On October 3, 2014 Blair Watson (I believe his screen name was FreeAtLast) died suddenly. He was my partner and friend for many years. In that time, he often spoke about the Recovery from Mormonism site and attended a conference in Vegas. He loved to tell me about people who found the courage to build new lives away from the church. He was a wonderful person who genuinely wanted to help people. Blair spent much of his last three years working on a book called Latter-day Saint Swindle: The Mormon Church’s $200-Billion Scam. To honour his memory, I am sharing his ebook for free at www.blairwatsontribute.net

Thanks for sharing this. I am very sorry for your loss and for all of ours here. This book looks great. I'm sure he helped people on this board and off this board too.
Now FreeatLast is really Free At Last. RIP.

Hugs.

And how are you holding up? You've a support network helping you through this I'm assuming.

Life can certainly be tough at times.

My condolences.

Damn.

I know that screen name. Thank you for letting us know. Freeatlast always had very insightful posts. My sincere condolences.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2014 02:22AM by Queen of Denial.

My condolences on your loss. If you need us, we're here...just please let us know.

I'm so sorry for your loss :( Thank you for letting us know about his passing and for sharing his ebook.

I am so sorry.

Thank you for letting us know, and thank you so much for sharing his ebook.

Wishing you strenght, light and comfort in this difficult time.

FreeAtLast contributed much to this board over the years. I am so sorry for your grievous loss. You had a wonderful partner and we all share in your loss. Thank you for your kindness in sharing his ebook with us. Remember to be gentle with yourself in your time of grief. Sleep, heal, let others be of help to you. My sincere condolences and hugs from this MexMom.

I am so sorry! What a terrible loss.

Thank you, 4Freeatlast, for honoring him by giving us his book. I will treasure this, and I will save the information from his website, too.

I want you to know--and I hoped Blair Watson knew--how many people he helped. Helping even one person, makes a difference. I was confused, angry, and unhappy, during the first few weeks of being inactive, and throughout the resigning process. My children and I had been abused by Mormons in the church, and by Mormon family members, as well. Freeatlast made me understand that my feelings were normal, and that I wasn't alone. Especially, Blair Watson made me understand exactly how Mormonism destroyed my self-esteem. It has been a long recovery for me, and I must have read that article 50 times! I had to heal for the sake of my children--and our whole family is indebted to Blair Watson.

I feel like I've lost a dear friend.

>^..^<



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2014 03:06AM by forestpal.

I'm so sorry to hear this. FreeAtLast made wonderful contributions to this board. I'll miss him. My condolences on your loss.

Terribly sad news.

I am so very sorry for your loss. I referred people to his website many times. He will be missed.

Sending you love. He helped many people and will continue to do so through the Internet. Life well spent. He could have just got out of the church and left everyone else stewing in their own juice, but he cared too much for that.

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1394163,1397675#msg-1397675

The first time was at an early conference in Las Vegas where we ate together, chatted, and exchanged contact information. Later, I attended his lecture in SLC and chatted with him there. What a deep thinking and wonderful person.

I've appreciated his many posts over the years and I'm sad to know of his passing.

My thoughts are with you. My DH and I know you must also be a warm and wonderful person to have had a close relationship with him.

Thank you for letting us know the sad news.

This is very sad news. Blair and I were in the same Peruvian mission at about the same time. While I never met him down there, I did run into members who knew him (and chortled about their rare Canadian missionary). I then met him personally at an exmo conference, and we chatted about our shared experiences.

I was shocked when he told me how our mission president had lied to him about a serious illness that he had contracted there. The president wasn't a bad man, but it shows you how a cult can make otherwise-reasonable people behave.

Blair will be missed.

Oh, wow. I'm very sad to hear that. I really liked him. My deepest condolences, 4BlairWatson. Thank you for letting us know and for sharing his work with us.

My sincere condolences.

The best way to honor Blair is to get and share the information he thought important to leave as a legacy.

Consider it done.

Sorry for your loss.

I met Blair in SLC, and kept thinking I should look him up on my visits to western Canada. Opportunity lost. We were lucky to have him. He was a real "put your shoulder to the wheel" kind of guy.

Thanks for sharing the news. My sympathy for your loss.

Your partner is taking care of us in death as in their life
Nurturing sustaining explaining the recovery from mormonism

Thanks for your support as well the entire board through the decade : farewell my friend

A sad loss for you and for our community.

took over? I had an address for him in Vancouver when we met him at EXmo Conf in Las Vegas but this Kelowna is in British Columbia so I think it must be him. I won't be donating to fast offering.

WATSON, Blair Duane
WATSON, Blair Duane passed away Friday morning October 3rd, 2014 suddenly in his sleep from a Pulmonary embolism at age 50. He is survived by his partner Lisa Harrison, mother and stepfather-Nancy & Ron Mazey, and sisters Christin Lynn and Hillary. There will be a Celebration of Life service on Saturday October 11 at 11:00 am at the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 2170 McDougal Road, West Kelowna (250) 762 0588 or (250) 762 4103. In lieu of flowers a donation to the fast offering or your favorite charity is appreciated. Cremation arrangements in care of Everden Rust Funeral Services, (250) 860-6440. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.everdenrust.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2014 10:25AM by Jerry the Aspousetate.

