Blue Blood

11,254 Views | 65 Replies | Last: 8 mo ago by drizzlybear
calumnus
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oskidunker said:

I always thought he was a student or young alumni.


And he always was and always will be.

RIP Blue!
KoreAmBear
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Oh no. He was a fixture on Cyberbears and BI. Man that does sound interesting when you put it that way. But that's how Blueblood may have put it. His most recent rants were about joining the MWC probably just to annoy people. But that's what I loved about him, he never went by any party line. And if you think about it, that's what Berkeley taught us. You my boy Blue!
concordtom
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bearister said:

I'm very sorry to hear that. He was a good man that went to the beat of a different drummer. He was unique and one of the posters I really dug here. He was in the The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") an air assault infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. He served in Vietnam. Thank you for your service and Rest in Peace, Blueblood.







I know you had been missing his posts.
And asking about his whereabouts.
I'm sorry for your loss.
concordtom
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okaydo said:

Blue Blood and Blue Bloods departing in the same year.



Lol
Always the Hollywood connections from you here.
I do wonder what your profession was/is. I know it is clearly related.
concordtom
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bluehenbear said:

He had unique taste in images to append to posts and opinions. Probably deserves a "best of" retrospective.

Condolences to family and friends and thank you from those of us who only knew him through this board to let us know of his passing. Go Bears!


It does ask a question of BI management, as a curator of all these online personas. I have no idea how to ask and answer such questions but I feel they could be asked.

I suppose people are creating all sorts of online personas these days… they get wiped out, forgotten. But they were a real part of who a person was.

My family has no idea I have posted tens of thousands of times here.
smh
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Quote:

> My family has no idea I have posted tens of thousands of times here.
yup, like most families. stats from the handle's public profile..
Quote:

