David Rayne aka 'DR' died this week.
We met David in 1995 when he set up the health forum on the then new MSN network. A GP in North Yorkshire, he rapidly became a good friend, along with his wife 'Teacher' (Rosemary) and his two children Ed and Hannah. David was responsible for the first major health portal in the UK. He also came and set up a health area on UKChat for me when we launched it and was very well known online as "DR".
Silly anecdote....whenever I saw him he'd say LOKT (ello kt) and I'd say LORD (because LODR didn't work and he had a God Complex ;o)
David and Rosemary invited us to their home and on vacation with them, they came to stay with us in London, and we spent some great times usually involving several bottles of red wine and 20,000 cigarettes.
He was incredibly reassuring when I was pregnant and with the illness aftermath of said, and would always enquire how 'his' baby was doing after Dylan was born.
The last time I spoke to him was just after Harry was born and he was full of congratulations for us. I hadn't seen him online in a while and his son Ed called me last night to let me know that he'd passed away the night before.
Much too early for him to be gone, I feel desperately sad that he's no longer here, and I can't even begin to imagine how his family are feeling. I'll miss him dearly. He made a strong lasting impression on Gareth and I and we'll alwayws remember him for the great person and friend that he was.
Posted by katie at October 7, 2005 11:46 AM