It is with sadness that I hand the TAINTED ARCHIVE over to western writer, Jim Griffin for his heartfelt tribute to an illustator friend who died on January 27'th.
My friend Gale Buffum passed away after a valiant battle with cancer. Through it all she maintained her usual cheery attitude.
Gale was a wonderful woman, completely devoted to her husband Neal, her son Sean, and her grandchildren Will, Maggie, and Olivia. She had a zest for life, and was loved by her family and many friends.
Gale was my best friend in Keene. She was always trying to feed me whenever I stopped by to visit her and Neal. She was also one heckuva illustrator. Besides doing the dramatic gunfight scene for the cover of my third Jim Blawcyzk novel Trail of the Renegade, Gale had just completed an illustration for the cover of another Texas Ranger novel. She finished the drawing and gave me the CD containing it for the publ
isher on Christmas Eve. Little did I know then that would be the last time I would see Gale. The illustration she was going to do for an anthology of short Western stories will never be completed.
isher on Christmas Eve. Little did I know then that would be the last time I would see Gale. The illustration she was going to do for an anthology of short Western stories will never be completed.The cover Gale just finished (pictured) portrays her son Sean as a lawman, while the horse carrying the dead rider is Gale's rendition of my own paint Yankee. When I saw the drawing, I kidded Gale that she had killed me off. She assured me she hadn't, but the thought became a running joke between the two of us.
The book with this cover will be dedicated to Gale's memory.
I'll miss Gale terribly, but the Good Lord chose to end her suffering. As my friend, fellow author, and publisher Ron McDonald said when he heard of Gale's passing:
"God needed an artist in Heaven."
