Eagle's Last Flight

[JohnU]

I joined after Eagle left this site but continue to be inspired by his works of art. I only wish I would have met him to thank him for sharing all of his talent and for inspiring me to try harder. Eagle my prayer go out to you and your family.

 

[pastorbill1952]

With a very sad heart I say "until we meet again". I was fortunate enough to have met Eagle personally and enjoyed knowing him as a friend. We had many long and heart-felt conversations on Saturday mornings and not just on penturning. He was true to himself as he understood that, and that made him a unique individual. We laughed and hurt together and I will miss him. May God grant his family & friends, comfort and peace during the days ahead.

 

[Monty]

I almost fell off my chair this morning as I read this. I'm shocked.
Although I had not had the privilege of meeting him in person, I have talked with him on numerous occassions over the phone and known him as a friend for about 2 years now.
I know he spoke/typed his mind on issues and had made enemies, but in my NSHO, that is everyones loss. I too have been the reciepent of his random acts kindness. I had been supplying him with glue for about 6 months when out of the blue I received a blanks from him. I was succwssful in turning it and have send acqurired several more, in fact I have three in my shop right now, one about half way completed. I'm sure he will be with me in spirit as I complete his marvolus works of art. I'll be sure to post pictures of the completed pens when I finish them.
My deepest sympathy to his family. My prayers will be with them through these difficult times.

 

[Jim in Oakville]

I read this last night when Lou first posted, I still can't believe it is real, He was a very inspiring man....I shared a few emails with him over the years, but I would not say we were friends but fellow pen turners....I respected his talent and vision a lot.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family.....a true loss of a talent, more so a friend to many and family....

 

[Verne]

I'm at a loss for words. I am sad to say I never had any contact with him but certainly admired his work. May he rest in peace.
Vern

 

[woody0207]

I never had the privilege of any contact with Eagle but his work was truly stunning and he has been an inspiration to me. A true artist has been lost.

 

[bitshird]

I have always admired Eagles work, his artistry was a talent that will be missed, unfortunatly for me I missed a chance to communicate with him.Last may I asked about a cartridge pen with a Parker refill, and read the forum discussions, but unbeknown to me Eagle had sent me an email, somehow it got delivered to my junk folder, which I never check, I checked it yesterday, this was the entire message.
http://www.penturners.org/oldalbums/cteaglesc/Perfect fit 338 gold 002.jpg
"Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art". -- Leonardo da Vinci "Anyone can run a CNC who has patience and a half a brain." Joe Barringer of Barringer Cues
At first the senders address didn't register until I opened the link, I missed one of the greatest opportunities I've had since starting to turn pens.
I wish now that I had checked the folder before this, his talent and artistry are a tremendous loss.
To those fortunate enough to have known him and his family I offer my sincerest condolences and deepest sympathy.

 

[buster]

Very sad. My prayers go out to Eagles friends and family.

 

[dkarcher]

A very great loss. He was a very inspiring artist that will leave a big void for all of us.
My prayers go out to his family and friends.

 

[Tom McMillan]

I'm so very sorry to hear of this loss. Will be in prayer for family and friends.

 

[monkeynutz]

His work speaks volumes. None of us could hope for a better legacy.

 

[Daniel]

I'm so very sad, I just spoke with Eagle a few days ago. I will so very much miss him. My prayers to all His loved ones. Right now I am simply stunned and don't really know what to say.

 

[fyrcaptn]

Like many have said, I am saddened and shocked. Life is so fragile and we are not promised tomorrow- nor guaranteed this afternoon.
When I first started tunring pens, I was at a loss. I had no guidance other than a plethora of poorly written pages that seemed to pick up and end leaving the parts I was unsure of completely out.
Eagle laughed in his way and offered me his cell phone number and said to call him anytime and he would talk me through any questions I might have.
His works inspired me and intimidated me to the point that I was afraid/ashamed to ask him my lowly questions. He knew it and put me at ease. As badly as I wanted one (MANY) of his blanks, I knew I was no where near ready to attempt a pen of the caliber his work was worthy of.
So - I put it on my 'one day' list. And now, that 'one day' will never come.
I don't know what led to his leaving this site, or the one I 'met' him through. His ways, his mannerisms, the intolerance of the world? Who knows. Doesn't matter now does it?
I hope that we all can learn to get along and take ourselves less seriously and to forgive and accept others. I know I need to.
Besides praying for him and his family, I also intend to pray for reconciliation and acceptance in the world.
Soar high Eagle...

