Universal Love R.I.P Thaihawk

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As many have noticed over the the last few months, one of our most active, long standing and quality members of this board has been unusually absent this year. Combining small pieces of information throughout his posting history I was able to track down his profile on Facebook and use what is publicly shared there to get in contact with a family member.

It's with great sadness that I pass on the news that Thaihawk has unfortunately passed away. I'm told that he was admitted to hospital in early January with "quite a few issues" (which I'm led to believe were likely cancer related) and that in mid-March he passed away.

Most regulars here would know that Thaihawk grew up in the Glenferrie area in the 1940's and bear witness to many a thrashing of Hawthorn throughout his youth. He was lucky in the sense that he got to watch Hawthorn transform from the easy-beat Mayblooms into the powerhouse Hawks of today.

The man we knew from his time on BigFooty was an elderly (late 70's), Australian expat spending his retirement years living in Northern Thailand with his Thai family after having remarried later in life. He taught ESL (English as a Second Language) in Thailand for some years before fully retiring to enjoy spending all his time with his wife and his 3 year old granddaughter (who is now a keen Hawk fan herself). We also knew that his wife was fighting a very tough battle with cancer the last couple years and that she sadly lost that fight late last year. No doubt the pain and stress of that loss contributed to his own ill health.

Thaihawk has a long posting history here and it is rich with fantastic, first-hand accounts of the early days of Hawthorn from the late 1940's through until the modern history of recent years. With Thaihawk's background in teaching English his affinity for writing quality posts has been very evident, and I'm sure many reading this would have been schooled by him on the appropriate use of grammar at one point or another! Throughout his tenure on these boards he was consistently adding plenty of quality to discussions with his sharp wit, sage advice and the occasional grumbly, old man rant.

While this is terribly sad news I think we should all be happy in the knowledge that Thaihawk led such a long and happy life and that he got to see the rise to power of his beloved football club. Experiencing all 13 wonderful premiership wins to date, and topped off with a historical threepeat!

Rest In Peace, Thaihawk
 
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RiP, Thaihawk.

Of all your stories, I most enjoyed the ones of your interactions with players, when you were young. I felt as if I could see the Family Club develop over the decades as you told of player interactions with your family...

Thanks TH. Well played.
 

dermott

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I am so sorry to hear the news of Thaihawk’s death. As Cryptor so eloquently explained he was a lifelong Hawk supporter and a repository of many insights into the history of our great club and some of the personalities that he had met during that time.
He and I shared a keen interest in Hawthorn’s Irish experiment and were hopeful that both Conor’s would develop into valuable contributors to future Hawthorn successes.
I am only too aware that the news of Thaihawk’s passing has come at a time when neither player is setting the world on fire. However I am taking this opportunity of asking both lads to lift their game as a tribute to their greatest fan.
I have no doubt that Thaihawk will find a way to continue to follow the Hawks even if only through the medium of his three year old granddaughter.
Vale Thaihawk, you will be missed.
 
Horrible News,

ThaiHawk was one of the few posters who's posts always had me captivated. He provided incredible insight as well as being a lovely, friendly man who made all posters feel welcomed and valued. Condolences to his family and friends. From what you found out about him cryptor he seemed to be an incredible man who loved helping out and supporting his beloved hawks.

We're all going miss you TH, Rest in peace.
 
This is terribly sad news. Thaihawk was a terrific poster and contributor to our board and the Hawthorn/AFL community as a whole.

I hope he didn't suffer for too long and that he has now found peace. I know I personally will miss his presence on our forum.
 
He was a wonderful storyteller with some fantastic anecdotes. One of my favourites was that he was related to Sgt Kennedy who was shot by Ned Kelly at Stringybark Creek. He was a passionate Hawthorn man whose personality shone through his posts.

RIP Thaihawk. You will be missed.
 

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R.I.P. Thaihawk - Very sad news

Your stories of growing up being a hawk supporter through some of the most dire times were such a terrific read and a reminder of how being a good supporter is also being there during the lean tough years.

I don’t think I ever saw a post where you were critical of a player or the club and always looked for positives. We could all learn from that

At peace now with your beloved wife. May you both always walk with the sun on your back and the Hawthorn club song playing. I’m so pleased you got to see your boys win the threepeat.
 
Rest in Peace Thaihawk

The positive for me from TH was although he lived 000's of Kms away, through this forum, he could share his love for the Hawthorn FC as if he was only around the still around the corner from Glenferie Oval.

A gentleman poster who will be much missed.
 
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