Cryptomundo » Erik Beckjord, 69, Has Died

Erik Beckjord, 69, Has Died

Posted by: Loren Coleman on July 25th, 2008

The San Francisco Chronicle is confirming, sadly, today that Eric Beckjord died June 22, 2008.

eb1

On June 4th, Cryptomundo noted that Erik had taken a turn for the worst, in his battle with cancer.

One of Erik’s proudest moments: His appearance on David Letterman’s show.

Earlier in 2008, Jon-Erik Beckjord posted the following on his personal forum:

My enemies will rejoice. It comes to us all. To some earlier; to some later. Like Rene Dahinden, I have advanced prostate cancer and it has advanced to the bones. I was warned on the Lummi Indian Reservation that if you see Bigfoot/Sasquatch too often, it is a sign they are taking you to them, to join them…Roger Patterson got the best Bigfoot movie of all time, 58 sec, and within four years passed on with Lymphatic cancer (Parkenson’s disease [?] ). Bob Titmus also suffered cancer and he had a number of very excellent sightings. He survived quite a long time but it got him in the end….Bob Gimlim has had four heart by-pass operations. His time, too, is limited….The ride, however, has been one hell of a ride, and I have met some fabulous people, and learned some incredible things. I’m 68, Dahinden was 70, Titmus was in his 80s. I’ve crammed in a life of 200 years into one life.Jon-Erik Beckjord, January 30, 2008.

Beckjord

Here is the formal obituary as published in what is, in essence, his hometown paper:

Paranormal believer Erik Beckjord dies at 69
Sam Whiting, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, July 25, 2008

Erik Beckjord, a paranormal investigator who tried to share his theories at his UFO, Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster Museum in North Beach, has died at age 69.

Mr. Beckjord, who had prostate cancer, died June 22 near his home in Lafayette, where he was caretaker of the Crosses of Lafayette, a monument dedicated to the more than 4,000 American troops who have died in the war in Iraq.

According to his Beckjord Blog, he was in charge of updating the sign displaying the total death count at the monument, which includes thousands of small white burial crosses on a hillside overlooking Highway 24 and the Lafayette BART Station.

Jon-Erik Beckjord was born in 1939 in Duluth, Minn. His father was Col. Philip Beckjord, a physician who ran Army field hospitals in Germany during World War II.

Mr. Beckjord grew up overseas and in the Washington area. He came west to attend graduate school at UC Berkeley. Eventually he went to Hollywood, where he was living when the Malibu fires of 1993 tore through his first Bigfoot Museum. According to family friend Molly Hanson, he lost what he claimed were nine huge track castings of the footprints of the elusive Sasquatch and the only known existing hair and blood samples. But the Bigfoot Museum survived.

Mr. Beckjord surfaced in San Francisco three years later. He opened his Bigfoot, UFO and Loch Ness Monster Museum on Union Street just west of Washington Square on Halloween in 1996. An additional area of expertise was crop circles, which he documented on expeditions to the United Kingdom.

“I’m not going to waste a whole lot of time convincing the skeptics,” he told a reporter a few days before opening, “because the skeptics are not going to pay even a dollar to get in here.”

The nonskeptics were expected to pay $3 ($2 for children) to come in and see his science fair-style displays, but the main attraction was the oversize museum founder and curator, who sat at a desk willing to discuss at length any sightings or other documentation.

He trusted hunches and distrusted the government. One of his hunches was that clues to solve the Nicole Simpson murder were buried in wet leaves at the scene. Under cover of night, Mr. Beckjord said, he went to the scene with a psychic to investigate. The evidence he collected was in a special “O.J. Room” at the museum.

“A lot of this weirdness is right under our noses,” he said at the time. “We may belong to aliens. We may be experimental animals. But I can’t prove it.”

As it turned out, the lack of any substantial evidence was a detriment to paid admission at the museum. It didn’t last long. He then operated Captain Neon, a repair company for electrical appliances.

Survivors include brothers Ross Beckjord of British Columbia, and Peter Beckjord of Maryland and sister Pam Forbes of Virginia. A private service and burial will be in Duluth in autumn.

Donations may be made to Hospice of the East Bay, 3470 Buskirk Ave., Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.

Considering that Erik Beckjord impulsively communicated at all hours of the day and night, via phone and emails, it is ironic to learn that he died over a month ago, without the word getting out until now.

Sorry to see that the “Bad Boy of Bigfootry” has lost his fight with cancer, for the email and internet will be a bit quieter without his presence.

Update:

The death hoax rumor that you may have heard circulating is untruth.

Erik Beckjord has been confirmed as having died on June 22, 2008: See Undeniably And Reliably Dead?

