A Tribute to Kendra Bancroft

Kendra Bancroft, also known as Maddie Blaustein in real life, passed away at the end of 2008. I wrote the following blog post shortly afterwards but didn't post it. Reading it again a couple of years later, it brings back to me the loss we all felt when we heard the news of her passing. In the meantime, I have also been working on a video tribute. The video focusses on Kendra's beloved Neufreistadt in Second Life and features many of the buildings she designed which illustrate the visual style she developed for the City. Like many who knew Kendra/Maddie, I still miss her.

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I was shocked to discover via a CDS group IM on 17 December 2008 that Kendra Bancroft had passed away. The news floored me and I felt very odd being upset and tearful about someone who I had never met 'in the flesh', hadn't really spoken to in years but who I liked and cared about.

In the weeks since news of Kendra (AKA Maddie Blaustein)'s passing came out we've learned so much more about her and what she meant to others.

I first met Kendra in early 2006 shortly after I arrived in Neualtenburg as it then was. Kendra promptly recruited me to the Social Democratic Faction and gave me her take on the City's dispute with Ulrika Zugzwang who, along with Kendra and others, had been the founders of this experiment in democracy and self-governance in virtual worlds which is now one of Second Life's longest running projects.

Others have spoken of Kendra's loyalty to her friends; she was, indeed, loyal to a fault. She was also highly principled and stood her ground come what may. When the dispute between Ulrika and the City escalated Kendra resigned her RA seat and left Neualtenburg. I decided to stay in what would later become the CDS and, although there was no dispute between us, Kendra and I rarely spoke after that.

Kendra had built much of Neualtenburg and, to her credit, she helped to repair the damage that Ulrika caused when she deleted a a number of people's homes and city infrastructure. Kendra established her own community in Port Neualtenburg and nurtured and mentored creative people who I'm sure learned a lot from her.

After the parting of the ways there was a degree of bitterness in relations for a time. Kendra was defensive about the use of the name 'Altenburg' for the quarter where she had created her wondrous shops and the Neualtenburg Cabaret. But relations slowly improved. Kendra helped with our joint Oktoberfest celebrations and with repairs to the city infrastructure. But now she's gone and she's left an enormous hole in all our lives. The old Altenburg/Altenstadt area of Neufrestadt was undeveloped for years after Kendra's departure. It was very fitting to hold her memorial there and very symbolic of our loss.

Kendra/Maddie's passing was felt in a number of other communities too. I think I knew that Kendra was transgendered in RL, it certainly came as no surprise to me. It was no surprise either to learn she was an activist. I knew she had worked in comics and animation but not that she was an accomplished voice actress - the voice of 'Meowth' in Pokemon! Christmas 2008 will, for me, always be about Maddie singing 'Santa Baby' as Meowth!