File 770
Issue 142: June 2003
Roy Tackett 1925-2003 by Craig Chrissinger
By Craig Chrissinger: Roy Tackett, First Fandom member who helped found Bubonicon (one of the longest running conventions in the southwest) and the Albuquerque SF Society, died May 23 in Albuquerque, NM, of heart failure. He was 78 years old.
Tackett first discovered pulp magazines in 1935 at the age of 10 years old while living in Colorado. While in the Marine Corps, he served in the Pacific Theater during WWII and also did a later stint in Japan where he "discovered" Japanese fandom, and received one of the first Japanese Fandom Awards in 1965. After his military service, Tackett eventually settled in New Mexico. It was while searching for other fans that he met Robert Vardeman as they both searched the same shelf at a local bookstore. The Albuquerque SF Society was started soon thereafter.
In addition to helping start up Bubonicon, Tackett also instituted the Green Slime Awards in 1976 to recognize wretchedness in movies, books and such. He also published more than 100 issues of his fanzine "Dynatron" since it's start in 1960, was the 1969 Westercon Fan Guest of Honor, the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund winner in 1976, and the Fan Guest of Honor at the 1997 Worldcon in San Antonio, TX.
One of Tackett's fondest memories was a 1982 First Fandom trip to Yugoslavia and the USSR, where he enjoyed exploring stores and restaurants, and seeing the sights behind the then-existent Iron Curtain. "I had fun teaching the bartender at the Hotel Rus in Kiev how to make a martini, and visiting bookstores in Moscow and St. Petersberg," he told Dave Locke in a 1993 interview. "And getting mistaken for KGB by another KGB agent in Leningrad."
Tackett also was a founding member of the monthly CAPA mailing, contributing to the apa for 42 years, and a 33-year contributing member of FAPA. Within fandom and the many fanzines for which he wrote, he was nicknamed "Roytac" or "HORT." It was Bruce Pelz who saddled him with "Horrible Old Roy Tackett," sometime in the 1960s. "Mostly, I suppose, because I was older than most of the fen around, and because I could be unpleasant at times," Tackett explained to Locke.
As a clown with the Kiwanis, Tackett was known as "Tacky the Clown," complete with a red nose, white face and costume.
Because of a stroke, Tackett was confined to a wheelchair for almost the last eight years and his quality of life had suffered as a result.
Tackett was married and became a widower twice, first to Chrystal and then to Eleen. The first marriage produced two daughters, Rene and Diana. Tackett was buried in a private family ceremony at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe, NM.
Bubonicon 35 will be dedicated to the memory of Roy Tackett, with a short memorial ceremony before the Green Slime Awards on Sunday, August 24, and a tribute piece by Robert Vardeman in the program book. There also will be a memory board in the lobby area of the Howard Johnson East's convention facility.
++ submitted by Craig Chrissinger (chair, Bubonicon 35)
