Bockzilla - CoasterCrazy's #1 Fan Passed Away

[Oscar]

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our #1 CoasterCrazy fan, bockzilla.

I had been in search of him for several months. It was of concern of me that he would no longer reply to private messages and emails. His last login to the website was January 7, 2014.

Donnie was a great supporter of the site. Not only financially did he support it but also morally. He was always around when I felt like throwing in the towel and closing the site out. He always lifted the morale around here and that kept me going. He stepped in to help when he was most needed and without me asking for help. Its like he had a radar for when trouble was brewing.

I had the pleasure to meet him several times. We even went on a theme park trip together down the midwest. We visited tons of theme parks! He also came out to California to visit several of the theme parks here and several of us got to meet him in person. Here's a pictur eof us at Knott's Berry Farm. In the picture you'll find Symbiotic, Jayman, Bockzilla (blue jeans, grey polo) and I. Jayman's friend is also there and I remember he had enough roller coasters for the day after riding Ghostrider

Donnie was very chill and very fun to hang with. Words cannot express how important he is to CoasterCrazy other than to say that without him, this site would not be here now if it wasn't for him. I am truly appreciative of his friendship and loyalty.

May you rest in peace Donnie,

Oscar

*edit*

For cause of death and headstone picture, please scroll down this thread or click here to jump to it: bockzilla-coastercrazy-s-1-passed-away-t34484.html#p354911

*edit #2*
Beth and Emily, sister and niece respectively of bockzilla asked me to post the following:

From bockzilla's sister and niece We want to thank you for all the kind words. It has touch us so much that donnie aka bockzilla had so many fans and friends. He is deeply missed especially by his niece the next generation of coaster crazy fan in our family. He took her since she was 2 to amusement parks. She would ride anything the only that stopped her was her height. He first big coaster was the racers at Kings island and she road the millennium at age 5 1/2 so he does live on with each ride any of coaster crazy fans ride. So please ride ride and enjoy in memory of bockzilla

Sorry to hear rip may his rides live on coastercrazy forever

[Paradox]

I loved Bockzilla's coasters. So sad to see him go. Any details on how he passed?

[Turbo]

I'll miss him. He was always a really cool guy

[Coasterkidmwm]

. He was a fun dude to talk to and made great rides.

thats sad to hear

maybe someone should take all his rides and import them into nl2 and make a park around his rides to remeber him by and so his rides live on in nl2 just a thought

[TTD03]

Wow... Just wow. Really sad to hear.
Didn't realize how important he actually was to the site.

Hope you doin alright Oscar, I'll be on skype later.

What?!? I actually met him one time, and he was a cool guy! This is really sad...

[Mr. Freeze]

highthrills2 wrote:

thats sad to hear

maybe someone should take all his rides and import them into nl2 and make a park around his rides to remeber him by and so his rides live on in nl2 just a thought

that's actually not a bad idea.
So sad to hear about his passing. Any word on how?

Wow, had no idea Bockzilla had passed. His coasters were definitely among my favorites... this is really saddening..

[TTD03]

highthrills2 wrote:

thats sad to hear

maybe someone should take all his rides and import them into nl2 and make a park around his rides to remeber him by and so his rides live on in nl2 just a thought

I think I am going to do that now. Thanks for the idea.

That will lag like insanely crazy!!

[afro85]

Sorry to hear that. condolences.

There are never words for the loss of a good friend. Even though I never got the pleasure to chat with or meet him, I thank him for helping keep my favorite site alive. My condolences to everyone that knew such a caring friend

[mkingy]

Sad to see him go Made some great coasters and always came across well on the forums!

[gouldy]

I was not ready for these feels today.

I gleamed a lot of inspiration from some of his tracks, especially his wooden coasters.

I also had no idea how important he was to the site, an unsung hero, if you will.

There must be something we can do to make sure he is properly remembered on the site!

[GavG]

RIP

I like Gouldy's thinking of something meaningful and a way to remember him.

Sad to hear this. I remember some of his coasters, and he was important to this site. His rides will live forever. May he rest in peace

Sorry to hear that ????????I've rode a lot of Great tracks in NL from him RIP

My heart does hurt when someone in a certain forum, they pass away. I was deeply shocked to know that Donnie was helping this website go big. "CC will stay strong." is our last whisper to him. Without him, I wouldn't be one of their members. I thank him, we thank him, and visitors do the same.

[TTD03]

I'm thinking if it doesn't require any coding, we can make a separate memorial page dedicated to him.

I am so glad I was in town that random weekend to be able to go to Knotts and hang out with him. He was always just a super nice guy, and the type of person that defined why I made this site my home and not other sites. Sad to hear the news. Thanks for letting me know, Oscar.

Also... his rides were so damn clean and precise, always!

[Oscar]

I wanted to provide an update to what has been learned since making this post. I was able to get in touch with bockzilla's sister and was informed of the cause of death. It appears he died due to a heart attack. She had been trying to reach him and since she couldn't get a hold of him, she drove to his house and found him deceased on January 31st

Here's a picture of the headstone, ACE granted permission for their logo to be placed on it. He was an ACE member for 22 years.

His sister has been informed of this forum thread so if you'd like to leave her a kind message, you can do so.

[Turbo]

That really is too bad I'll miss him.

Side note: Dude, where you been Symbiotic? I missed you lol

[coolbeans326]

RIP Donnie. It was a pleasure to have met you and you've left an impact on this community.