 

[pastorbill1952]

As I have been thinking about the sudden loss of our friend, it finally dawned on me that yesterday we were celebrating Independence Day. I think that even he would see the humor in realizing that he (probably one of the ultimate independent thinkers) is truly more independent now than he ever was in this life.

 

[Rick_G]

I am one of those who never met Eagle but as a relatively new turner I am in awe of his workmanship. A great craftsman has been lost to the world. Will be praying for his family.

 

[Malainse]

The loss of a true artist...Family and friends will be in thoughts and prayers....

 

[rtjw]

Last night around 12:30 I talked with Lou. It was a complete shock to hear the news and I am saddened that I will never talk to Eagle again.
As most people know, Eagle and I broke our friendship off some time ago. It was over things that I wish had never happened. For six weeks in the development of Pentarsia, I talked to Eagle daily sometimes five or six times. It was a time that I will never forget. Eagle had contacted me for some axis antler and said he would make a blank for me in trade. He asked what type of blank I wanted and I told him that I wanted a cross in a stained glass window. Then for the next six weeks, he would send pictures for me to look at of stained glass windows. Lynn would also draw stained glass windows and send them to me to look at. It was great listening to him (rarely did I ever get to talk). We formed a great friendship and talked daily. Even after Pentarsia, we still talked and he was part of the reason that I started The Pen Shop. If I would have known that it would have lead to our friendship breaking, I would have never started the D$*@ website.
With everything that has happened between Eagle and I, I always longed to mend the fences. I called Eagle about a month ago and got his voice mail, I told him I was sorry for everything that happened and wished that we could talk again. I told him that because of some things that happened in my life, I wanted him to know that I loved him and would not want something to happen to either of us without him knowing that. I hope Eagle got to listen to the voice mail and I wish I would have tried to call him again. I will forever carry the burden of knowing that I never got to talk to him and tell him I was sorry.

 

[ElMostro]

My prayers go out to his family. Pen turning has lost a GREAT one...

 

[Rifleman1776]

 

[Rifleman1776]

I had a long post to go with the picture. Vanished when I uploaded the photo. Maybe I'll try to redo later. Needless to say, it was made with an Eagle blank.

 

[reddwil]

My prayers go out to his family and friends and to all those who had the honor of knowing him.

 

[johnnycnc]

Very sorry to hear of the loss of such a great artist,
Eagle will be sadly missed by me.His work and insight
was an inspiration to myself and many others.
Thoughts and prayers for the family in their time of loss.

 

[brokenbit]

What can I say about Eagle. I have lost a great friend. I will miss our phone calls every other day as we would talk for hours. My wife always said were were worse then two old ladies. I will miss our arguments on which way to do something and then normally come to an agreement not always (Sometimes I would hang up on him) and then always when he called back I would tell him we lost connection but, I knew that he knew better. We will miss having him in our home for a couple of nights stay while we piddled in my work shop. When I drove to Indiana to see my kids I would always plan a stop at Eagles and spend the night and we would spend the time talking shop.
One of his stays here he gave my wife a pen that he had made from his railroad hat that was his trade mark. We will cherish this.
I will not be the same Penturner without my friends help. I hope there was no pain and he is at Peace with God. Our prayers go out to his wife Lynn and family. What a terrible lost as we have lost a very good friend and a smart smart Penturner.
Good Bye Old Friend

Bernie

 

[DKF]

Prayers for Eagle's family from Nevada....

 

[laurie sullivan]

my sympathy to his wife , family and friend. he and his art will be truly missed.

Laurie

 

[drayman]

when i first came to this forum the first photo i looked at was one done by eagle. he inspired me to carry on, and if it wasnt for his talent, well i wouldnt still be doing pens. god bless and rest in peace eagle , you will be sadly missed. my prayers are with his family and close friends.

 

[Nickfff]

Wow, I cannot believe Eagle has passed away! I was stunned to read this today. I attended the Chicago Pen Show a few months back and met Eagle. In fact, one of the main reasons I decided to go to the show was to meet some other pen turners such as Lou, ED4copies, Eagle, MLK etc. I spoke with Eagle and we all went out to dinner, I sat next to Eagle at dinner and we had a great conversation and I found him to be hilarious. He reminded me of a family friend I grew up with. As a sidebar, I remember him speaking highly of the finish that ED4copies did on acrylic. I spoke with him a couple additional times in followup. He was truly an artist and had an artist's personality. I am bummed that I did not get one of his famous blanks from him. This reieterates a life lesson for me-we need to appreciate each other every day as we are never know how long we have.

