Bobbie McRae

I grew up in Raleigh, NC, and my weekends in high school usually included time at All Fun 'n Games in Apex, NC. Now, I sucked. I couldn't draft for the life of me, played loose as hell, and only came out ahead in Constructed because I was playing better decks than half the room since I used the Internet.

A fixture there was Bobbie McRae, one of the two women who ran the store. I went off to college a million miles away, but on my breaks home would find time to make a visit and draft, and Bobbie would always be excited to see an old familiar face.

I hadn't been to the store for probably the past year since my trips home had been much more serious with the health and the passing of my father, but I recently got a message from an old Magic baller friend from this time period about playing Two-Headed Giant this weekend at AFNG. (The last time he played was four years ago when I was home, he hadn't played for a year, and he asked me to play 2HG with him at the store also! How can I say no to an old friend?)

I went to the site for info about the tournament, and to my shock, the front page had a blurb that Bobbie had passed away this year to a long fight with cancer. I knew she had been sick, but she always seemed so cheerful when she was at the store that you wouldn't believe that she was undergoing treatment if you didn't hear it from someone.

I'm upset that the last time I saw her was probably over a year ago, but if she were still around, I'd thank Bobbie for being a part of my Magic experience and my growing up, and hope that she and those by whom she is survived are proud of her work sharing gaming with a lot of people.