Posted on 04/30/2004 2:57:28 PM PDT by fivetoes
Hi, my name is Tom Buchanan and I regret to inform the readers of Free Republic that labgrade, Alan Albertus died yesterday afternoon in a tragic house fire.
His wife, Crystal asked me if I would inform the readers of this forum.
Alan was a good friend and true supporter of the Second Amendment, but I don't have to tell any of you on this forum. Many of you know him through the typewritten word. I have the honor of spending countless hours with Alan talking about Freedom.
Alan was the person who made the original phone calls to get a few freedom loving folks together to discuss how to keep our freedoms That group took on the name Tyranny Response Team. The rest as they say, is history.
He will be sadly missed.
Here is an email from Rocky Mountain Gun Owners
=====================
Below is a news release from Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave's office announcing the creation of a Second Amendment Caucus in the U.S. House.
This caucus was born out of talks with RMGO, GOA and Musgrave staff to find new and innovative ways to protect -- and regain -- our right to keep and bear arms.
Rest assured that RMGO will continue to work on this project.
------------------------------------- This morning our office learned that Alan Albertus, a long-time gun rights activist from northern Colorado, died in a fire at his home last night.
Alan (known online as "labgrade") was the creator of the Tyranny Response Team in 2000. Since that time he (and his wife, Crystal) put their efforts into building Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and the Second Amendment Sisters. He was a very active RMGO member, sometimes calling our office on a daily basis.
Alan will be greatly missed, not just by the movement but by myself personally. He was a close personal friend.
I urge all of you who pray to commit yourself to it this weekend for Alan's family.
Dudley Brown Executive Director ---------------------------
It takes a lot of time to be up on things on FR. Perhaps it's the sedentary lifestyle that hours on a computer entails. Maybe it's the EMF's thrown off by the monitors in the cases of cancer.
As for house fires, were the victims in question smokers and drinkers?
Just speculating. In the house fire deaths, I don't rule out foul play.
I'm monitoring here and TheHighRoad.
We should all show up wearing our TRT shirts.
Such a sad story...
Many people only knew of labgrade/Al via The High Road, Free Republic, and The Firing Line online forums. Hopefully this "virtual presence" of THOUSANDS of people who are "there for them" will help buoy his family during this difficult time.
~ Blue Jays ~
 |
A memorial for Alan Albertus rests this week on a cottonwood tree along the road where his house was destroyed in a fire last Thursday. The fire took Albertus' life. Reporter-Herald/RJ Sangosti |
Alan Albertus was tall.
And he loved freedom, the outdoors and his family.
That is how friends described, and said they will remember, the man who perished in a house fire at Carter Lake on Thursday.
 Albertus |
“He was a very tall and very slender fellow,” said Longmont resident Mark Call, estimating his friend’s height at 6 feet 6.
“I think he was tall in more than one way. He was a man people looked up to in an emotional sense as well as a physical sense.”
Albertus loved being outdoors, hunting and fishing.
He and his wife, Crystal, lived in a home at Carter Lake, surrounded by the outdoors.
Last Thursday, their home caught fire.
Investigators are still trying to determine how.
As the fire consumed the home, Albertus died inside from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation.
The 51-year-old, whose memorial service is in Longmont today, had three children and six grandchildren.
For years, he worked as a mechanical engineer before his health forced him to retire. His career involved calibrating lab equipment to make sure it was precise or laboratory grade, said friend Tom Buchanan of Loveland.
That, Buchanan said, is how Albertus got the Web name “labgrade.”
Outside the charred remains of the Carter Lake house, those who loved Albertus placed flowers and crosses under a tree in his honor with the message: “We miss you.”
Among those flowers, a small American flag waves.
The foundation of America, freedom, was very important to Albertus, according to his friends.
He helped rally like-minded residents to form the Tyranny Response Team and was never shy to speak up on behalf of freedom, according to Buchanan.
“He was just a freedom-loving guy who believed in his rights and stood up for them,” Buchanan said. “He was a very intelligent, articulate person about how our freedoms are being taken away ... He just loved freedom. There’s no other way to explain it.”
Buchanan wrote a tribute to Albertus for his memorial service.
“I described him as a brother in arms and a brother with big arms to lean on,” Buchanan said.
“You felt like he was your brother. The world is a little sadder place.”
Crystal has been busy trying to re-create her life in the short time since Al's passing. She asked me to pass this message along.
I want to thank all of you for your compassion and the overwhelming kindness shown to me. Someone at Alan's service said that he didn’t know what to say.
Well, there aren’t any words. I can’t express how sad I am to lose the love of my life or to express my thanks to you for your support.
I was asked to describe Alan for the service. This is my response. “How do you describe a man who began hunting alone (at least he thought so) in the Louisiana woods at seven years old; who scaled cliffs like spider-man; who backpacked in the Everglades, deserts and mountains; who loved teaching anyone (including me) to hunt or fish; who could move through the woods silently; who took such pleasure backpacking with me and was delighted that I could keep up with him; who loved surprising me every holiday; who loved and protected his family; who was chosen for Boy Scout 'Order of the Arrow'; who helped boys including disabled ones earn merit badges; who was so tall that when he picked up the grandchildren they thought they were on an amusement park ride; who was a good friend; who could make me so mad sometimes and was “in the doghouse” occasionally; who came to believe and studied the Bible each week with me; who was articulate; and who valued freedom and liberty enough to fight for it.
This last year was difficult for both of us with his illness getting more and more debilitating. It seemed to take Alan bit by bit as some of you surmised from his recent postings. But in the last few weeks he had hope that he might be made well again. Thankfully, I know God has Alan now and I know He will see me through this.
Alan valued the discourses and the friendships made online with you and I am grateful for that. Please accept my sincere gratitude.
I miss him.
Crystal Albertus
In Memory of Alan Albertus (labgrade)
There will be a picnic on Memorial Day May 31, 2004
At Parrish Park in Johnstown, Colorado
The picnic will begin at 11:00 am and go until about 3:00 pm
This ill be a pot-luck picnic, or at least bring your own food
There will be a grill available to barbeque.
Come visit with Crystal and bring your fond memories of Al
and join us as we informally remember Al,
the way he would have wanted it.
For the latest go to www.lovelandnet.com/labgrade/
It looks like this may turn into a fund raiser of sorts for Al's wife and her son Shane. Shane's heart has begun being rejected and there may be some kidney damage as well.
Crystal is doing well, but will need some help supporting her son's family for a while.
I’m terribly sorry to hear this, such a horrible way to die. The TRT rally in NYC at the UN was my first freep.
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