Farewell to PhysicsForums Member Negitron

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The discussion centers around the tragic passing of a valued member of the Physics Forums community, known as "negitron" or Michael Bell. Members express their deep sadness and condolences, reflecting on his contributions and the impact he had on the forum. Michael was recognized as a "Science Advisor" shortly before his death, highlighting his expertise and engagement in discussions, particularly in electrical engineering. Many members share personal anecdotes, emphasizing his intelligence, humor, and kindness. The community discusses sending condolences to his family, with one member, berkeman, taking the initiative to send a sympathy card that acknowledges Michael's contributions and the community's appreciation for him. Michael's sister later responds, expressing gratitude for the community's support and sharing her brother's exceptional qualities. The thread captures a profound sense of loss and the importance of community in times of grief.
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A few weeks ago, there was an announcement on the http://twitter.com/physicsforums" :

Congrats to vk6kro and negitron for being awarded "Science Advisor" medals!

I’ve been meaning to send https://www.physicsforums.com/member.php?u=187122"), but he’s been inactive. I figured he was likely on vacation.

Well it’s been a few weeks now, longer than the usual vacation. So I did some sleuthing, using information he had on his user page.

I found http://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2009/10/michael_bell_formerly_of_new_p.html" :cry:.

I’m afraid he’s passed away. The ham radio call numbers on his user page match the ones in the obit, as do the name, age, profession, and hometown.

I'm very sad by this. Negitron hadn't been here long but he was a great contributor. And he was so much fun in chat, too, very witty!

Bye, negitron, I'll miss you :sad:.
 
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Very sad, and so young...
 
Uck, he was even younger than me...

As we say in Poland - they are picking from our shelf :frown:

Edit: I started to browse his posts and found that

negitron is offline

has a completely new meaning now.
 
Yes, this is very sad news. negitron did a lot for Physics Forums.
 
Negitron was an excellent forum member and contributed immensely to the community.
 
This is dreadful news. My thoughts are with negitron's family at this time.
 
Wow this is terrible news :( RIP negitron definitely will be missed here.
 
This is sad to hear, he was a very smart guy... :(
 
It is very sad indeed. He's way too young.

His profile indicates he was last active Sept-22, 5:29 pm, and he passed away sometime that evening.
 
  • #10
How sad indeed. Courage to his family.
 
  • #11
Condolences to his family, this must have been a sudden loss.
 
  • #12
I know I've only been here for a very short while and never fully have gotten to know everyone here, but it still saddens me to hear news such as this. He had great friends here on PF that cared about him.

RIP Negitron/Michael Bell
 
  • #13
I always enjoyed reading his posts. How sad he had to go.
 
  • #14
Oh my god.

I always enjoyed reading his posts, he was so smart and contributed greatly to the forums.

RIP Michael
 
  • #15
This is quite unexpected. I haven't been here very long, but I remember negitron as an active and knowledgeable contributor. It's sad that he's gone.
 
  • #16
I remember "meeting" negitron in PF chat, and subsequently enjoying his many contributions in the electrical engineering forum here.

He was named as a PF Science Advisor 3 days after his death, but before any of us knew what had happened.

Too young, way too young.
 
  • #17
This is just a shock. I had been worried for a while and even PMed berkeman last week to see if he had heard anything from him. Then I PM him a couple of days ago. OMG RIP negitron.
 
  • #18
I'll miss seeing his little black cat avatar and his visits to chat. So sorry he is gone. :(
 
  • #19
RIP Michael. Silent Key KB2YYR
 
  • #20
I'm so saddened to hear this. He was already becoming a great contributor here, and so young still. Rest in peace, Negitron.
 
  • #21
:(

Very sad, my condolences to his family and friends.
 
  • #22
Rest in peace, mate.
 
  • #23
Very shocking. My sincere condolences to his family and anyone close to him. Does anyone know anyone in his family to let them know there's a whole community of people here who will miss him?
 
  • #24
Gutted ;(( RIP mate
 
  • #25
Thank you very much Lisa for finding this out. Its really sad news for our community, he is missed.
 
  • #26
Very, very sad news. So young and so intelligent.
 
  • #27
Sad news indeed. :frown:
 
  • #28
I thought there might be a mistake or something…sad
 
  • #29
Terrible news indeed. I remember his first visit to chat. He questioned why it wasn't more visibly advertised, and I teased him that we only wanted positive members to chat with. He of course understood the play on his name and said something about being positive in a negative universe.

I will miss him also.
 
  • #30
Do we have anyway of getting in contact with his family?
 
  • #32
OmCheeto said:
I teased him that we only wanted positive members to chat with. He of course understood the play on his name and said something about being positive in a negative universe.

I think I remember this moment :sad:
 
  • #33
negitron was a HAM radio operator, so our home addresses are public. I got a card today, and will send it to his home address, to his family. I'll post here the note that I send -- it will be a pointer to this thread, plus how we felt about Michael. I hope that the family will get some good feelings about how much Michael contributed here, and how we felt about him.
 
  • #34
berkeman said:
negitron was a HAM radio operator, so our home addresses are public. I got a card today, and will send it to his home address, to his family. I'll post here the note that I send -- it will be a pointer to this thread, plus how we felt about Michael. I hope that the family will get some good feelings about how much Michael contributed here, and how we felt about him.
Very nice Berkemen, thank you.

