I'm very sad to report the passing of a Rhode Island Amateur Radio legend,
Merrill Budlong, W1MB. Merrill became a Silent Key on Saturday; July 21st.
His obituary is in Monday, July 23rd Providence Journal and on the Internet
webpage, http://www.legacy.com/providence/Obituaries.asp?age=Lifestory&PersonId=91256424
He was responsible for launching a great many Amateur Radio careers in Rhode Island. He was uncompromising in his teaching and demanded that all his
students understood why a circuit performed its function or why it was
essential to know how to solder correctly. He was respected and loved by hundreds of hams that knew him. The club that he founded and personally
guided for decades is the Fidelity Amateur Radio Club. Merrill spent his
last months living in the Saint Antoine Hospice Residence in No Smithfield.
A memorial service will be held in the chapel on Saturday, August 11th at
2PM at the New England Steam and Wireless Museum on Frenchtown Road in East Greenwich with a reception following in the Mayes building on the museum grounds. Merrill's friends are invited to come and share their thoughts and prayers.
Bob Beaudet, W1YRC