I just learned that Randy Stickrod died in late July, and I'm in shock. He was 71. Randy was one of the kindest and most generous people I've ever met, and he was a great friend to many people in the early 1990s San Francisco publishing world.
Randy had an enormous open room on the ground floor at 544 Second Street in South Park, San Francisco and he gave nearly rent-free office space and free publishing advice to a bunch of small publishers. Wired started in Randy's giant room. When Wired moved upstairs, bOING bOING (the zine) moved into the corner that Wired occupied. In the corner next to us was Dave Egger's Might magazine. There was also Just Go! (a travel magazine), and Hum (a magazine for young South Asians), and a bunch of other magazines I can't remember any more. Randy also shared his expertise in publishing to Mondo 2000.
Randy was gentle, calm, and one of the healthiest-looking 50-year-olds I'd ever met (he's 66 in this photo – learn about his workout and diet here).
He was an inspiration to me and I'm sad he's gone.
Randy's wife Catherine LaCroix and his friend Kathleen Maher wrote a remembrance of this fantastic person, who was loved by everyone who came into his circle.
