To our honored lost – may they sail ever onward.
Terry “Cap’n Van” Pendt–1961-2007
Keep To The Code is deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of its four owners, Terry Pendt, better known to forum members as CaptainVanderDecken. Terry passed away on February 17 after a long battle with kidney disease and diabetes. Terry was a lifelong fan of all things Disney, and was always particularly proud of Keep To The Code, its members, and its accomplishments. He worked tirelessly to maintain high standards “on deck,” as well as behind the scenes.
His fiery personality and direct, no-nonsense style gained him hundreds of friends and admirers, as he found at the Dead Man’s Chest premiere at Disneyland. A five-minute walk down the red carpet turned into a one and a half hour trip, due to the number of people who wanted to pose for photos, ask for autographs, or simply to finally meet him in person.
Terry was an amazingly talented artist, and he spent many years using his art to raise funds and awareness for AIDS organizations. He also had extensive experience in directing and set design for live theater; before his passing, he asked that memorial contributions be made in his name to Broadway Cares (click to donate).
Terry could be challenging to live and work with, and he realized and acknowledged it with his usual humor and style. In an e-mail sent shortly before his passing, he said, in part, “If anyone would ask about sending flowers, I’d suggest since there’s no service planned to allow for flowers, ask them to plant something somewhere that reminds them of me, like thistle, or something that’s extremely poisonous when you don’t respect it.”
Another mail read, in part, “This is probably farewell, but not really goodbye because I’ll never really be gone. If I’ve touched lives, I’ll always be here. And if I’m forgotten, I was meant to be and that’s nothing I can change now either. I’ll always have the satisfaction of knowing I always did what I thought was right, and I never settled for less, from me or anyone else. And those are tall orders, and a lot to expect. But it guarantees that in the end, the people around are really friends, and not acquaintances – they can’t stand the kind of heat that generates. I wouldn’t change that either.”
We are reminded of Terry’s strength and determination throughout both his life and his illness, best represented by dialogue from the first Pirates of the Caribbean film:
Gibbs : Captain! What if the worst should happen?
Jack : Keep to the code.
Through it all, and above all else, he did just that.
One of the pieces of music he chose for his memorial service seems particularly appropriate. Terry was a great fan of Bette Midler, who released her version of Tom Waits’ “Shiver Me Timbers” several years ago:
Well, I’m leaving my family, I’m leaving all my friends
My body’s at home, but my heart’s in the wind
And the clouds are like headlines upon a new front page sky
My tears are salt water, the moon’s full and high
And I know Joe Comrade would be proud of me
Many before me’ve been called by the sea:
To be up in the crow’s nest, singing my sayin’:
“Shiver me timbers, let’s all sail away”
And the fog’s lifting, the sand’s shifting, I’m drifting on out
Old captain Ahab’s got nothing on me
Swallow me, don’t follow me, I’m traveling alone
The water’s my daughter, I’ll skip like a stone
Won’t you please call my family, tell ‘em not to cry
My goodbyes are written by the moon in the sky
Say, nobody knows me, I got no reason to stay.
Shiver me timbers,
I’m sailing away.
Fair winds and godspeed to you, “Cap’n Van.” The owners, staff and members of Keep To The Code take comfort in knowing we’ll see you again some day, just over that far horizon.
Bruce “Doctor Bacchus” Cain-Whitlock–1965-2009
Keep to the Code honors the memory of Bruce Cain-Whitlock, our second founding member to pass on. Bruce was known to members as “Doctor Bacchus” and was responsible for the news and announcements for the website and messageboard. Before founding Keep to the Code, Bruce was one of several key members of DizHub.com, the site’s founding group. Bruce was also involved with several ARG groups online, and was a prolific writer. Our fellow owner, Lady Killigrew, penned this rememberance:
Dear friends, it is with much sadness that I am writing this. Bruce Cain-Whitlock, also known as Doctor Bacchus, who was of our dearest friends and one of the founders of this site has passed away. He left us on December 12th due to kidney and liver failure.
Words seem to be failing me in this time of grief. How can you describe someone who was so truly amazing and kind? Someone who perhaps seemed a little quiet at first, but who would wind up and light up when you got him talking. Someone who was always ready to jump in when needed and who could always be depended on. I suppose the best word to describe Bruce would have to be: indescribable.
There are so many things I remember about Bruce. I can still see the wry smile he often wore. Still hear the pride in his voice when he talked of his accomplishments. Still feel the passion of his words when something would rile him up.
He did so many things for so many of us. I know I will be forever in his debt. He along with Terry were a large part of the reason that I met my husband. (Something they seemed to delight in reminding us of.) Bruce even came all the way to California from Indiana just to perform our wedding ceremony. Nothing can ever compare to having such a close friend attend your wedding, let alone be there to officiate it. Just hearing him you knew how much time he took preparing what he was going to say, and what he wrote was so beautiful that it left everyone teary eyed.
That’s the way he was with relationships. If you were important to him, he always found ways to let you know it. Even when things would get rough he had the patience and tolerance to weather it and be waiting for you on the other side. This was never so prominently displayed as it was in his relationship with Terry. I don’t know that I’ve even seen someone so dedicated. They were the perfect balance; and even though they would have their moments of bickering, you knew how much they deeply cared for one another. Losing Terry was unspeakably hard on Bruce. He never stopped missing him.
It’s my hope that wherever Bruce is that he’s with Terry now and that he knows that we’ll never forget him.
Until we meet again.
