I just learned last night that Rod Motonaga passed away sometime late last year. He had been battling cancer for several years. For those who didn't know him Rod was a Seattle-area non-sports card dealer who sold through a long-running series of ads in The Wrapper. That's how I met him in the late 90's. He would take a full-page ad every issue and it would be full of listings of regular sets and chase cards along with a mix of oddball small-manufacturer sets, promos, prototypes, and comic inserts.

We traded a few times and I bought a number of cards from him too. Rod always seemed to have something unusual and yet everything he had was reasonably-priced. In fact he made an effort to offer cards below book value. He also made an effort to ship your cards in an appropriately-sized box (not just a bubble mailer). He was that kind of guy.

I emailed him around Thanksgiving but didn't hear back. I should have sent him a card earlier though we had traded emails last spring. He mentioned that he was more into selling than accumulating because he still had thousands of cards to sell but he didn't let me in on the progression of his illness.

I offer my condolences to any of Rod's family and friends who read this. I thought there would be others who didn't know of his passing but would appreciate the notification. I was very sorry to hear the news.

Jess