I will post information for my Uncle Dave's memorial as soon as we have it arranged. Right now we are just trying to come to terms with his passing.

Hi Everyone. Thanks for all your kind comments. Dave's memorial will be at his house on March 8th.

Dear Eric,

I am very sorry to hear of the passing of your Uncle Dave. It was such a pleasure to meet him in person at Best Bead in 2007! I remember that he was with a good friend of yours, Brian, and they were having a great time at the bead show. Dave was especially amused with the collection of fakes ( I did The Best Bead show for Bassem that year) that I displayed together - Warring States, Phoenician heads, Islamics.

He was a wealth of life experiences, both in beads and everything else. I visited The Bead Museum last February, just a few weeks before it closed, and had the opportunity to photograph his handmade books - which are now a part of the Mengei Museum. These books, to me, are just incredible.

Our bead community has lost one of it's kindest elders. My heart goes out to you, Eric, and your family and friends. Thank you for letting us know.

The first exhibit was "Wealth, Power, Society: African Art from the Owen D. Mort, Jr. Collection"

O'Shaughnessy Galleries II and III

November 6-December 18, 2011 11/6 - 12/18/2011. There will be three,

the next to have jewelry.

Scroll down once you have arrived at the link.

I remember one of the coolest things I ever photographed at the Bead Museum in Glendale was a hand written and illustrated book by Uncle Dave, here is the only photo I can find, may God rest his soul!!!

Hello Eric,
We had the pleasure of meeting your Uncle Dave in his home in the early 1990s. We spent a few wonderful hours talking and viewing his collection and books. He had vast knowledge of African beads and art. It was unforgettable experience.

In our museum we have a few stone beads he donated. Here are the pictures. The small-sized dog bones are from your uncle.

We remember him fondly.

John and Ruth Picard

Eric, My husband and I had the pleasure of meeting your uncle on two occasions in the '90s. During our stay in Blythe he invited the two of us to visit his home to see his bead collection. It was during that visit that we saw that he was a real Renaissance man-- a wonderful sculptor, a musician, a calligrapher, an engineer, and a collector of magnificent beads and artifacts. He gave my husband, a lapidary, some German and Indian cane. I have some beads made from it which are very dear to me. He also pointed out one of your own lampwork beads in a book. On a subsequent trip to Quartzsite, we visited Dave with a group organized by the Bead Museum of AZ. I recall also sitting with him at Steaks & Cakes in Blythe one morning, and meeting him at Kabba's table in Quartzsite. I was new to beads and he pointed out "an ancient" to me on a mixed strand of Venetians that I was holding. I bought it! Those special visits meant a lot to us. May his memory be blessed. Paula

Eric
I had the great pleasure of serving with Dave on the board of the Bead Museum when it was still in the little town of Prescott. He invited me to visit him at home several times and I was mesmerized by his bead collection, the musical instruments he constructed, the wonderful journals he created, and the way African art just flowed through his house. He took me to one of his special places just off Highway 78 a few miles south of the little town of Palo Verde, which is down the road a bit from Blythe. He showed me a fascinating slot canyon which I still call Mort's Wash. I could show it to you some time. He also showed me fossil-bearing rocks and agates to be found in the hills around the slot canyon. I still go there to this day to look for new treasures. The two of us pondered for many weeks the possible origin of the funny little dog-bone shaped agate beads which John Picard showed in his photo in this message string. I learned so much from him about beads and Africa and Blue Grass music in Blythe and fishing on the nearby Colorado. He was truly a renaissance man and I count myself extremely lucky to have known him. If I know him he is already plucking his banjo or fishing in whatever river runs through his new home. He was a great guy and I know how sad it must be for you to have lost him. I miss him too. Paul Johnson

Eric and others
Here is a view into the wash that Mort showed me years ago. The trees mark the beginning of the slot canyon. To this day I call it Mort's Wash. Paul

Thanks so much. I have fond memories of hiking around the desert with Dave, and this was one of his favorite hidden spots. I remember sitting on the rocks up in that Canyon by the tiny water hole and just talking about this and that.

Can you imagine having access to all the archives in the world? Meet the person who made the first Chevron and talk to him about his thoughts of the bead's design? The first D'zi bead? The first etched carnelian? Be there for the first Cornaline D'Aleppo ? Go way back and witness the first bead ever made? Know the answers to all the questions that bead addicts have about origin and date? Find beads that haven't been found? Wouldn't it be cool if Mort is in that kind of Bead Heaven?