Joined Jan 31, 2009
Total Posts 29,408
Posts/Day 5.191
Blue Stars 12,666 (Rank: #24)
muting more than 300 handles, turnaround is fair play
Blueblood
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Blueblood was Gordon Webb, first my friend for 9 years and then my husband for the next 39 years. This may be too much information but Gordon wrote no obituary and I have no one to edit me.
Gordon was born in Marin County, California in 1945. His Mother was Nez Perce and his father was German and they moved to California from Kooskia, Idaho. Gordon had two younger sisters and the family finally settled in San Francisco and San Mateo. Gordon's mother was a real "Rosie the Riveter" during World War II, and his Dad was a Civil Engineer and worked in the Naval Shipyards. Gordon and his sisters were all talented artists but their Dad discouraged Gordon from following his desire to draw and paint in lieu of becoming an athlete. Gordon was successful playing basketball in college and he was a well-known celebrity in his home town. Gordon's sister, June, was a professional ballet dancer with the San Francisco Ballet and the American Ballet Theater in New York but after a tragic accident on her way to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia, she quit dancing and became a lawyer. His sister, Carol, was a talented artist, dancer, horse woman, and model whose Nez Perce Native American handmade clothes were displayed in the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Every summer, they vacationed in Idaho on the reservation and Gordon and his sisters learned and practiced their heritage. Gordon's relatives were and are leaders in the tribe and they owned land on the banks of the Clearwater River which runs to the Snake River. Gordon was of the Chief Joseph Band of the Nez Perce, and his name was White Hawk.
Gordon attended Cal for his BS Degree and to celebrate his graduation, he took his version of The Grand Tour and flew to Europe. His first stop was in France and as the plane landed he realized he didn't speak a word of French. For two days he ordered two of everything because he couldn't figure out how to say "one." The police sent him on a goose chase for a mile out of his way because he didn't speak French and he ended up ordering steak tartare thinking it would be a steak. It wasn't until he reached Italy that he got to eat food he recognized and in Germany he discovered the school kids were the ones to help him because they all spoke English.
Gordon was studying Biological Science (Tropical Diseases) when his plans were interrupted and he was drafted by the Army. Instead of getting a deferment he volunteered to go to Vietnam. He was known as the Powerman and was responsible for keeping the electrical power working in the jungle. Even though he was in the 101st Airborne Division, he never jumped out of any planes in Vietnam and instead rode helicopters carrying soldiers and supplies. When the men started coming down with malaria, the doctors in the unit couldn't successfully treat them because there was more than one kind of malaria. Gordon told them to get certain equipment for him and with his tropical medicine background, he was able to supply the doctors with the correct strain of the malaria and the patients were sent back to naval hospital ships for treatment.
The one story he told was that when he was waiting to board his plane to leave Vietnam, as he was boarding, he threw all his Vietnamese money on the tarmac where the workers got in the way of the plane taking off by running around gathering the money. He almost got into a situation with superiors because of this joke.
When he returned from Vietnam he got his Masters in Health and Human Services and worked for The Indian Health Service in Arizona. Next he went to medical school at the University of California at San Francisco and within months of graduating, he decided he didn't want to practice medicine and he left school. For a short time, he worked for The United States Secret Service catching counterfeiters.
In 1977, I was attending a Native American pre-law course being held at The University of New Mexico. There was a fellow classmate who everyone referred to as "doctor" but I was only concentrating on my studies and didn't get to know him. In law school there is a practice sometimes used by students who don't know an answer to a question to "pass" the question to another student. One day, this "doctor" passed a question to me. I was horrified because I didn't know this practice existed and I wasn't any more prepared with an answer than was this so-called doctor. At another time the doctor passed to me again. This time, I confronted him outside the class because I didn't really like him using me for fun and I wanted to tell him to stop bothering me. We ended up attending The University of California's Hastings College of the Law and getting married for the next 39 years.
After law school Gordon worked for the Regional Counsel's Office for the Native American Program for HUD in San Francisco but left to work for the Navy in Silicon Valley. For the rest of his career, he worked in Silicon Valley as a Corporate Contracts Manager for international firms until his retirement in 2012.
Tough for Blueblood but he didn't have a spouse who enjoyed sports and I only attended one freezing football game in Berkeley and Cal lost. Gordon wouldn't miss a game on TV and I know he enjoyed his time on this Forum. He cracked himself up sometimes when he posted pictures. We did enjoy the San Francisco Symphony with seasons' tickets and we sailed around the world on the Queen Mary II on her maiden voyage in 2007. He said he could live on a ship and sail forever but that didn't happen. He didn't write an obituary even though I pleaded with him because he would have done it his way. He only became ill a couple of months before he passed away of congestive heart failure. We were totally unprepared for his time.
He had a brief military burial with no services because I couldn't go and his few living relatives are in Idaho. The Nez Perce don't believe in leaving personal items behind and Gordon was buried wearing his ribbons and medals on his jacket as he directed. He had received The Bronze Star and The Army Commendation Medal among others. His grave marker will read of his commendations and will note that he was a kind and gentle soul.
Eastern Oregon Bear
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Thank you for taking the time and effort to share this with us. I didn't know anything about your husband other than what he shared here. It sounds like he led a good life lived well. I mourn his passing and pass along my deepest condolences for your loss.
DaveBear
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Sorry to hear about Blueblood. I enjoyed his posts over the years and most fondly those back in the days of Cyberbears when he often crossed swords with the likes of Trojan Warrior and other Trojan trolls. He was funny, offbeat and one of a kind. He livened the Board up when it needed it. He loved to annoy but was never annoying. RIP

GO BEARS
Big C
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CNHTH said:

Given the date you posted I'm pretty sure I knew of him beyond this board.
Rest in peace. If it's who I think; truly one of the last of his breed much like my grandfather.
A true example of that generation of blues. Dedication to Cal, Service to Country, and an almost fanatical obsession with music, and an unapologetic vocal opposition to the maga disease that infected our country even as they lived in the reddest of areas.
Rest in peace.

Is it who you thought it was? I will admit to looking through SF Chron obituaries, looking for who it might have been.

To "Mrs. Blueblood" (if I may call you that): Deepest condolences on your loss and thank you so much for sharing. Many, many of us hold fond memories of Blueblood.
zorbarick
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My condolences.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this detailed history. So many of us spend so much time on the internet as fictitious names/avatars, and we often never know the real people behind the faade. I'm really glad to have read Blueblood's story, and will miss his posts.
TandemBear
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Oh man, I'm very sorry to hear this sad news. Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to this community to share it. Condolences to Blueblood, his family, friends and associates. I really had no idea who he was; his posts were always "far out, man," but I enjoyed his irreverence on pretty much every subject.

