Ora Louise Bowling Carmichael

Ora Louise Bowling Carmichael 🤍
May 8, 1938 – March 29, 2025 

Tribute courtesy Robin Murphy Rodrigues
My heart is broken. I’ve known Ora for so many years—our oldest Facebook messages date back to 2010, but our friendship began long before that.

We first met online back in the ’90s, in the early days of the internet, and though we never met in person, she was as real a friend to me as any I’ve ever had.

Ora was a retired Army wife, devoted to her husband, a retired Army chaplain. After retiring they built a life together in Lexington, KY, grounded in family, faith, love, and service to others. She was an encourager, always helping me see the good in life, no matter how hard things got. We shared stories of being military wives, swapped tales about our troublesome knees, and she never failed to keep me and my family in her prayers.

Her love for Jesus was steadfast, and she radiated kindness to everyone she knew. I will miss her flower photos—she had such a gift for capturing beauty, both in nature and in life. And I will miss her—her friendship, her unwavering support, and her gentle wisdom.

Ora loved the song You Are Not Alone by Michael Jackson, and how fitting that is. Though she is gone, she will never be forgotten. I know she’ll be there to greet me with a hug when I get to heaven.

Save me a spot, my dear, sweet friend—she will be so deeply missed but forever cherished. 🤍

Linda Smith Shook - Linda's World.

Today, March 16th, 2025, Linda Smith Shook passed away, aged 82, after a lengthy spell of ill health. Only a few weeks ago, she had to transfer to a hospice-style home, after her medical condition no longer responded to treatment.

Linda was one of the old stagers of J-land, blogging from just outside Seattle (Washington State), often sharing images of the Tacoma Narrows Bridges with me - one of which collapsed in 1940 during a spell of strong winds. 

 

When I first joined J-land, Linda had her little cat Gabi, who sadly died 15 years ago. Gabi would have been at the Rainbow Bridge, welcoming Linda. 

 

We shall all miss her, a sadness that is alleviated by the knowledge that her suffering is over, and has rejoined her beloved Bob, who predeceased her by a number of years.

 

Good night, Linda. Thank you for the friendship. Rest in peace.

 

Parts of her old AOL blog remain.

Gary Wood - Old Woody's Boomer

Gary Brent Wood (Old Woody's Boomer) passed away on 3 December 2024 at the age  of 77. I refer to the obituary page for an overview of his life. 

As far as I am aware, he is the 71st J-lander whose Keyboard has now fallen Silent. 

RIP Gary. You will be missed by many

Marla Goodman

 Marla Goodman passed away on 25th May 2024 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She wrote a blog named "Life" on AOL Journals, until that service was pulled 16 years ago.

Sugar

In March, I started this tribute with these lines.

It is not likely that we will be notified of the passing of Pat Lewis, known to us as Sugar. An email from Sugar was forwarded to one of us, saying she was on hospice and didn't know how long she had on the final journey home. Thank you for the friendship, be blessed, have a good life, were her final words. 

Sugar was a pillar of J-land, its spiritual leader and minister - because Sugar was an ordained minister of the church. She was one of many who welcomed me into J-land, as she did so many others. She was creative, making tags in memory of those gone on ahead for Silent Keyboards.

---

With many thanks to the efforts of Linda Smith Shook in WA, I can now confirm, with reasonable confidence, that Sugar, Patrica Leona Fay Lewis (Cummings) passed away on 6 March 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri, at the age of 74. The obituary I screenshot is not accessible, because it has been removed - possibly because of certain problems that Sugar encountered during her life.

In common with all in this group, I shall remember Sugar as a pivotal member of our J-land community, right from the start. She was an ordained minister, always looking out for those in need. One of the contributions, relevant to this group, have been the many memorial tags for those that have gone on ahead. I am very sad that latterly, Sugar disappeared from the internet. She transferred to hospice care in January, and passed away in March.

 

 

Kath Motherhen / Astoriasand

 The death was announced on Sunday 24th March 2024 of Kath Motherhen, known under the AOL screenname of Astoriasand. Kath was a lovely lady, who'll be sadly missed by so many, not the least in our on-line community. I have managed to retrieve some of her postings on My Simple Rhymes, where she would publish posts in rhyme. Latterly beset by worsening health problems, centered on her breathing, Kath battled her way through a lengthy spell in hospital. Finally allowed to return to her home in West Yorkshire earlier this month, she left this life on Palm Sunday 2024. 

I also found her VIVI award for 2006, which I post below. 

Rose Sisti / Roses are Read

 Rose passed away some time in September 2015. She wrote Roses are Read.
I became aware of her death only today, nearly 9 years after the event. 

I remember her as a lovely friend and bubbly personality. 

May she rest in peace. 

Elizabeth Sims / Godolallie

Three years after her death, I am deeply saddened to report the death of Elizabeth Sims, known to us in J-land as godolallie. She was a gifted photographer and writer. 

 Liz had very serious physical impairments, brought on as a result of being involved in a bad car crash. These are described in perhaps disturbing details on her blog Visual Counterpoint. Her senses always worked in overtime; reading and writing were a challenge to her. 

She moved to Evie in Orkney, opposite the islands of Eynhallow and Rousay, where she found sanctuary in peace and quiet. My last contact with her was in 2015. Liz was happy to reach out to me, and to others in J-land. I believe most of us lost touch with her when we were booted off AOL in 2008.

Jackie Moore

News reached us that Jackie Moore passed away on 26th October 2022, aged 71. She had been hospitalised for some weeks with seizures, which eventually claimed her life. 

Jackie was very much a family person, having been married to her high school sweetheart for 52 years. I cannot recall the name of her blog, but know that all who knew her will mourn her passing.

Vivian Sullivan Nwankpah

Vivian Sullivan Nwankpah passed away on 29 March 2022 at the age of 69. She had been ill for some months, having spent the last two months of her life in hospital. 

We remember Vivian as a vivacious member of J-land. Back in 2005, she had the VIVI-awards named after her, which were awarded to outstanding bloggers. This was repeated in 2006. She wrote a blog on AOL Journals, and did transfer to Blogger in 2008, writing in http://thebspotfornwanyioma.blogspot.com/. However, like so many of us, Vivian found herself on Facebook and wrote from there. 

We shall miss her, but are relieved that she has been spared further suffering. RIP.

A full obituary is available on this link