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 9:19 am and is filed under Bigfoot, Breaking News, Conspiracies, CryptoZoo News, Cryptotourism, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Men in Cryptozoology, Museums, Obituaries, Pop Culture, Sasquatch. You can follow responses via our RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is not allowed.

Spread the Word!

del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit StumbleUpon Help

Similar Phenomena:

21 Responses to “Erik Beckjord, 69, Has Died”

Lee Murphy responds: July 25th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I always thought it was kind of sad when you feel you have to begin something with the statement, “My enemies will rejoice”.
aaha responds: July 25th, 2008 at 10:48 am
I did pray for his soul, and I’d love to say kind things - but let’s be true to ourselves and look at what the man was. A Tyrant.

As I fully believe in an Afterlife, I feel that he will finally have to face up to his true identity and be held responsible for his actions. Let’s not forget the hatred that he had sown. He hurt many, many people during his lifetime. There is no hiding or subversion on Judgement Day. God Bless Erik, his family and all of the people that he wounded.
Joe Beelart responds: July 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am
It is hard to say a few words about Erik.

He was always nice to me, even though I disagreed with him 95% of the time, and he knew it.

One winter {~2001} when I was in the Bay area, I asked him out to lunch at Spengers {nice, old-time Bezerkeley seafood place}.

I told him I was buying, so the food cost a little, his bar bill cost a lot and I listened for 2 1/2 hours until my bottom got tired. {$72}

He would call the house. My wife would say {somewhat disgustedly}, “It’s that man from California again.”

If I was in the mood, I’d go out to the shop and Erik would talk for an hour and a half.

He always called me about 7 because once I firmly told him I normally didn’t take calls later than that.

I guess the point here is that I found if I was nice to him, he was nice back to me, even if I didn’t agree with him.

However, I also knew Erik could not stand insults and always wanted the last word if they came his way. He never insulted me, even when I was telling him he was “nuts” about one thing or another.

He had his last Sierra campout last summer. Erik asked me repeatedly to come down, but I didn’t want to take off a week just then. Now, I wish I had.

My feeling is that Erik was a brilliant man who went after things without scientific substance. In one way he had a full life, in another, there was waste in it.

Erik and I agreed on most things concerning Native American legends, as we understood them. We both agreed it is difficult for a non-Indian to understand legend.

I hope his spirit is in the right place, a good place.

Joe Beelart
West Linn, Oregon
bigfootboy_2000 responds: July 25th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I’ve had my share of run ins with Mr. Beckjord, numerous times. I learned quickly to just let him rant and rave and not respond and he would leave me alone. A lot of folks had a negative opinion and feelings towards the man, however he certainly kept things interesting. I wish him God speed where ever he may be. Rest in peace Mr. Beckjord.
AlbertaSasquatch responds: July 25th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Geez, I can’t believe it. Well I never much cared for the man or his way of doing things I still can’t help but feel……maybe we lost something. Whether you loved him or hated him, the bigfoot community has lost one of its pillars, even if it was the leader of the paranormal school of thought concerning bigfoot. Well Erik, I hope you finally got your answers and that you are enjoying a nice single malt with Biggie and the rest of the aliens aboard their ship. RIP Erik Beckjord.

P.S. I can’t believe a month went by without anyone knowing
grounded squirrel responds: July 25th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I was always nice to EB and all I got for it was a knife in the back.

I am however strangely saddened to hear of his passing. I never stopped praying for him and I firmly believe he is in a peaceful place.

Maybe he has even found the truth about Bigfoot!

God bless you Eric.
a_mangy_human responds: July 25th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
love him or hate him I did neither but I did have alot respect for the man and understood why he was so short tempered when dealing with the flesh and blood believers. I helped him a few times with pictures at his message board and what not and am very sad to hear about his death and how it took over a month to get this news.

I’ve never seeing squatch but have heard them once and have come across prints twice, now I really dont want to see one!

RIP Erik! I’ll see you on the flipside badboy!
MattBille responds: July 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I only remember getting one letter from Erik, many years back, and all I remember about it was that it didn’t make much sense. I do wish the best to his family and hope his questions are are answered now. Whether he was right or wrong (and I think he was almost always wrong), he was passionate, and a life of passion counts for something.
rayval responds: July 25th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I feel so bad right now. I had a falling out with him about 2 years ago and never bothered to make peace. Wouldn’t it be funny if in the end he turned out to be correct. I mean as far as wormholes and Bigfoot and other dimensions are concerned.

I hope he is resting and finds the peace and happiness he couldn’t find down here.

I do have a question for the people of this site. Erik is indeed one of the few who took the stance that Bigfoot was an E. T. There are other researchers who feel the same, but he stood out the most and was willing to come to blows with those who disagreed with him. This is all true. He was a rare breed.