This board will miss his zany, random and often hilarious posts. Sad to know another Old Blue has been lost.

Thanks again and sincere condolences to everyone affected.

Go Bears!

PS Edit, post read of the entire thread. Thank you, Mrs. Blueblood for returning to offer a wonderful history and obituary for your spouse and our lost contributor. Again, sincere condolences to you and your family. He sounded like quite a character and someone of immense talent. It is a tragedy to lose a lifetime of experience, learning and skill. But that is the reality of life on our planet. Best to you.
MinotStateBeav
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Thank you for the beautiful history of Blueblood, Gordon Webb. I'm so sorry for your loss. You were lucky to have such a beautiful long marriage to him. He made many of us laugh on here quite often for a long time.
AunBear89
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Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. As you can see, it has been a help to many of us in this community as we deal with our own feelings.

I am sorry for your loss, and happy that you have a half century's worth of memories to provide comfort in the years to come.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -- (maybe) Benjamin Disraeli, popularized by Mark Twain
KoreAmBear
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zorbarick said:

My condolences.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this detailed history. So many of us spend so much time on the internet as fictitious names/avatars, and we often never know the real people behind the faade. I'm really glad to have read Blueblood's story, and will miss his posts.
It's true we have no idea who we are "talking to" online. And let's all be honest, Blueblood mixed it up a lot, and I think I had a couple of run ins, but we were mostly good. We imagined a guy on the internet in the basement (he shared nothing about his private life for us to know any better), but no he is a guy with a background befitting of a movie. Go figure. Thank you Mrs. Blueblood for giving us a window into the great man he was.
Polodad
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Thank you for this post. I always read Blueblood's posts as early as the late ''90's and enjoyed them immensely. So sorry for your loss.
HairOfTheBear
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Legendary! Thank you for taking time to make personal, the life of Blueblood. I respect you and your family, much love from your Blueblood Bear family. Lengendary
Ccajon2
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Greatest poster on BI. Always returned my IMs with his own. Boy he seemed to really hate the turds. One of the few on this board I friended, when there was a friend feature.
BearoutEast67
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Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
I am the cannon blast after a TD.
I am the Bear fan's reverie.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there; I did not die.

- Adapted from Mary Elizabeth Frye

Rest in peace, Blue Blood!
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
calbear80
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NVBear78 said:

Oh no, so sorry to hear this. Thanks for letting the Cal community know. What a uniquely Cal soul..........

+1

May Blue Blood rest in peace.

Go Bears!
Anarchistbear
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BearoutEast67 said:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
I am the cannon blast after a TD.
I am the Bear fan's reverie.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there; I did not die.

- Adapted from Mary Elizabeth Frye

Rest in peace, Blue Blood!


Well done, in Bluenlood's case

I've gone to eternal rest
We joined the Mountain West
WildBear
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Thank you, Mrs Gordon. I've been posting but mostly lurking on these boards since day 1, and it def hurts when we lose one of our friends. I'm sure it hurts a lot, for a lot of us, it's a wound that closes but never heals fully. God Bless
bencgilmore
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as unique as they come. was tough to parse his real thoughts from his special brand of sarcasm (did he really think Cal was best off in the mwc? lol)

but certainly a personality. had no idea about his history in vietnam etc. thank you for your service, rip
BearGreg
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For those that want to relive Blueblood's greatest hits, please use the search function and then post the links to this thread. Here's one of him from last season being Nostradamus

Blueblood sees the future
bear2034
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This was his most popular post:

My COVID-19 Shopping Experience
CALiforniALUM
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Goodness. Blueblood runs through us all. This is a hard loss of historical magnitude! The character and value of this community is defined by the individuals who inhabit it. Blueblood was and will be a consistent contributor to the banter on this site. He will be spoken of from now and into the future. His style was so unique it is impossible to replicate. I will very much miss his posts, even though I wasn't sure I totally got half of them. And what an interesting portrait of a person behind the scenes.

qo'c henek'e kye pihexnu'
AunBear89
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BearGreg said:

For those that want to relive Blueblood's greatest hits, please use the search function and then post the links to this thread. Here's one of him from last season being Nostradamus

Blueblood sees the future

My posting history goes way back to the formative days of .org. Any of you that have been on this board for as long are likely familiar with the nature of that interaction in the early years. So there is too rich a history for me to find a favorite post.

