A note from Lori Gurnsey......

As many of you know, I was always at my husband’s side -outside of the limelight. My joy was to watch his joy and I hope to continue honoring his wishes until I join him eternally.

Although most of you know of him as the father of paintball, he was also a consummate story teller, a downhill skier, accomplished blue water sailor, a professional race car driver, a businessman and fierce competitor. More importantly, he was a father, a brother, an uncle, a husband, and a devoted friend.

What many of you do not know is that paintball went through a very tenuous time as a new sport with lawsuits, negative media and even government attacking it full force. Bob suffered the lion's share of those attacks and shouldered the responsibility to save the sport. This intense struggle affected his health drastically, destroyed his family at the time, and devastated his financial status.

Bob avoided the paintball limelight at the advice of attorneys for many years. But when his leukemia struck, many of his old friends encouraged him to return to that limelight. They knew this would give Gurns something to concentrate on other than his illness. Many in the paintball industry supported his desire to help me cover expenses during his illness and beyond and I thank each and every one of you who were part of that effort.

It was one of Bob's last wishes to have a paintball memorial service so that he could thank you all one last time. He loved hearing your stories. He loved the fact that paintball had touched and changed so many lives.... real lives in so many wonderful ways. It was also his wish that his love for "The Survival Game" would live on through the memorabilia he opened to the public - with hopes the collection could go to a museum for preservation and display. If each and every paintballer would give just $1.00, this could become a reality. Bob hoped to bring the paintball industry back to it’s roots… a family. That family, the billionaires, the millionaires, the affluent and the rest of us can come together to make his dream come true. Please give $1.00 toward this goal. If enough funds cannot be collected, the balance will be put toward Bob’s medical expenses and we will continue to sell the items individually. If paintball has touched you, please visit http://www.bobgurnsey.com/" rel="nofollow - www.bobgurnsey.com With your help, I can make Bob Gurnsey's dream of a museum come true. Become part of Bob's story.

We would like to sincerely Thank everyone that came to Bob's Celebration of Life today. It was a hard day, your support helped us push through.
"You know, sometimes it's not the quantity but the quality" Debra your presence was just amazing, thank you for attending. Bea you are so sweet and thank you for driving up. Paul, Tommy thank you for driving over as well... Wayne & Jackie thank you for everything! The field staff, you are all awesome! We were very touched by the kids waiting to play paintball and weren't there for the celebration but to just play. . They were so patient, respectful, and actually had kind words to say to us personally afterwords. We got some good future ballers in them. They will go home and talk to their parents, family & friends about attending The Founding Father of Paintball's Celebration of life they all learned a lot of history today and I am sure it will be a forever lasting memory for all of them. That's pretty cool in my book.