[MattsAwesomeStuff]

Jack Rickard passed away yesterday, of complications due to lung cancer.

Jack saw this coming for quite a while, and had let people know it was going happening soon, back in June:

TL;DW - Inoperable lung cancer. Golfball sized tumor. Paralyzed his left vocal cords because that nerve runs to your lungs and back. He doesn't want to die old, he's not going to take chemo, he's not going to stop smoking, he'll try radiation therapy, he's happy that god is calling him home and has chosen this time. He's not worried, he's not scared, he knows it'll be peaceful because painkillers are so effective and he'll be surrounded by loved ones. He figures he'll have a couple more episodes of EVTV before it catches up to him.

And, here is an obituary for him:

Jack Rickard Jr.

Marion Jack Rickard Jr. of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, surrounded by his loving wife and children. He was 65 years old. Jack was the oldest of five children of Marion and Ben Emerson Rickard Sr. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau in 1973. ...

www.semissourian.com

...

I'm not the best to speak on the merits or accomplishments or influence on the EV world because of Jack. Jack was a guy who was blunt, to the point, and hid nothing, he seemed to see no room in the world for sugarcoating or bullsh#t, so I don't think he'd mind me being the same by saying almost everyone found him to be a polarizing character, unapologetically ornery and cantankerous and difficult to work with, but extraordinarily gifted and hard working. In our little pocket of culture, there was a time when he, probably more than anyone, was pushing DIY EVs forward. He was highly detailed, delving into things deeper than anyone else and documenting it along the way. He was still posting and EVTV episodes and sharing his knowledge right almost to the end.

Anyone with stories or thoughts, those that knew him, those that were helped by him, those that were influenced by him, feel free to share.

 

[skooler]

Huge loss to the community. Thoughts and prayers with his family.

Jack / EVTV, along with the KiwiEV vlog was a key motivator for my foray into EVs back in ~2011. I was inspired by The 356 Speedster and Mini builds and used to literally watch EVTV each week on the TV in the living room the moment the video was uploaded (all three hours of it!). I did a few deals with Jack after buying the UK Azure Dynamics liquidation which led to me forming indra.co.uk. Indra was going to become EVTV UK but Jack and I couldn't reach agreeable terms which led to one of his blunt, polarizing messages which frustrated me for a few days but was ultimately motivational. We turned over £4m last year and employ 35 people, a lot of the fundamentals on the tech side are taken from his meticulous documentation. I owe Jack a lot for his part on that journey.

100,000 converted EVs was Jack's goal in 2009. Ultimately I don't think that will be realised but for good reason - back then I don't think anyone could appreciate the growth the main auto OEMs have seen with production EVs. Tesla and Nissan alone is over a million vehicles since then. I'd say mission accomplished!

Thanks Jack

 

[remy_martian]

I thought he had a bit more runway left 😕

I'll miss the old windbag. He was a genius in many ways, and a complete ass in others. Aren't we all?

RIP, Jack.

 

[Frank]

I thought he had a bit more runway left

I'll miss the old windbag. He was a genius in many ways, and a complete ass in others. Aren't we all?

RIP, Jack.

Well said, godspeed...

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk

 

[Bowser330]

RIP jack

No one can argue the value jack provided the diy ev community with his hands on testing and transparency.

The help and assistance he provided others will continue to help him in his next journey.

 

[remy_martian]

What would be cool is if his estate released all the source code and diagrams from the stuff he did through the years on Github.

Probably the best legacy they could every create for him

 

[Tom]

Sad to hear. Regardless of his demeanor, he did a lot and motivated a lot of people.
Not everyone is Mr. Rogers, or should be. We are better off for his being here.

 

[kennybobby]

He did so much to promote DIY electric cars and later solar storage and home inverters, etc. His videos and blogs were educational, inspirational and entertaining, and such a great example of sharing his findings.

i'll miss the little stories he would sprinkle into the mix, like

when he was asked if there was a warranty on the packs and inverters he was selling, "No, if you break it, you own both halves"

and about how he liked to get the radiation treatments for his cancer, because he would get a "whiff of BBQ pork shoulder"

He was living large and loving it--loved to eat and drink, smoke and cuss, fight and phuck--all the fun things in life. But i never saw him sing and dance, i guess some things are a bridge too far...

RIP Jack, we loved ya, we hated ya, but mostly we are gonna miss ya.

