[Rockhounds] Al Ordway

[Andrew Turner]

Al was a mineral dealer at our show for several years now.  In fact, I got a 
fantastic large twinned garnet from Mali from him last year (best garnet in 
my collection), and he basically threw in a nice Yukon wardite as well with 
the purchase.  A few years ago he had an abundance of great large 
thenardites from soda lake.  I planned on purchasing one, but after talking 
to Al about minerals for 20 minutes, he just gave me one.  It's rare to find 
such knowledgeable dealers who are always willing to talk anyone about the 
lastest new finds or just BS about minerals for as long as you'd like.  He 
had some fantastic high end specimens as well, and hopefully these find a 
good fitting home.

Andrew Turner
Victor Valley Gem and Mineral Club
Victorville, CA


>From: Charles Baran <kcbaran at arczip.com>
>Reply-To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem 
>collectors"<rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
>To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem 
>collectors"<rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
>Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] Al Ordway
>Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:49:28 -0700
>
>Ya know, when it is "our" time to go,  I guess this is the best 
>way....doing something we love doing.  I had an uncle, who had just got 
>home from playing 18 holes of golf, poured himself a glass of his favorite 
>scotch, took a sip and died from a heart attack,  Didn't spill a drop of 
>his scotch either, and he actually had a smile on his face.
>
>Chuck Baran
>
>Alan Goldstein wrote:
>
>>I got this e-mail today from the wife of Al Ordway, a well-known 
>>California mineral collector. He had e-mailed me about obtaining a nice 
>>benstonite specimen about two weeks ago.
>>
>>Alan
>>
>>Dear Friends,
>>
>>Please forgive me for e-mailing instead of calling, but there has been so 
>>much to do and many phone calls to make, so I'm notifying as many people 
>>as possible by e-mail.
>>
>>Al passed away as a result of an apparent heart attack on Saturday, 
>>September 29 as he was collecting at Soda Lake in San Luis Obispo County.  
>>It was a place we had enjoyed spending many happy hours at, and he was 
>>doing what he loved most.  It had been 13 years since his last attack, and 
>>from that time up until the present, he was in remarkably good health and 
>>continued to stay active, field collect and do the things he enjoyed, so 
>>we have much to thank God for.  We are honoring Al's request that no 
>>services be held.
>>
>>Al deeply appreciated your friendship and shared interest in mineralogy.
>>
>>Sincerely,
>>Betty Ordway
>>eaord98 at verizon.net
>>
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>>
>--
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