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Pagan Community Notes: Hank Knaepple, David Suhor, Darrin Barnett memorial and more

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. — George H. Knaepple III, known as Hank to the community or Greemie Orge on Facebook, died Saturday after a medical procedure went wrong. Knaepple was an active and well-known member of the Pagan Spirit Gathering and Starwood communities. He was born July 5, 1961 in Berea, Kentucky. He and his partner and wife Penny Goody were friends for 40 years, marrying nine years ago and settled in Evansville, Indiana.

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Valerie L. Walker (Veedub) 1938-2018

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PORTLAND, Ore — It was announced Thursday, June 7 that Valerie L. Walker, also known as Veedub, had passed away in the early morning hours. Veedub was a longtime member of the Feri community, a Witch, an author, artist, singer, priestess, and beloved teacher. Valerie Walker was born May 16 in London, England to Bee Brown and Louis Langham. Her family eventually moved to Chicago where she attended Roger Sullivan High School in Chicago. Veedub’s spiritual journey began around 1955 when, at the age of 18, she discovered Robert Graves’ The White Goddess.

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Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche lauded as hero for dying to protect others

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PORTLAND, ORE. –The stabbing attacks on a Portland train Friday, which were preceded by a hate-filled tirade by the assailant, have raised tensions in the Muslim community and, at the same time, local area Pagans have lost a beloved friend and family member. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, one of two men who died trying to stop what police are describing as “ranting and raving” and “hate speech” directed at two teenage girls, had close ties to the Pagan world, although it is not yet clear what is own religious identity was. Namkai Meche grew up in Ashland, Oregon, where he graduated high school. A childhood friend, Christopher Landt, told a reporter for the Oregonian, “If he knew he was going to die, he still would have done what he did.”

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Remembering Seb Barnett: Artist, Creator, Shaman

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SEATTLE — Over the weekend, the Pagan community in the pacific northwest learned that one of its beloved members, a fellow teacher, talented artist, and close friend, had committed suicide. Since then, shock has rolled through the community, turning into expressions of deep sadness. Writer Rhyd Wildermuth posted, “The last time I saw you, you gave me a huge hug and called me ‘big brother’ like you always did, and then said, ‘I feel like I’ll never see you again.’ I smiled and laughed it off. Of course we’d see each other again […] I was fucking wrong.”