It evolved over time, and about eight years ago a paradigm shift occurred. I never met the man, and I will regret that oversight for many years to come.


Back in the early days of .org, I described blueblood as a dog running around our Cyberbears yard, barking at everyone and everything, crapping all over the lawn, and humping any stranger's leg who dared enter our yard. But he was OUR barking, crapping, leg humping dog, and TrojanAl and stanfurdobserver could eat a sack of Richard's if they didn't like it.

From his wife's post we have learned some of the details about the man behind the handle, and for that I will always be grateful.

I plan to poor one out for blueblood at 2:00 pm on August 31, before our beloved Golden Bears oink the Aggies.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -- (maybe) Benjamin Disraeli, popularized by Mark Twain
AunBear89
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KoreAmBear said:

zorbarick said:

My condolences.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this detailed history. So many of us spend so much time on the internet as fictitious names/avatars, and we often never know the real people behind the faade. I'm really glad to have read Blueblood's story, and will miss his posts.
It's true we have no idea who we are "talking to" online. And let's all be honest, Blueblood mixed it up a lot, and I think I had a couple of run ins, but we were mostly good. We imagined a guy on the internet in the basement (he shared nothing about his private life for us to know any better), but no he is a guy with a background befitting of a movie. Go figure. Thank you Mrs. Blueblood for giving us a window into the great man he was.


I suspect I am not the only one to be surprised when I first found out blueblood was a Boomer and not Gen X. Even after that revelation, it was hard not to still have that "in the basement" image.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -- (maybe) Benjamin Disraeli, popularized by Mark Twain
bearsandgiants
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AunBear89 said:

KoreAmBear said:

zorbarick said:

My condolences.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this detailed history. So many of us spend so much time on the internet as fictitious names/avatars, and we often never know the real people behind the faade. I'm really glad to have read Blueblood's story, and will miss his posts.
It's true we have no idea who we are "talking to" online. And let's all be honest, Blueblood mixed it up a lot, and I think I had a couple of run ins, but we were mostly good. We imagined a guy on the internet in the basement (he shared nothing about his private life for us to know any better), but no he is a guy with a background befitting of a movie. Go figure. Thank you Mrs. Blueblood for giving us a window into the great man he was.


I suspect I am not the only one to be surprised when I first found out blueblood was a Boomer and not Gen X. Even after that revelation, it was hard not to still have that "in the basement" image.


Hopefully can impact this season from heaven! RIP Blueblood!
Big C
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AunBear89 said:

BearGreg said:

For those that want to relive Blueblood's greatest hits, please use the search function and then post the links to this thread. Here's one of him from last season being Nostradamus

Blueblood sees the future

My posting history goes way back to the formative days of .org. Any of you that have been on this board for as long are likely familiar with the nature of that interaction in the early years. So there is too rich a history for me to find a favorite post.

It evolved over time, and about eight years ago a paradigm shift occurred. I never met the man, and I will regret that oversight for many years to come.


Back in the early days of .org, I described blueblood as a dog running around our Cyberbears yard, barking at everyone and everything, crapping all over the lawn, and humping any stranger's leg who dared enter our yard. But he was OUR barking, crapping, leg humping dog, and TrojanAl and stanfurdobserver could eat a sack of Richard's if they didn't like it.

From his wife's post we have learned some of the details about the man behind the handle, and for that I will always be grateful.

I plan to poor one out for blueblood at 2:00 pm on August 31, before our beloved Golden Bears oink the Aggies.

You two used to have quite the feud going. Glad you patched things up (or at least just let it rest).
drizzlybear
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Thank you for sharing that wonderful account of the adventurous and authentic life lived by Gordon Webb, aka Blueblood. He was like the Puck of this community. My condolences for your loss.
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