[Closed] In Memory of Peter Tait

In Memory of Peter Tait

All, like many on this board, I was very surprised by Deanna's post the other day announcing that Peter had passed after a short illness. He had most recently been the executive chef at the Best Western in Belfast, Maine.

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He and I connected on this board and continued our collecting friendship with regular emails sharing photos of our latest finds, especially as it related to oddball cars, minis, wagons and campers. In fact, as we compared our collection, it was amazing just how similar our interests were.

I was equally impressed with his ability to find elusive photos of models that the makers hadn't officially announced or parts works models that were being test marketed in Europe. He was a great source for whetting the appetite for models yet to come. Better still, he shared a few of his secrets for uncovering them with me, which I appreciated.

Peter had mentioned in our recent emails that he had been fighting some health issues that had sidelined him at work, but he was never specific and never seemed to let it get him down or dwell on it. Instead, he preferred to talk about how he was going to get back on his feet to make shelf room for more scale model campers.

Well, he passed away on April 11 at the too young age of 61, leaving behind his fiancee Deanna Bennett, along with two sisters and one brother.

I know Deanna has mentioned that she'd be looking for some help from us to liquidate Peter's extensive collection but I know the family could also use financial help as well. He had no life insurance. There's a GoFundMe page set up by his sister-in-law. Just go to gofundme.com and search Peter Tait.