I have some very sad news for my Portland table tennis friends and hitting partners, Dr. Bob Ho passed away on Tuesday after battling congestive heart failure for quite some time. He was 90 years old and died peacefully at home with his family at his bedside.

Bob will long be remembered as a student of the game, a great chopper that loved to follow international players and often wrote for USATT both in print and online.

When my wife, Elizabeth and I moved out to Portland in 2007, Bob and his wife Mary took us out to dinner the first week we were in down to welcome us to the club.

I will miss reading his tidbits at USATT.org, the smile on his face after I made a lucky shot at the Paddle Palace Club and remembering of his always positive demeanor at Pac-Rim Opens or Oregon State Championships.

Thank you Bob for being a shining light in the Great Northwest. For your kindness and warmth you provided your opponents and friends and most of all your love of the game for the past 50 years.