PT contributor Richard Hoppe dies

By Matt Young

We received sad news today from Eric Holdener, a teacher in instructional technology at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio:

... I started following [Panda's Thumb] during the Kitzmiller case, and I also gained a deeper appreciation for my fellow Gambier native Dick Hoppe who posted those riveting (and often quite humorous) updates.

I am sorrowed to pass along the news that Dick has passed away [on January 3], but I thought you might want to know and perhaps you might want to post something to the PT. The initial obituary in our local newspaper is rather thin (link below), but I imagine that Kenyon will have a more detailed announcement soon. I could pass that along to you when that comes to us here.

I never met Dick Hoppe, but we corresponded a bit, and I liked him. I probably read almost every word he posted. I remember particularly following his reports on the Freshwater case, which must have lasted at least 2 years and probably ended with this dispatch. One of his last reports mourned (if that is not too strong a word) the closing of Jason Rosenhouse’s EvolutionBlog.

Here is another remembrance from one of the PT contributors:

Saddened to hear of Richard Hoppe's death. I never met him, but his many comments on PT were a high point for me – he conveyed his expert knowledge of physics in forceful, clear, and humorous ways.

He really knew his stuff, and cared about getting science across to his readers.

I will update you in the comments as soon as I learn anything more, such as a more complete announcement. In the meantime, I encourage you to leave any remembrances in the comments as well.