Mark A. Hall: One of the Greats

It seems too often these days the cryptozoological community is effected by the passing of one of our own: Smokey Crabtree passed in January of this year, Rob Riggs passed in November of last year, and the Sasquatch Chronicler, John Green, passed in June. There were unfortnuately many more. I never got the chance to meet any of these three gentlemen, but their passing effected my anyway, if only as a kid who was influenced by their works and hopes to one day be lucky enough to stand atop the shoulders of the cryptozoological giants they truly were.
We have, unfortunately, lost another one of the greats; Mark A. Hall.
Despite the fact that I never met Hall, he still greatly effected my life and how I came up into the field, cautious but also open minded. I remember reading Hall's works when I was still in grade school; he was a huge influence on my development as a researcher as well. His research and books all fascinated me and intrigued me.
Loren Coleman, in his lovely obituary to the life and research of Hall, said, "it may be years before the younger researchers realize what a loss this is..." Trust me, Loren, I realize.
Hall was always a groundbreaker in the field, exploring new or largely ignored ideas and topics or shedding new light on well established topics. The field will never be the same without him.