles, making this a way to meet our friends.
MORE CONVENTIONS
CALGARY EXPO: April 24-27, Calgary. Staffers greendragon and Deej join a powerful Middle-earth lineup of guests that includes Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Jed Brophy, Manu Bennett, and Dean O’Gorman. Also featured is Weta’s incomparable Richard Taylor. TORn will sell our exclusive convention shirts and meet fans and friends face-to-face!
FANTASYCON July 3 – 5, Salt Lake City. This show, focused on fantasy, has a heavy Middle-earth influence with celebrity guests and rumor has it they will add several others to a lineup that includes Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Sylvester McCoy, Ken Stott and Graham McTavish. TheOneRing.net is partnering with the show and will be present at the celebration of all things fantasy with a booth, panels and some surprises.
SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON The grandaddy of pop-culture events in the world will once again feature Hobbit content from Warner Bros. and TORn. Director Peter Jackson is a likely candidate to be here and as well as a list of celebrities from the film to make their “Hall H” appearance. Plan to wait or camp in line. Our own panel is also in high demand and while nobody can camp overnight, we fill any room the SDCC hands us. This is Mecca for pop-culture. See you there!
DRAGON CON The annual event in Atlanta, Georgia is something of a home for all things Tolkien with the Tolkien Track of programming that definitely features TheOneRing.net and always includes some celebrities from the film world. This focuses on books, film, pop-culture, costuming, dancing, music and everything else you can think of. TORn staffers attending include greendragon, Deej, MrCere, Thorongil, often Quickbeam and usually a few more.
More conventions are likely including the New York Comic Con so expect lots more convention updates.
A member of the Tolkien community is gone. Jeffrey “Jef” Patrick Murray died Monday, Aug. 3 unexpectedly, at the age of 55.
