The news came this evening on the Calontir Facebook page that Duke Ostwald has passed.  A remembrance and information about services will be posted later this weekend.

From Ostwald’s sister:

“Yesterday was my brother’s 48th birthday. While weed waiting at work around lunchtime he had a massive heart attack. After roughly 40 minutes of CPR & such he arrived at Cox South Trauma unit. His body temp was extremely elevated & there was swelling and damage to the brain. They spent hours cooling him to reduce the swelling & getting him stable. They will keep him cool until this evening, then slowly warm for 8-12 hrs.
Tomorrow morning they will be able to do more scans & give us some solid answers.
We just hate the waiting …”

Lady Lora Ann Ros of Dragon Rose passed beyond the veil the evening of April 21st.  She is survived by her husband Friedrich von Blumenkamp and son Liam Drake.

The SCA found Lora Ann and Friedrich while they were vending at a Ren Faire. She was an honored member of the Barony of Lonely Tower until the family moved to Barony of Forgotten Sea a few years ago.

She enjoyed archery and bardic immensely, receiving a Golden Calon Swan for bardic and a Boga Fyrd in archery. She also enjoyed cooking and costuming, and was fiercely loyal to those she loved (and vocal!).

What she is probably most widely known for was her work with falcons. She once told the story that Friedrich woke her up one night and asked her if she realized that falconry was legal. She went back to sleep, knowing that there were birds in her future. She also worked with raptor recovery and nursed several birds back to health.

A memorial service is being planned by Lady Glenna Geis Garten, in Council Bluffs, IA, but date and other details are not available at this time. Lora Ann is being cremated in garb since she felt most of her happiest times were in the SCA.

UPDATE: The memorial for Donna Brooks (Lora Ann Ros) will be on May 6, 2016 at 3:00 pm at Cutler-Oneill Funeral Home located at 545 Willow Ave, Council Bluffs, IA 51503. The family has requested in lieu of flowers that you can make a donation to any cancer research fund or to Raptor Recovery Nebraska (http://raptor-dev.umn.edu/about/meet-our-birds/omaha).

Editors note:  Thanks to Lady Glenna Geis Garten

Lady Lora Ann Ros of Dragon Rose

Mistress Aidan Cocrinn and Mistress Amanda Coldcastle announced the sad news that Baron Master Robert of Coldcastle passed away on the morning of December 15th. His partner, Master Gerald of Ipsley, maybe contacted through Mistress Amanda.

Baron Bob, as he was affectionately known, touched many in Calontir during his active years. With his characteristic signature “Robert of Coldcastle did this thing” he produced things of beauty in many different disciplines, but especially the many beautiful scrolls he calligraphed and illuminated.

But, perhaps more importantly, his students and their progeny have continued to teach and beautify the Kingdom long after he was no longer active. Mistress Aidan :

Our long lineage and extended family weeps with the loss of this extremely talented man, even though many may never have met him. His gifts can be seen in the talents of his grand-laurels, great-grands, great-great-grands, and also in our nieces and their lineages.

Baron Bob came to Calontir from the Kingdom of the West, and was a veteran of the US Army. His flair, his sardonic wit, and his “Sunday morning p*ss off the Laurels” garb immediately made him part of the family. Although he has not been active in many years, his memory continues on with those whose lives he touched.

This post has been corrected to reflect the correct spelling of Ms. Aidan’s last name, and to correct Bob’s service to the Army. 

Master Kazimierz Samostrelov reports that one of his instruments has been featured in a new video.

“I am always amazed when I receive a clip or snip of what others are doing with the instruments I have built for them. There is an occasional moment when I just sit back in awe of the end result of an artist’s project, and today included one such moment.” Kaz says.

The blue lyre in the video is being played by Brian Kay. Kaz recommends following Brian’s other work on YouTube or at Briankaymusic.com.

More examples of Master Kaz’s luthiership can be found at his website:

http://www.instrumentsofantiquity.com/

As reported by the East Kingdom Gazette:

Master Freiderich von Blumenkamp of Calontir, Lady Lora Ann Rós and their son Liam’s car caught on fire on the return trip. Although all the humans escaped safely, unfortunately, none of the birds escaped. Artemis, a 21 year old Harris Hawk, Cinnamon a 5 year old Red Tailed Hawk. Winter a 4 year old gyrfalcon, Lady a 16 year old Aplomado falcon and Ra’n, a 4 year old American Kestrel died in the fire.

A fund to help the family of falconers has been set up by Lord Andromir Vukovic.

For more details and a short memorial, read the article “In Memoriam:  The Calontir Falcons” at the East Kingdom Gazette.