Three smiling people standing together with their arms around each other, wearing black and dark grey hoodies with the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada logo and the words “HOPE” and “HATSFORHOPE.CA.”

My friend Reid passed away peacefully yesterday, after an 18-month battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 63. He leaves behind his wife Luisa (also a dear friend) and two sons.

I met both Reid and his wife Luisa at the University of Toronto in the early eighties, when we were in the Computer Science program. Everyone in our close-knit group of friends was a geek and/or misfit to some extent, bonding over our mutual love of gaming -- both cardboard and digital, computers, and technology, comics, speculative fiction. When Luisa and Reid got married in 1993, they asked me to be their matron-of-honour.

Four people lying close together on an orange cushion outdoors, with their heads near one another. Two have their eyes closed and one wears glasses. Text reads, “Photo courtesy John Chew.”

Above: Reid, Luisa, me, and Sue Wong. Photo by our friend John Chew .
Below: Reid, Jeff , and Mark Thompson.

Three young men standing together indoors. The man on the left wears a Toronto Blue Jays T-shirt and jeans, the man in the middle wears a white polo shirt and dark pants, and the man on the right wears glasses, a brown shirt, and brown pants.

Reid was one of the sweetest, smartest, and most joyous people I have ever known. As his Mastodon account profile says, he was a "dedicated non-hater of things." He rarely lost his temper.

Reid was always kind and incredibly generous. Example of the latter: shortly after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, I was over visiting and mentioned my upcoming glaucoma appointment; Reid immediately said he'd be happy to donate his eyes to me after he died, if that would help. 😭🩷😭

He always assumed the best about everyone around him, and that inspired us all to want to be our best.

Thank you for the joy and love you gave us all, Reid.

You will be missed more than I can possibly say.

p.s. By providing support, education, information, and research funding, Brain Tumour Foundation Of Canada has been making a difference in the lives of the over 55,000 Canadians currently living with a brain tumour and thousands before them; please consider donating.