Servetus, from the Me + Richard Armitage blog and possibly the most well-known blogger in Richard Armitage fandom, passed away from cancer on Sunday, April 14th, 2024 at the age of only 55. Her loss deeply saddens me and, although I never met her personally, she has meant very much to me in my blogging and fandom life and even occasionally in my personal life.
To me, she was always around. In February this year she posted about her 14th blogiversary, which means she started blogging in 2010 when I was already a few years into my Richard Armitage admiration. I think I must have stumbled on her blog relatively at the beginning of her Armitage blogging career because I know I was lurking and reading it faithfully long, long before I ever interacted on it and with her. Her blog and a few other blogs at the time (like Guylty’s blog or Herba’s blog) finally inspired me to start blogging myself and I have been doing so since then.
A little over 9 years ago Servetus linked to a post I had written collecting reviews for Richard Armitage in The Hobbit. I had only been blogging for two or three months at that time, with hardly any readers, but then she somehow found my post (we didn’t ‘know’ each other at all at the time) and linked to it and I actually started gaining a reading audience. She was good at putting the spotlight on others like that and I’m sure she sparked other blogging ‘careers’ just like she sparked mine.
Servetus was analytical and critical and she had an ironic sense of humour that I enjoyed. She had a deep knowledge of, among other things, history and theology and politics and she was a walking encyclopedia of Richard Armitage information. She had a phenomenal memory and remembered everything. Although she loved Richard, I liked that she avoided the hero-worship of him with a good dose of critical thinking. She spoke her mind, was exact and direct in the wording she used, didn’t accept bullshit, and with that was sometimes controversial. I do think that her criticism, her sarcasm, her directness and her clear sense of boundaries were sometimes mistaken for insult when it wasn’t really meant that way. She was just trying to make sense of everything in her own, unique, analytical way. She believed in the diversity of fandom, abhorred fandom policing (there is no one ‘right way’ to be a fan) and was able to analyze herself, Richard or fan life in an intelligent, scholarly manner.
Richard Armitage seemed like a journey of discovery for her, a gateway to understanding more about herself, in which she was always open and honest. The “me” in her blog title wasn’t an accident or throw-away thought. It was about making sense of what it was about Richard that fascinated her so much and what that in turn revealed about herself. Whether you agreed or disagreed with her, whether she annoyed you or made you nod in recognition, she always had something interesting to say. She didn’t become the most prolific Armitage blog for nothing.
From a more personal angle, she was always a good blogging friend to me, she was supportive of me, was always open to any questions I had and always ready for discussions. Sometimes she asked me things that really made me pause and consider my response and that helped me organize my thoughts. She challenged me in a positive way, directly and indirectly, through her writing. I learned from her, I laughed at her posts, I felt connected to her for far more than just Richard Armitage.
I connected with her for her liberal views and championship of human rights, for her interest in and knowledge about Germany (where she had lived and I had also lived for a while), for being Jewish which feels familiar to me, for her interest in Laura Ingalls Wilder, for her understanding of theology as it was a world familiar to me through my dad who had been a theologian and a scholar and analytical, just like her. She even once helped me figure out a basketball gift for my son, as he loves Giannis Antetokounpo who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks in Wisconsin. Servetus was from Wisconsin and knew more about him than I did. She knew so much about so much!
I really felt for her during those difficult years when she was caring for her ailing father and could also relate to the reality that circumstances in real life sometimes made it difficult to blog. She blogged and also commented here less frequently in the last year or two but once in a while she did reach out with a like or a comment or an e-mail and stated that even though she didn’t often comment, she was still reading. She also had the intention to blog more. In the fall of last year Servetus contacted a few bloggers and came up with an idea to reinvigorate our Richard Armitage blogging lives but alas, real life intervened with that as well.
Even though she wasn’t that active anymore in the blogging world, I liked knowing she was still around and didn’t think that much of it when I hadn’t read anything from her for some weeks; that tended to happen sometimes. In her final post in February, that 14th anniversary one that I reference above, she mentioned being unwell but to me it also sounded like that crisis had been averted and that she was on the mend again. In retrospect I understand that her cancer diagnosis came just a few weeks after that and that it turned out to be very aggressive.
Fast forward to three weeks ago when I found myself wondering about her, right when I was in the middle of my moving house chaos. I distinctly remember working in the new house, clearing kitchen closet space, and thinking about how she might be doing. I told myself that I should really e-mail her to check in with her and I vowed to do so soon. Then two days later the news reached me that she had passed away. I don’t believe in ghosts or even souls really and I’m not religious but the fact that she was in the forefront of my mind that Sunday, which in hindsight was also the day she passed away, really strikes a chord with me.
It’s difficult to imagine that she won’t be out there anymore, at the end of another computer, interacting with me and with us! I will miss reading her blog and her commenting on my posts. I will miss her reaching out to me with something she felt I would find interesting. I will miss her support during challenging times. I am sad that I will now never get to meet her in real life, something I had always hoped would happen some day. I hope she knew how much she meant to me, albeit from afar. Her illness was swift and I guess that if it did have to happen, at least she didn’t have to suffer long. Rest now in peace, dear friend.
I know she loved Bagginshield fan fiction (Thorin Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins pairing from The Hobbit), so here is a Bagginshield smile, just for her.
Zikhronah livrakha. May her memory be a blessing. And may her family and friends be comforted in their mourning.
For those who wish to leave a tribute or message of condolence for her family, please visit https://www.lewinfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Susan-R-Boettcher?obId=31196583.
For the coming two weeks (May 5th to May 19th, 2024) if anyone without a platform wishes to share their thoughts or tributes, feel free to reach out to any of the following blogs on our contact pages. We’ll be happy to host your commemorations:
* Sonja on https://guylty.net
* Obscura on https://ancientarmitage.wordpress.com/
* Herba on https://minorherba.wordpress.com
* Sue on https://imfeelingthis.blog/
* Or me, Esther, here on https://bookesther.wordpress.com/
The Book of Esther 