To Eagle's Family: God bless you during this trying time. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Also, I would like to take this opprtunity to thank the many people who have helped me along the way from this forumn. Anthony Turchetta has been extremely helpful and kind to me in my quest to get better in penturning. All the others that took the time to reply to questions. i.e. Lou, MLK, Ed4copies, Robert Johnson etc. Thank you all for your time-you are appreciated.

Nicholas Frederick

 

[wudnhed]

Originally posted by PenWorks


Woodworkers & penmakers truly lost a great talent this day. How sad to hear this news.

I feel the same way........

 

[TellicoTurning]

I didn't know Eagle personally, but loved his posts.. I'm saddened that he has left us before I got to know him. My heart goes out to his family.

 

[igran7]

Like others who have posted, I am very shocked and saddened to hear of Eagle's passing. I never had the chance to meet him personally, but was fortunate enough to exchange a few emails with him. My prayers go out to his friends and family.

 

[GaryMGg]

Sharing his JOY

 

[jwoodwright]

I too have loss a friend when William (Eagle) passed. I've known William a long time, from the start of the IAP. From the beginning, we seemed to be on the same page. His talent was much greater than mine. We started and continued to send emails. He was a great friend and one day we had hoped to meet and share techniques. I was always in awe of his work. I will miss his creative inspiration. He loved making high end pens from low cost equipment. I will miss my friend and regret not meeting him in person. My heart goes out to his family and they are in our prayers.

 

[PatLawson]

After knowing Eagle for over 3 years and exchanging email with him from time to time, I met him last August at the D.C. pen show. Though we did not always agree on things, that had not stopped us from talking about them - sometimes at great length. (If you knew Eagle you know what I mean by "great length") {
I got to meet both Eagle and Lou Metcalf at the D.C. pen show and had a chance to visit with Eagle several times during the weekend. I also had the honor of having Eagle come to our table at the show and serenade me with what he called one his "barroom songs". (He could sing too!) It was an unforgettable experience.
I was shocked and saddened to hear of his death. My sincere sympathy to his family and friends in their sorrow. He was a talented penmaker and a truly unique individual.

Pat Lawson

 

[darrylm]

Originally posted by altaciii

The mystery of eagle will continue to be a part of the forum for a long time to come. I never had the chance to talk or meet him but have admired his work from afar. An artist in the true sense of the word. He and all the work he would have created will be missed. Rest in Peace.

Like Alex, I never got the opportunity to meet Eagle but I am an admirer of his work and found his blanks and pens to be some of the most motivating I've ever seen. He will be missed.

 

[ed4copies]

Lou mentioned that Lynn (Eagle's wife) is watching these threads.


Thank-you all for your sentiments.

 

[Skye]

Man, it's such a shame to go so quickly.

I was able to visit Eagle, Lynn and Paulie at their house, probably 2 years ago. Learned first hand how to make a casing pen, still have the casing of his he gave me.

All great people and I really feel for their loss.

 

[Grizz]

I went looking for pictures of Eagles work. Can't find ... can someone help. Thanks.

 

[Mudder]

Originally posted by Grizz

I went looking for pictures of Eagles work. Can't find ... can someone help. Thanks.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/photo_album_cat.asp?sqldtl=1066

 

[DozerMite]

I am very sorry to hear about this. I regret not having the opportunity to get to know Eagle. It sounds as if he touched many people in a profound way. Although I never got to know him, I admired his work. It seems like all the great ones are taken way before their time. My thoughts will be with his family and friends through this very hard time. His memory will live on with many.

R.I.P.

 

[RussFairfield]

I met Eagle while I was giving a demonstration on polychromatic turning in Hickory, NC several years ago. This guy comes up just as we were breaking for lunch, sticks his hand over the lathe, "Hi, I'm Eagle."

He had been making pens from corncobs and bullets, but was enbarking on his laminated pens and wanted to know everything I could tell him. He pretty much had it all figured out already.

There were a lot of e-mail messages over the following months as he worked to perfect his lacquer finish. He is one of only 2 people I have ever met who were willing to spend the time to do it right, and his finishes show that he had indeed "got it right".

Eagle was an interesting guy. He refused to offer step by step insturctions. His philosophy was that if you had the skills to make the pen blanks, you didn't need the instructions, and you could figure it out for yourself. If you needed instructions, this was more than you could handle.

He was one-of-a-kind, and he will be missed.