Byron Hoskins RIP

[JuiceBox52]

An article that was referenced spells the last name as Hosking? Also, an obituary for him may be here: John Byron Hosking obituary
I assume this is the person to whom you are referring.

Thank you so much for finding this! Nothing has been posted on his Facebook and I’ve been scouring the internet for funeral details so I can go

 

[sharkweek178]

An article that was referenced spells the last name as Hosking? Also, an obituary for him may be here: John Byron Hosking obituary
I assume this is the person to whom you are referring.

I've never had a face to put to the name until now.

 

[connorlindeman]

An article that was referenced spells the last name as Hosking? Also, an obituary for him may be here: John Byron Hosking obituary
I assume this is the person to whom you are referring.

Thank you for posting that. I left a note for his family.

 

[Colin_T]

An article that was referenced spells the last name as Hosking? Also, an obituary for him may be here: John Byron Hosking obituary
I assume this is the person to whom you are referring.

Well now I'm confused. Throwing this to @AbbeysDad for answers.
AbbeysDad, is that link for our Byron from the fish forum?
If yes, why is the spelling different and did he use his middle name when writing articles?

 

[GaryE]

Well now I'm confused. Throwing this to @AbbeysDad for answers.
AbbeysDad, is that link for our Byron from the fish forum?
If yes, why is the spelling different and did he use his middle name when writing articles?

I think a lot of people play with spellings and locations because the internet is what it is. My actual family name isn't "E", and yours isn't "T", right? Deep down, I know you're Colin Tyrannosaurus. We leave it close because we aren't that worried about being "known", but they're still stage names. I expect Byron worked the same way. Instead of a completely unrelated user name, he stayed close to who he was. But I can tell you from the days I wrote commercially on fish, people find you and you do get 3 AM phone calls from other time zones. Complete real names can be traced, and some people like doing that. You have to protect your privacy a bit.

 

[Essjay]

The obituary in post #29 is very likely to be the same Byron. Look at the signature in any of Byron's posts (there's a sticky in Tropical Discussion to make it easy to find one of his posts) which says "Byron Hosking, BMus, MA". Byron himself spelled his surname as Hosking and the obituary says he had a degree and masters in musicology.



I wish I'd known he played the church organ. So does my elder son.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Well, Byron was a fish additct which the obit mentions, He struggled with cancer to which he finally succumbed, and the Obit mentions that. He is from Canada and it it a Canadian info site. So it would have to be an elaborate con job. And they sure had a easy to use set-up to make donations via CC or Paypal. I wondered if it might not be legit and decided the odds on that seemed pretty poor.

I made a decent size donation but not insane enough to change how I live as a result. I normally find a good cause, often an individual in trouble, to make my annual donation to. This year I did not wait for Xmas.

My family is not religious and we don't have funerals. When my dad passed we asked folks donate to our local hospice Org. They were here for oth him and my mother eventually. Byron never asked the members here for anything for himself, he just helped us all become better fish keepers and hopefully, better people. So My donation was insignificant compared to that. I have to assume that he was the one who requested those donation for a cause he supported.

The odd thing is that I got a nice thank-you email from the shelter with a story about a specific dog, the kind the donation would help:

This emaciated, senior stray was found all alone in a remote area. He was bone thin and covered in sores, his sad eyes sharing the suffering he had been living through. Thankfully his compassionate rescuer, an animal lover just like you or I, brought him to the local BC SPCA Animal Centre where he could get immediate vet care.

Thanks to kindness like yours, Fish received the dedicated care he needed to recover. He was almost unrecognizable when he found his forever home with a loving retired couple!

Your generous gift will give another animal like Fish the happy ending they deserve.

I think anybody who can make even a small donation to the shelter will be doing two things, helping animals in need and honoring Byron's memory. It sure made me feel a lot better than just sitting around feeling sad.

edited to add the word "Odds"

 

[Naughts]

did he use his middle name when writing articles?

