Rest In Peace – Jams O’Donnell
His real name was Shaun Downey and he lived in Romford, part of Greater London. When he started blogging he was on British civil service, so he used the pseudonym, Jams O’Donnell on his blog, The Poor Mouth.
We had more in common than being owned by cats: our fathers both flew bombing raids over Europe in WWII; we loved Terry Pratchett; we hated McGonagall; we had an interest in the world outside of our own countries; and we appreciated puns.
After leaving government service, Jams/Shaun concentrated on his photography which is first rate, and complaining about the injustices large and small it the world.
He passed away suddenly last Sunday Friday, the 22nd, a week shy of his 50th birthday, but I only found out about it by accident today. Even though we never met in person, he will still be missed.
My deepest condolences to his family for their loss.
13 comments
I wondered why, when I heard that another blogger on my blogroll is dying, that it hit so hard. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that it’s because in these insane times, voices of sanity are so rare and precious that the loss of one is sadness even if you did not know the person personally.
Jams will be missed.
The reality is that we have been ‘talking’ for years and you get to know and connect to people.
He was a realist – good or bad he saw what was really there, and often used his photographic skills to suggest that there might be more.
Awwww! That is sad news indeed. :'(
I agree with you both.
And another bright light of sanity, honesty & reason goes out. *sigh*
Rest, In Peace Shaun Downey, and thank you.
OMG, how sad! That is such a shock! R.I.P. Jams.
Oh god. I didn’t know.
Jams/Shaun visited my site first, to comment on a post about Günter Grass, on the occasion of the latter’s revelation of his wartime association with the SS… admittedly shocking, considering Grass’s later reputation as a peace and human rights activist. Jams was the only commenter who agreed with me that Grass should be forgiven the sins of his youth and of wartime; that simple agreement was the start of an online friendship that lasted until… well, until now.
We had two other significant things in common: Jams/Shaun lived with his domestic partner (“the not-wife” he sometimes called her, back before he started using real-world names on his blog), and both of us had suffered disabilities that led us to hop around one-footed on a walker (a frame, the Brits call it) for a period of time.
Jams had more virtues than I can list in a comment. I can assure you of this, though: the world of blogs has suffered a great loss. I shall miss him greatly. My condolences to his family.
It was a bolt out of the blue, OWL. Jams has had some medical problems, but no mention of anything serious, and both his parents are still alive in their 80’s.
Steve, you may not have been aware of it, but he and Shirley were/are also vegetarians. He was a gentleman and a gentle man who shared his interests, humor, and wit.
Bryan, I can’t help wondering, considering the date, whether someone is playing a cruel hoax on all of us. There’s nothing on The Poor Mouth; where did you find out about this?
Never mind. A more general web search shows notices from at least the 27th on many of his regular commenters’ blogs. Please forgive me for wanting to hold out one last hope that he was still living…
Steve, I was verifying that a recent commenter was not a spammer, and he was a friend of Jams. Then I checked some of the others who I was familiar with from threads on which I commented. I waited and checked to be sure, because he was on a self declared hiatus.
A lovely tribute to Shaun.
Alas, the news is true. He was my friend on Facebook, and another friend gave me some more info. He collapsed and they were unable to revive him at the hospital. The last I heard, they suspected a blood clot.
I miss him, his photography, his intelligence and wit.
He was a ‘oner’, Natatlie, a true individual with his combination of interests. One moment it was minor characters from the WWII era, and then Iranian artists without skipping a beat.
His photographs aren’t simply images, they evoke stories, suggesting more than telling, more impressionist than realist.
Thank you for the information.
Just Damn! What a loss. Sad to lose one of the best.
It very unsettling when someone goes suddenly, and you don’t have the opportunity to finish discussions. So many threads left loose … so many things left unsaid.