Yes, we had a service at the chapel mainly for this TBM mother's sake and because the shock of finding and trying to save Blair that morning made it nearly impossible for me to function. Like Blair said, regular members are good people. It's just the leadership who know the truth that he really disliked. The chapel bishop knew he'd left the church but were willing to assist anyway.

I guess that's unfortunate but a good reminder for us to set our future funeral plans in place, so that we won't be stuck having our final goodbyes said in a Mormon chapel.

I am so sorry to hear this and so sorry for your loss. I've been around here a long time and I know I have a lot of his posts archived. He did some great research into some obscure issues. My thoughts are with you.

How bitterly ironic that the memorial service for Blair was held in a Mormon chapel!

Poor Blair. I met him several times at exmormon conferences and have posted links on my web pages to his article about the psychological damage caused by Mormonism.

He helped many!

We pushed the envelope at the Mormon memorial. The slideshow had photos of our unmarried lives together, the program mentioned his interest in science and his enjoyment of Connections and Cosmos. Blair's childhood friend was courageous enough to tackle the issue directly in his speech, which wasn't easy with his Mormon father in the audience. He noted how ironic it was to have the service in the chapel and talked briefly about Blair's path.

I have good memories of his posts. I am surprised that his funeral services were in an LDS building. I can only surmise that his partner did not have legal authority to alter the decisions of his family members.

It might be a good opportunity to review your life ending wishes. Many states permit a person to designate who has control over their corpse and who can make funeral arrangements.

At to Blair's partner, thank you for letting us know and my deepest condolences to you.

My siblings and I grew up in the same ward as Blair. When i found the ex-mo community, i was able to figure out who he was. This told me that the exmo community was telling the truth about their missionary experiences etc. I gave his info to my sister (who was Hillary's friend growing up) and it helped in her exit story also. His legacy is huge. I was hoping to meet him again one year at an exmo conference and am sorry this won't happen.

I am grateful that Blair took the time to document his experiences. Like another poster said, he could have just quietly left and gone on with his life, as many do.

So sorry for your loss.

Thank you all for your comments. I really appreciate hearing about the ripple effects of Blair's kindness. I hope you all enjoy his book (he enjoyed writing it) and that somehow out there he feels all the love.

Thanks for letting us know... and thanks for sharing his eBook. At least "the next life" won't involve anything Mormon, or anything nearly as harmful and destructive.

What a being



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2014 04:52PM by moremany.

Just want to say how comforting I found Blair Watson's voice and talk back in the exmo conference 2006.

This was a time when discovering the unsavoury things of Mormonism was somewhat distressing for me.

His posts will also be missed and he seemed to be here at the right time posting whenever someone else was starting their own doubting and fearful exit to come.

Please accept my sincere condolences. I hope the posts of many here attesting to how your late partner helped them build new lives will be a comfort to you.

I'm very sorry to read this.

And thank you for making his work available.

So sorry for your loss. He must have been a wonderful person, and I appreciate his contribution to the exmo community. What a great way to honor his name. Looking forward to reading his thoughts. Love the title - he was creative.

So sorry for your loss.

What a beautiful man:

http://exmormonfoundation.org/files/media/2006Conference/blair_watson_low.mp3

Thank you very much for that link!

Skimmed a few parts for a few minutes, but that was enough to put it aside for a time when I can listen to the whole thing more closely. Well spoken, and some important points.

WOW! He was left to die because his mission president thought he wasn't as bad as he was and a sister missionary saved his life.

Oh what a loss. I'm so sorry. Peace to you. He helped so many here and was a beloved member of RFM.

My sincere condolences to you and your families.

I remember poster 'freeatlast' - condolences to his friends and family.

I'll miss FreeAtLast. I enjoyed his posts and liked his appropriate screen name.

I am so very sorry for your loss.

I remember the posts....

I lost my dear husband last year suddenly. Sudden death is hard. Please know that you are NOT alone...

Blair's talk at the conference was very helpful to me at a difficult time in my life. I was very sorry to hear about his death.

Peace to you.

You have our sympathy from the bottom of our hearts.

Blair was the first person to reveal the lack of medical attention given to missionaries. He was a trailblazer and dedicated so much of his time to helping those still lost in Mormonism.

Because of him, I contacted other SLC returned missionaries and even attended one of their support meetings. I was shocked to learn how many others also suffered physical damage as a result of mission neglect.

I just hope they didn't bury him in temple clothes.

I hope you feel free to share memories of Blair and his work here with us, where he was so well-known. He leaves a legacy of caring and activism that any of us would envy.


Kathleen Waters

Thank you for letting me know how Blair affected you. His death has been a big wake up for me about what is important. Love, laughter, shared experiences, expressions of talents and our work seems to be the legacy we leave behind. That was why I needed to share his ebook. He put everything into his writing.