I’m imagining that he always went by his middle name as John was also his fathers name and that would get confusing.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Well, Byron was a fish additct which the obit mentions, He struggled with cancer to which he finally succumbed, and the Obit mentions that. He is from Canada and it it a Canadian info site. So it would have to be an elaborate con job. And they sure had a easy to use set-up to make donations via CC or Paypal. I wondered if it might not be legit and decided the on that seemed pretty poor.

I made a decent size donation but not insane enough to change how I live as a result. I normally find a good cause, often an individual in trouble, to make my annual donation to. This year I did not wait for Xmas.

My family is not religious and we don't have funerals. When my dad passed we asked folks donate to our local hospice Org. They were here for oth him and my mother eventually. Byron never asked the members here for anything for himself, he just helped us all become better fish keepers and hopefully, better people. So My donation was insignificant compared to that. I have to assume that he was the one who requested those donation for a cause he supported.

The odd thing is that I got a nice thank-you email from the shelter with a story about a specific dog, the kind the donation would help:



I think anybody who can make even a small donation to the shelter will be doing two things, helping animals in need and honoring Byron's memory. It sure made me feel a lot better than just sitting around feeling sad.

Oh my goodness the dog was named fish

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I saw that and was pretty amazed. It seemed like karma at work.

 

[Colin_T]

I think a lot of people play with spellings and locations because the internet is what it is. My actual family name isn't "E", and yours isn't "T", right? Deep down, I know you're Colin Tyrannosaurus. We leave it close because we aren't that worried about being "known", but they're still stage names. I expect Byron worked the same way. Instead of a completely unrelated user name, he stayed close to who he was. But I can tell you from the days I wrote commercially on fish, people find you and you do get 3 AM phone calls from other time zones. Complete real names can be traced, and some people like doing that. You have to protect your privacy a bit.

My surname starts with a T and Colin is my first name. I don't use full surnames on the internet but first letter is fine.

 

[Essjay]

I think all his threads need to go in one forum in memorial, because he had so much and shared so generously

It's now done.

Byron Hosking Legacy

Byron Hosking was a long standing member of the forum. He was very knowledgeable about many aspects of fish keeping with many years spent in the field researching and was always willing to share his knowledge. Many members of the forum have benefited from his expertise. Sadly Byron passed away...

www.fishforums.net

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I think I avoided the forum for a while partly because I was dreading this news, knowing it was coming - and I didn't think I could handle it - and I was right.

@Byron I hope you knew how much you were loved and appreciated. For your brilliant mind, compassion, honesty, and just the kind of man you were. Byron changed my view of the hobby entirely. Revolutionised the way I saw things, and putting the fish welfare first backed by his scientific research was the approach I strive to rise to. Over the years I knew Byron here we talked a lot in various threads and I was often picking his brain for more. But we also talked in pm sometimes, and he touched a place in my heart too, especially when he revealed his battle with cancer. I didn't know he'd fought it since 2007... he fought bravely, and I hate that cancer took such a brilliant man from us!!

Crying for you Byron, and will continue to hold you in my heart and memory. You reminded me a lot of my dad in the way you'd soldier on and never complain- and you did all that while contributing more than anyone knows to this hobby. You've left a legacy to be proud of. I hope you meet my mum and dad, and my mentor Dr Felix Grant wherever you are, you'd all have a lot to talk about. I've lit candles, and sending prayers and thoughts into the universe for all of you. I never got to meet you in person @Byron , but that doesn't change the impact you made and how you'll be mourned.

Sending love and condolences to his family, loved ones, and friends like @AbbeysDad . So many of us mourn with you. Rest in peace dear @Byron

 

[JuiceBox52]

His funeral service was very touching and he apparently spoke highly of this forum and the community here

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am not sure how many members here knew what one of the projects Byron had been working on when he and I first began exchanging emails. He was helping to rewrite a lot of the fish profile information on Seriously Fish. So the information we might see on that site may very well have been written/rewritten by Byron.

I have been lucky to have known in some fashion a number of people who do good things for we the hobbyists. Byron did this in many ways. Seriously fish was one for which I never saw him take credit. I never met him F 2 F, but I knew early on he was one of the few truly decent human beings on the planet. I can count the ones I have known (in some way) on my fingers. Three of them are now gone.

edited to put the h in front of the ow in the first line- DOH!