I am curious to know that if there is anyone out there who knows what happens to all his research and notes, work etc. Not just him but researchers in general. In other words, when a researcher passes away, what happens to his life’s work? Is it disposed of or is it handed over to the next in line? A passing of the torch type of thing. Do researchers leave their work to a beneficiary or is it considered finished and don?
John L. Johnsen responds: July 25th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I have spoken to him before both on friendly and not so friendly terms. He liked to antagonize people and kept at it right until the end. I feel sorry for his family especially for the loss but also for the legacy.

There is a saying that we all (myself as well) can keep in our hearts as we grow older. “When you are born, many will smile and you weep. Live your life so that when you die, you smile and many weep.”

Farewell to EB…like him or not he leaves a hole in all of us in this realm.
bill green responds: July 25th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
hey everyone omg our friend & researcher erik beckjord passed away i will realy miss him indeed. he is in heavin now. i never had anything against him at all. well he called at 3 in morning 1 time but i will always remember that moment. amen & god bless. bill green lets try to forget the bad times with erik & think of what wonderful research he did for the bigfoot-sasquatch comminuty.
airforce47 responds: July 25th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
The writers above say it well especially Joe Beelart. Whatever your opinion is the man was controversial. We’ve lost something that can’t be replaced and perhaps shouldn’t because it was so unique. EB RIP. My best,

Larry Lesh
red_pill_junkie responds: July 25th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Rest in Peace
cryptidsrus responds: July 25th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
God speed, Mr. Beckjord…even if you were wrong most times.
MonkeyMan responds: July 25th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Well….at least he outlived Dana Plato.
bipedalist responds: July 25th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
The saying, “A Pioneer is the guy with the arrow in his back” may someday come to rest with him should he in some way ever come close to being vindicated in his research, though it is my feeling it is not likely. However, it is more likely that he was a passionate man that took it over the top because of his zeal for the novelty of the world and what could be. May he rest in peace and meet with those he truly loved someday.
Munnin responds: July 25th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I feel this quote by Dr. H.S. Thompson appies in this case:

“There he goes. One of God’s own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

But die he did, as we all must do one day… but hopefully no time soon. RIP Erik Beckjord. In the hereafter, may find the answers to all of the mysteries which enchanted you in life.
adios responds: July 25th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Yes, many are rejoicing the death Jon Erik Beckjord. I am but one of many people who was stalked and harassed by Beckjord. This jerk made calls to me all throughout the night, called my employers trying to get me fired, called my relatives, harassed my wife and my family, sent emails to my relatives and employers, wrote letters to my employer trying to get me fired, sent me harassing mail, threatened my family. Beckjord was just another nut who relished hurting other people and went well out of his way to make the lives of decent people miserable because they disagreed with his crackpot theories. And Beckjord wasn’t controversial, that’s giving him far too much credit. Beckjord was a spiteful pig who enjoyed watching others suffer. I never thought I would feel fine with someone dying, but Beckjord won’t be missed and there will be a line of people waiting to not leave flowers on his grave. I’ll drink to that! Cheers, Beckjord, and adios to the worthless jerk.
subrosa responds: July 26th, 2008 at 5:47 am
I just hope that wherever he is, they don’t let him use the phone!
scmarlowe responds: July 26th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Having been another of Mr. Beckjord’s smeer and run targets I can relate well to the sentiments of Adios.

Since he’s said it all so well, there is no need for me to “speak ill of the dead.”

I’ll join you in that glass of bubbly.
Lightning Orb responds: July 26th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
He sure sounds like an interesting guy; it’s too bad I never met him.

Leave your comments

You must be logged in to post a comment.

|Top | Content|

Spread the Word!

21 Responses to “Erik Beckjord, 69, Has Died”

Leave your comments

Main Page

Join The Search

Mystery Pages

Login

Advertisement

Syndication

Donate Today

The Beyond

Advertisement

microsoft window 2000 professional oem software

microsoft office 2003 oem,

cheap software downloads,

The Logo Creator MEGA pak 3.6;

microsoft window 2000 professional oem software

software oem cd line business;

iCorrect EditLab Pro 4.52,

software discount oem?

adobe cs2 photo shop total training

oem software bundle

"Buy cheap PhotoShop CS 2"

microsoft office 2003 oem,

microsoft window 2000 professional oem software

oem software bundle

software oem cd line business;

inkjet definition oem software

adobe cs2 photo shop total training

"locate software oem files"

iCorrect EditLab Pro 4.52,

adobe any cs2 from photo photo shop shop upgrade version

"how to activate reget deluxe"

microsoft office 2003 oem,

"locate software oem files"

software discount oem?

adobe cs2 photo shop total training