I'm so glad you were able to help other's recovering from difficult missions. It sounds like being a missionary is a very difficult and thankless task (and then, if you're lucky, you realize you were a pawn).

Don't worry no temple garb for Blair and we opted for cremation.

Thank you for letting us know this. So sorry to get that news, and I hope you and other loved ones are coping. Best regards.

mt

I am sorry to hear about your lost. Best regards to you and your love ones. I am glad that he had the opportunity to reach out to others with the truth. He sounds like he was an awesome person. :(

Thank you for letting us know about his death. I'm so sorry he died so suddenly, and that you're left with so much shock and pain to deal with. Please know that he was a great presence on this board and helped many of us. My thoughts will be with you and his family.

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that. I remember him from when I first

came here. He seemed like such a warm and thoughtful person.

The first thing I thought though, when I read this was at least

he got out of the church for a few years before he died.

Please accept my condolences .

My sympathies and love to a gifted man, a gifted exmo, and a fellow Canadian.

So sorry to read this. I've really enjoyed Blair's posts over the years--so helpful and I have to say inspiring. He was a positive force for those seemingly caught in a sea of negativity.

We will miss him.

Thank you for letting us know. His contributions here were valued. He will be missed and remembered fondly.

Best thoughts to you and sorry for your loss.

I'm so very sad for your loss.

I plan to share his work as much as I can.

thanks again.

I'm so sorry to hear of Blair's passing.

I grew up in his home ward (local church) in Ontario, knew his family and always really looked up to him when I was a kid.

I never knew that he was freeatlast though.

His posts were really great.

He will be missed.

to meet IRL someday.

Psychological Effects of Mormonism

http://www.ldsfreedom.org/node/19

I read his book today.

He continues to help people find a better life for themselves and the next generation. It's a great legacy.

I'm sad that he had to go so soon. Sending love and comfort your way.

I read many of FreeAtLast's posts. I knew nothing about him, but it now seems obvious that he was a writer by trade, his writing was so clear and direct. I have downloaded the book, thank you, and so sorry for your loss.

Sad for your loss. With deepest sympathy,

Ikki

RIP freeatlast, my condolences to you!

I am so saddened by this news. Freeatlast was an amazing writer. His insights into the pscyhological aspects of mormonism were spot on, especially around cognitive dissonance.

I first met him here over a decade ago. He helped me to live a more authentic life.

He will be missed.

My condolences to you and his family and close friends.

rpm


PS: holding his memorial at an LDS church surely helped his grieving mother; irony yes, but nonetheless charitable and selfless.

So sorry for your loss. Thank you for thinking of us at such a difficult time.

I met Blair at an early Exmo conference that was held in Las Vegas. We were a small group then. He had a great passion about helping folks out of Mormonism. I am so sorry for your loss and ours. Thanks for putting up the tribute site.

Eric

Sorry for your loss and the loss to the the exmormon movement. He served to educate many Mormon cultists help in their recovery and to move on.

I am so very sorry. He will be missed terribly, and my heart goes out to you.

Thanks for telling us. Freeatlast was a stalwart of RFM for a long time.

Sad news. That's a real loss.

So sad to learn of Blair's sudden death. I met him at an early exmo conference in LV, 1998. We had similar interests, and I'm glad to see he maintained a connection to his cause here, helping so many. He was a lovely person. Thank you for honoring him and his passions.

So sorry for your loss. May all our thoughts comfort you in your sadness.

I have been trying to find Blairs obituary.. I read his book online he did an incredible job. Why can't I find him anywhere. What did he die from and where.

WATSON, Blair Duane passed away Friday morning October 3rd, 2014 suddenly in his sleep from a Pulmonary embolism at age 50. He is survived by his partner Lisa Harrison, mother and stepfather-Nancy & Ron Mazey, and sisters Christin Lynn and Hillary. There will be a Celebration of Life service on Saturday October 11 at 11:00 am at the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 2170 McDougal Road, West Kelowna (250) 762 0588 or (250) 762 4103. In lieu of flowers a donation to the fast offering or your favorite charity is appreciated. Cremation arrangements in care of Everden Rust Funeral Services, (250) 860-6440. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.everdenrust.com

I interacted with Blair on the boards. He was a great guy and an asset to the ex/post Mormon community.

Thank you for making his work available. He will be missed!

Condolences on your loss. When my husband was looking to leave the church he came across some of Blair's work. I appreciate the impact he had in my husband finally joining me in leaving. Know that he will have a lasting legacy in freeing so many. And thank you for sharing his book which will most likely help many others.

Thank you for letting us know. "Freeatlast" had many inciteful posts and responses, including some to mine. Good luck to Freeatlast, wherever he may be. And may you, 4BlairWatson, cope with your loss as best as you can.

What a blow. I am so very sorry for your loss. You have my deepest condolences.

and conferences. What a class act! So sorry to learn of his pre-mature departure. Here is an additional link about Blair and his varied activities. This man will be missed.

http://www.blairwatsontribute.net

I'm so sorry to hear this. Sending my best wishes and condolences to you.