Michael J. Herrick, known to many of us as “Bear”, was one of the folks who helped us start up Free Spirit Alliance in 1986. He served as Security Coordinator for several Free Spirit Gatherings, fondly known as FSG’s “Security Bear” and could be seen wandering around wearing a Figment dragon cap. A carpenter and handyman by trade, he was a person many of us called upon for help with repairs to our homes. He put a roof on our house. He poured the foundations and directed as people erected standing stones at Four Quarters Farm. He also used his carpentry skills on the sets for the Washington DC Revels, an organization dedicated to performing folk music and dance. He was also an SF/Fantasy fan and frequently attended Balticon and Darkover.
A resident of Edgewood, Bear had been working as a professional carpenter for more than 15 years for Unique Craftsman, a Baltimore home building company. While on the job, he suddenly died of a heart attack in December 1999, at the age of 46. He died a few days after attending a Free Spirit Alliance Yule party. When Myth and Thoron spoke with him, he commented about recovering from a mild flu, not aware that he actually had “walking” pneumonia. His death came about a year after his wife, Te (Jo Ann), died of a stroke. Te had served for many years as FSG’s Merchant Coordinator.
Bear and Te were both volunteers at Ecumenicon over a 10-year period. Bear served as Ecumenicon's security chief while Te volunteered as its dealer room coordinator.
Charles R. Butler, Neto, a minister of Ecumenicon Fellowship, presided over the memorial service held for Bear, as he had previously done at Te's memorial service.
The Te & Bear Memorial “Gift of the Gods” Scholarship was named in loving memory of two people who set the foundation stones of our community, literally as well as figuratively.
--Myth & Thoron Woodling, 2014