My dad passed away on Oct 6 of this year. He had always shown an interest in my Ghostbusters obsession, I have home movies of me busting ghosts in my kenner pack (which is also part of my avatar) I began collecting GB related items from ebay when i was about 12-13. I had already amassed a large collection from my childhood, so what was a few more? lol. My collection has grown immensely, and now even more with the sudden influx of the Matty line in Big Lots. My dad was a genius of photography, electronics, and computers. I learned everything from him and owe him everything. He got me started in video production at an early age. I carried that hobby all the way to college, which I majored in TV production. After college I got a job as a cameraman for Sun Life Stadium, shooting the Dolphins, Hurricanes, and Marlins games.
When I first started building my GB props for my costume he took a great interest, he even helped me out in making the LED electronics for my trap and trap pedal. We were even in the process of making our own pack/thrower lights from scratch, but he unfortunately passed before we could make that happen. 2 days after his passing, I received a job offer out of state, I took it…I will be leaving sunny Miami, for snowy Montana. I will be leaving my home of the past 25 years, memories I have here will always stay with me. My dad immigrated to Florida from Germany, and made Miami his official home in 1982. Shortly after he married my mom, my sister was born in 1984 (GB release year!) 4 years later I was born ( 1 year shy of GB 2 release lol) Our relationship was different than father/son, I was like an extension of my dad. We had so much in common, that I actually considered him a close friend of mine. With all of this said, I have begun the process of building a pack ( this is my 2nd pack, 1st one being built by me) Once I get settled in Montana, I will start building, and thus the “Wolfgang Pack” will soon be born.
Sorry for you’re loss, my dad passed in 09 from cancer. One of the things we had in common was Ghostbusters. So much so that I turned his truck into an ecto.
Sorry for your loss. Good luck with the move and the new job. I have made big changes in my life like that before and it has always been such a great and positive experience!
I forgot to mention my Kenner trap had broke once, I would stomp on the pedal but the doors wouldnt open. So my dad was able to fix it by using a plastic aquarium valve. Moments like that are starting to trickle back to me. I gotta find the picture of him trying to unlock the Ecto-1A with his own car keys at Universal Orlando many years ago.As far as my pack goes, I have all the resin parts of the pack itself, the pack/thrower lights, some of the labels, and a few other odds and ends. As soon as I get settled after the move, I will start ordering the big items.
In memoriam. We mourn for you in your time of loss - this community of ours stands tall and shares something with you that your father shared also. May we all be a happy reminder of your enjoyment of this movie and its Ghostheads that you shared and cherished with him.
That’s tough to hear man, I am sorry for your loss. December 16th of this year marked the 1 year anniversary of losing my dad to a sudden, massive heart attack. He was very close with my then 6 year old son and could probably recite Ghostbusters and The Real Ghostbusters line by line after watching it with him sooooo many times. The first 6 months to a year will be the hardest, but if you have the skill to build a pack I highly suggest doing it as anything to take your mind off of your loss really helps. Stay strong and best of luck to you!
A little update, I have about 95% of the parts for my pack, once it warms up here I’ll hit the garage and not come out till summer. I wanted to put a sticker of my dads face on my motherboard, then I realized no one will see it if Im wearing the pack so Ive decided to have a patch of his face made and stick it on the shoulder of my jumpsuit. This Saturday would’ve been his 59th birthday, to celebrate I will be BBQing ribs (his fav) and spreading the rest of his ashes in the mountains here in Montana.
