Peter Mollemet

From the ACBL's NABC Daily Bulletin, Florida

Longtime ACBL employee Peter Mollemet died of heart failure Nov. 18, 2004 in Memphis. The 61- year-old Mollemet, who had battled heart problems for years, arrived for work at ACBL Headquarters Thursday morning complaining of shortness of breath. He was taken to a Memphis-area hospital, where he died shortly thereafter.

The unexpected death sent shock waves through the ACBL family, particularly in the office at Memphis, where Mollemet was well liked for his dry wit and easy-going manner. Headquarters staffers Rena Hetzer and Carol Robertson were both close friends of Mollemet. “Peter was so smart and so funny, just a joy to be around. He was always ready with a zinger. I’ll miss his impish humor,” said Hetzer. Robertson added, “I am going to miss Peter Mollemet so much. I’ve never had a friend like him. He was always there when I needed him. Peter loved helping people, especially in the bridge world. He is going to be missed in many ways. Thank you, Peter, for being my friend.”

Mollemet was best known to ACBL members for his decades of service as a tournament director, especially in District 5 (western New York state and Pennsylvania, northeast Ohio and northern West Virginia). His directing career began in 1975. He achieved the rank of National Tournament Director in 1988 and was the area field representative for Districts 2, 4, 5, 11 and 12.

Mollemet’s role with the ACBL changed in March 2001, when he relocated to Memphis from his native New York to become the Internet Services manager. He was instrumental in helping to organize the enormous content of the ACBL web site. Mollemet personally created each of the web-based versions of the online Daily Bulletins from the recent NABCs.

Mollemet’s dedication to his work was evident even as he departed for the hospital, enjoining fellow employees to make sure the Orlando Daily Bulletins were taken care of.

Tributes from around the ACBL poured in, and many recalled Mollemet’s preferred style of humor as the intelligent wise-guy.

Henry Cukoff: “My good friend Peter died today, the reason still unknown. As always, he had kept whatever was bothering him a secret. That was typical Peter. Despite the fact that no one did more for the players or his fellow tournament directors, he always kept his true feelings under that seemingly impenetrable exterior.

“Well, the rest of us won’t have that problem. As more people learn of his passing, there will be an outpouring of affection for him. While he probably would have been shocked by all this attention, the rest of us certainly will not be.”

Patty Johnson: “Peter and I both worked our first National back in 1977, and we hit it off right away. We were fast friends forever after that.”

Jim Miller: “When I worked my first tournament in Lancaster back in 1989, Peter came off medical leave to personally offer his support. He helped me calm my nerves.”

Sol Weinstein: “Peter and I practically lived together during the late Eighties and the early Nineties. The masterpoint system needed fixing, and we did the fixing at my house.”

Jonathan Steinberg: “He was super reliable. If you sent him a problem in the evening, you’d have your answer in the morning — every time.”

Chris Patrias, fellow National TD, said, “Even though half his heart went away a few years ago, he had a bigger heart than a lot of people.”

Mollemet leaves a sister, a niece and a nephew.

Harry Lampert

From the ACBL's NABC Daily Bulletin, Florida

Harry Lampert, a noted cartoonist who retired in 1976 and built a second career as a bridge writer and teacher, died Nov. 13, 2004 at Boca Community Hospital in Boca Raton FL. He was 88. The cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage, his family said.

Lampert entered the cartoon field in 1933 where he did inking for cartoons including Popeye, Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. He drew the initial Golden Age character and DC comic book, The Flash #1, which appeared in January 1940. Breaking into the gag cartoon field, Lampert wrote and drew cartoons that appeared in Time, Esquire, The New York Times, Saturday Evening Post and Saturday Review. He founded The Lampert Agency, a New York City-based advertising and communications agency with clients including Olympic Airways, Hanes Hosiery, Seagram, the Netherlands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The agency won the Cannes Film Festival Golden Lion Award for the World’s Best TV Commercial in 1967.

Lampert retired in 1976 and started a new career: teaching and writing about bridge. His book, AFun Way to Advanced Bridge, was named “Bridge Book of the Year” in 1985 by the American Bridge Teachers’Association. He served as ABTApresident from 1991 until 1993 and twice won the ABTA’s Apple Basket Award for the best teaching tip. He was a regular columnist for The Bridge Bulletin. Lampert was a Bronze Life Master.

He and Adele, his wife of 62 years, divided their time between Deerfield Beach FL and Lenox MA. Other survivors are a daughter, Karen Akavan of Plainview NY, and two grandsons, Michael and Jeffrey Akavan.