I'm sure his family will be happy to know that he was so highly regarded.
 
  • #35
berkeman said:
negitron was a HAM radio operator, so our home addresses are public. I got a card today, and will send it to his home address, to his family. I'll post here the note that I send -- it will be a pointer to this thread, plus how we felt about Michael. I hope that the family will get some good feelings about how much Michael contributed here, and how we felt about him.

That's a wonderful and thoughtful idea, berkeman...thanks for doing that :smile:!
 
  • #36
lisab said:
That's a wonderful and thoughtful idea, berkeman...thanks for doing that :smile:!

Yeah, I completely agree. :)
 
  • #37
berkeman said:
negitron was a HAM radio operator, so our home addresses are public. I got a card today, and will send it to his home address, to his family. I'll post here the note that I send -- it will be a pointer to this thread, plus how we felt about Michael. I hope that the family will get some good feelings about how much Michael contributed here, and how we felt about him.
You're a good guy berkeman. Thanks for doing this. I helps me deal with the lose as well.
 
  • #38
I mailed a sympathy card along with this letter tonight to Michael's home address. I hope his family gains some solace from Michael's strong participation here on the PF. RIP, Michael.

To the Family of Michael Bell,

I (and the whole PhysicsForums community) would like to express our condolences for the passing of Michael.

We had the pleasure of getting to know Michael as the PF user “negitron” (a play on the word "electron"). His avatar picture showed his playful nature -- a kitten in a comforter:

<< Note: see the PDF for the full note with the picture >>

He was especially active in posting in the Electrical Engineering forum (where I'm a Moderator and Mentor), and in the General Discussion forum. He and I are both HAM radio operators, so that was one reason that negitron and I spoke often via the forum mail system.

We will miss his intelligence, humor, and positive attitude very much. Whenever I saw that he had posted an answer to a question in the forum, I knew that the answer would be of great quality, and that he was really helping the person who was asking the question. He sure knows his stuff!

We have a thread in the General Discussion forum about Michael (a.k.a. negitron). I think you would feel good seeing how much Michael meant to us, and how many people he touched through the PF website. You can get to the thread by going to www.PhysicsForums.com, clicking on the Search link at the top of the page, and typing in negitron. The thread is titled "Very sad news", which is definitely what it was when we learned of his passing. You can also get to the thread directly by typing this address into your web browser:

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=345983

If you do that search on Michael's user name "negitron", you will get a list of threads that he has posted in. It's quite a few -- 837! When you see a post by him in a thread, you can click on the underlined negitron name, and that will let you select to view his profile, or view his other posts. I think you will feel good seeing how much he shared his knowledge with others here at the PF. You will also see that he had earned the "Science Advisor" medal, which signifies the high quality of the level of the help that he provided others here at the PF.

We certainly will miss him. Condolences and best wishes to his family.

Mike Berke KI6EGL
("berkeman" at the PF)
 

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  • #39
This is so touching berkeman, it sums up how much we all love him. I hope this will help his family deal with the loss.
 
  • #40
waht said:
This is so touching berkeman, it sums up how much we all love him. I hope this will help his family deal with the loss.

Yeah thanks for doing this berke :)
 
  • #41
berkeman said:
I mailed a sympathy card along with this letter tonight to Michael's home address. I hope his family gains some solace from Michael's strong participation here on the PF. RIP, Michael.

Thanks for doing this. It is a good note.
 
  • #42
One small thing. Unless they sign up they won't be able to see his profile.
 
  • #43
Ah, did not know that. Thanks.
 
  • #44
This is very sad. It's horrible to see PF loose a member, since this forum is what it is because of the great people that decide to be a part of it.

Negitron will be missed. Sad day.
 
  • #45
berkeman said:
Ah, did not know that. Thanks.

Hopefully if his family decide to read this thread they will see my note.
 
  • #46
Rest in peace, dear good man :frown:
 
  • #47
I just received a PM from Michael's sister. She received the card, and came to the PF to read this thread. Here's part of the PM she sent me.

I am Michael's sister. I just received your card and letter and wanted to thank you for your kind words and actions. My brother was an exceptional person with intelligence that just blew you away. He was kind, passionate, and had an old soul.

Please let everyone know on this forum how important their words were and that our family truly appreciates it. Please embrace your life and try to be kind to all those around you because you never know when our journey will come to an end. Thank you.
 
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  • #48
berkeman said:
I just received a PM from Michael's sister. She received the card, and came to the PF to read this thread. Here's part of the PM she sent me.

I am Michael's sister. I just received your card and letter and wanted to thank you for your kind words and actions. My brother was an exceptional person with intelligence that just blew you away. He was kind, passionate, and had an old soul.

Please let everyone know on this forum how important their words were and that our family truly appreciates it. Please embrace your life and try to be kind to all those around you because you never know when our journey will come to an end. Thank you.

I'm at a loss of words, this is very touching.
 
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  • #49
eventhough i am newbie here; i personally indeed have great regards and respect for this forum and the members; although i haven't encountered with the any of the post from esteemed pf contributor negitron before this, i feel a sense of loss :( after going through the entire post. May his soul rest in peace. We all miss u!
 
  • #50
Chapeau bas, Berkeman.
 

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