Legionnaire Emerkeith Davyjack has died.
Emerkeith, real name Walter Loyd Lilly, joined us long ago, too long ago ago for me to find his first post. But he stopped posting in late 2020, and many of us feared the worst. That worst was realized when Legionnaire Richard Willis recently found a eulogy on Facebook from one of Lilly's friends, dated Jan. 6, 2021. Lilly had died two days previous, on Jan. 4, 2021.
That eulogy told me a lot about Lilly's personal circumstances, which were alarmingly harsh and difficult. Lilly suffered from a potpourri of crippling health issues, mental and physical, exacerbated by chronic homelessness, especially toward the end. I was devastated to learn this, and it made me wish desperately I'd reached out to him when it would have done some good.
But Walter Lilly's eulogy didn't tell me anything I didn't know about Emerkeith Davyjack. His pseudonym was based on four famous rock musicians (Keith Emerson, Keith Richards, Davy Jones, Jack Bruce) and he sure loved his rock 'n' roll. You could tell that from his posts, which were chockablock with references to the music that clearly gave him joy. And boy, did he love comics. The eulogy pointed out his twin passions, and they weren't a surprise to anyone who was familiar with his posts here.
Those posts arrived erratically, of course, dependent on when Lilly had access to a computer. And thanks to his health issues, they sometimes suffered from eccentric spelling and punctuation. Those issues hindered his participation, but to his credit he joined the gang anyway. And further points to Lilly for never asking for sympathy; he would only mention his health when asked, and only in the most general terms. He wasn't here lamenting his many pains, problems and disappointments. He was here sharing his joys.
And now he's gone, and all of our could-have-dones and could-have-saids are moot. We are poorer for not having his voice here. Rest in peace, Walter. And live forever in rock 'n' roll, Br'er Emerkeith.
Replies
Honestly, I always thought his pseudonym was a typo (which would be oddly appropriate) for Elmer Keith and Davy Jones the pirate (a.k.a. "Black Jack Davy"). He may have been around longer than you think, because prior to "Emerkeith Davyjack" he went by the handle "Pearly Spencer."
I asked him once, which is how I know. Emerson, Lake and Palmer to Rolling Stones to Monkees to Cream covers a lot of turf!
What a shame. I do miss his quirky voice on the board.
I didn't see this when it was posted and was just made aware of it yesterday. I found the eulogy for Emerkieth Davyjack on Facebook from his friend and was startled at the array of medical issues he was coping with. (I've always thought it unfair on a cosmic level that anyone should have more than one major ailment in a lifetime.)
Not knowing his personal circumstances, I regret expressing my frustrations at his "word jazz" way of communicating. But it was good that he found the Comics Cave as a place of refuge from his many pains. Godspeed.