 

[CanadaLT28]

As most above have said, he was a cantankerous windbag but what a dedicated, inspirational and knowledgeable guy. I will miss listening to him. He always returned my emails and calls and didn't treat my stupid questions with too much derision.

 

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

i never saw him sing and dance

In his obituary it mentions he was a member of the church choir, so apparently he did sing. I wouldn't count him out on dancing either. Seems he did it all.

In the video I posted of him above, he makes reference to a peculiarity of human construction, that our nerves for our vocal cords go all the way down to our chests then back up, "probably so that we can sing from the heart", and he said it without a hint of sneer, seemed like singing was something close to him.

 

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

Please do keep adding stories if you have them.

EV-wise, Jack was around largely before my time and the few exchanges I did have with him, we didn't get along.

But there's a couple things that are going to last with me that Jack had an influence on, specifically right at the end of his life. I've shared this elsewhere, but I'll post it here too:

One is that Jack knew himself so, so well. He knew exactly who he was with a certainty and openness that I think few people ever get to experience even in their own head to their own character, let alone the person they present to others. I don't know if I've ever met anyone who lied to themselves less. I don't know if that's something most people can even achieve without it being a way of life, because that's the way Jack treated others too. No bullshit, no sugarcoating, no worrying about what people would think about him, for better or worse, he hid nothing. I wouldn't want to imitate Jack and the way he treated others, but it sets a high water mark to me of just the rawness that you can be comfortable in your own skin and how honest you can be with yourself. To as much a degree as possible, I'd like to achieve that.

Another is the way he handled his death. I know people who feel that way, or think they do, but there he is, putting his money where his mouth is. I won't have his religiosity to lean on, but his pleasantness at dying young surrounded by his love ones and the cheerful attitude about it, the lack of fear or panic but also the lack of depression or resignment. Just walked right up to it like death was a park bench to him. I hope when it's my time that I'll have a fraction of the strength he showed.

 

[remy_martian]

In his obituary it mentions he was a member of the church choir, so apparently he did sing.

Obviously he couldn't in his final months.

But that brought up a thought, prompted by my remembering a high degree of spread of Covid-19 among choir members and church goers (which Jack apparently was).

Singing increases infection rates and I can't help but wonder if Jack's lethal complications were from being infected by the coronavirus by singers? I could swear he said he had several months to go in a recent video and he did disappear for about three weeks....

 

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

I could swear he said he had several months to go in a recent video and he did disappear for about three weeks....

I suppose it's possible, but I don't think doctor's estimates can be so strict and predictable like that. It can often be just "okay, your next bad day will do it", sometimes you don't have a bad day for 6 months, sometimes it's next week.

 

[cejota3]

It is sad to hear of Jack's passing.

I am somewhat new to the EV conversion world, having jumped into the deep end a little over a year ago. Like I'm sure all of us, the first thing I did was all kinds of research, and what quickly became apparent was that Jack Rickard was one of the best experts out there. His EVTV videos were super informative, and there have been many late nights when I've pulled one up to learn some intricate detail about the best way to go about a conversion. You didn't have to watch for long to figure out that Jack was a character, but also someone that really knew his stuff and was massively passionate about all sorts of technical innovations. When I had questions, I'd send an email to the "contact" link on the EVTV site, and sure enough, I'd quickly get an answer back from Jack (always with a Jack-esque quip). I purchased components from his store when they were the best option for my needs.

As we all know, we're a pretty small and unique community of folks that are into EV conversions, and Jack was one of its pioneers. He'll be missed, and my condolences to his family.

C.J.

 

[TimPG]

I feel a little like when Steve Jobs passed. He was polarizing and opinionated but he was the catalyst for a lot of great innovation and invention. Apple has continued to grow with the direction Jobs set but the world is still missing a force that is not easily replaced. Jack, like Steve was polarizing too and was a catalyst for great innovation and invention in his much smaller realm. His willingness to share what he learned and the reasoning behind the decisions he made were extremely helpful to me. The world is a little smaller place now that he is gone and I'm not sure there is a replacement to fill what he brought to the EV community.

T

 

[remy_martian]

I'm sure his techs can continue building his Powerwalls, etc, but it would be a damned shame for the information he mined, like CAN codes, to get buried with him vs get built upon by the EV community.

This is an opportunity for his kids & grandkids to build a legacy vs having him be a fading memory. "My grampa was as significant as Elon Musk in what he did for EV's." vs..."yeah, he made some money there and he's gone now."