The pandemic may have quieted down, but COVID-19 continues to exact a toll, including the recent passing of two members of the CQ “family,” one of whom may be familiar to you and the other whose work may be familiar even though his role here was always behind the scenes. Both succumbed to complications of the COVID virus.
Alfred “Fred” Laun, III, K3ZO
CQ Contest Hall of Famer and longtime member of
the CQWW Contest Committee Alfred “Fred” Laun, III, K3ZO, became a Silent Key
in early January at age 85. He was also a director of the YASME Foundation. Fred
served for many years in the U.S. Foreign Service at posts around the world, at
one time being kidnapped and shot by rebels in Argentina while serving as director
of the USAID (Agency for International Development) program there.
CQ Illustrator Hal Keith
Closer to home, longtime CQ technical illustrator
Hal Keith passed away in late December at age 88. You probably never saw his
face in the magazine, but his work graced our pages for nearly 50
years! From 1973 until very recently, most schematic diagrams and other technical
illustrations accompanying CQ articles were Hal’s handiwork, as he
transformed authors’ often-hand-drawn circuit diagrams into professionally laid-out
schematics. While electronics was not a particular interest of Hal’s, he was frequently
able to catch errors or inconsistencies in schematics, and never hesitated to
question anything that didn’t “look right.”Outside of his work, Hal was a voracious reader
and loved going to book signings where he had a chance to meet various authors.
He and his wife, Judy, also loved to travel and were planning another trip when
he became ill.