// June 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Ohio, china, life the universe and everything, personal, sad, spirit, writing

Bryan Stauffer and Chinagrrl - 1993 tree festival - Akron OH
A friend of mine passed away this month. From what I was told it was “last week” but no one knows an exact date. Bryan and I used to “date” or whatever passed for it in the early 1990′s when we both attended the University of Akron. From 1998 until about 2007 I heard from him only infrequently but I knew we both worked in Technology and had some interesting conversations regarding the nature of the IT Corporate Beast.
In the past few years, however, I heard from him much more often. He’s even one of the few people that have visited the House-of-Chaos in its current incarnation. He was doing some new music endeavors and he used me to bounce some of his newer tracks off and he picked my brain regarding some of the creative for the projects; costuming, lighting setups, interaction design of performer/audience. He wanted me to become more involved with some of those ideas, but there were elements in Bryan’s current life that I was unable to surround myself.
“Furie” (Bryan Stauffer) by Chinagrrrl
We discussed some of those choices at length and one thing I told him, that I really wanted him to “get” was that “no rash decisions should be made in the aftereffects” of those things. Forgive me for being like a sphinx here, but I’m journaling mostly for my own benefit here and it’s not my interest to disparage or exploit the dead. Bryan was dabbling in things that I knew, from intimate personal firsthand experience, to be harmful and would pull him away from those relationships he most yearned for, and the things that gave him beauty and satisfaction in life.
I also knew that he wouldn’t stop those things until he was done with them. Knowing the “backside” of those things I implored for him not to give much credit to the “oh my god, things are awful and I can’t handle it” feelings that come with such dabbling.
Learning of his demise I can only thing that maybe he didn’t believe me, or that maybe it wasn’t enough.
Anyways, he’s gone now from our manifest world and I can only hope that his spirit will find the peace it yearned for wherever it is now. Hopefully his spirit finds itself in a Rotterdam goth club in 1992. He would like that.
From: http://www.newcomerakron.com/obituary.asp?src=value&obitid=40992

Bryan Stauffer - RIP - June 2010
Bryan W. Stauffer
1970 - 2010
Visitation:
Friday, June 18, 2010 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Newcomer Funeral Home & Cremation Services
131 North Canton RD
Akron, OH 44305 330-784-3334
Service:
Friday, June 18, 2010 7:00 PM
Newcomer Funeral Home & Cremation Services
131 North Canton RD
Akron, OH 44305 330-784-3334
Bryan W. Stauffer, 40, of Akron, passed away in June 2010. He was a graduate of East High School and served in the U.S. Army during the Gulf War. He was also a member of MENSA. Bryan was a gifted musician and composer. He was the founding member of Set To Burn and loved performing for friends and his many loving fans. Bryan was a loyal and compassionate friend to many. He will always be remembered for his sense of humor and generosity. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph T. Stauffer III. He is survived by his mother, Madeline (Earl) Muster; sisters, Kylie, Geran, and Kirsten; one niece; and many other relatives and friends. Calling hours will be Friday from 5-7 followed by a 7 p.m. memorial service at NEWCOMER FUNERAL HOME, 131 N. Canton Rd. Inurnment will take place at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery at a later date.