Broken Pipe - Chip Kushner

[briarblues]

Sad news all, saw this on Facebook and called SPC to make sure it was not some bs, but Chip passed away last weekend.
Chip will be missed by family, friends, and pipe enjoyers everywhere.
Sincerely
Michael J. Glukler

 

[bnichols23]

Aw, crap. Sad news indeed.

 

[jguss]

Hi Mike,
Thank you for posting the sad news. I'm almost never on Facebook, and wouldn't have otherwise heard.
I only had the pleasure of meeting Chip a handful of times, primarily at the West Coast Pipe Show. Chip impressed me in many ways, most especially for his great sense of humor and one particular idiosyncrasy: Chip had a fondness for filching steak knives from high end restaurants. This peccadillo was legendary among those who knew him well, and eventually resulted in Chip's accumulation of a notable collection of "borrowed" cutlery. I had the pleasure of being present when he was pranked on the subject a few years back by his closest friends. A large group was dining at a nice steakhouse in Vegas, and they had arranged for a waitress to formally present Chip with one of the restaurant's steak knives as a voluntary addition to his collection. Chip accepted the offering graciously. A moment later one of his friends (maybe Jeff Gracik?) prompted Chip to lift his napkin from his lap: another steak knife fell out.
May he RIP.
Jon

 

[litup]

That's a great story, Jon. Thanks for sharing.
I didn't know Chip well at all but I interacted with him several times at SPC's tables at pipe shows and he always treated me with courtesy. He was great at letting you know he was there if you needed anything but wasn't pushy or impatient while I browsed. He was a friendly face that will definitely be missed.

 

[npod]

Very sad news. I saw that on FB as well. He was a good man and shared a deep passion for pipes. This year in Chicago we talked late one night and he passed on some wonderful minutia about Japanese pipes and other tid bits of collecting in general. May he rest in peace.

 

[saltedplug]

Didn't know him but send him well wishes nonetheless.

 

[skaukatt]

My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

 

[georged]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmuwOQFRr7w

 

[swilford]

Hi everyone,
Yes, Chip passed away last night. We're all reeling a bit here as you might imagine. We'll have something on the blog shortly.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

This is terrible news. I only met him in person once (at the Chicago pipe show a couple years back) but felt like I knew him even better than that from the various videos he did on the SP blog. I thought he was quite entertaining and certainly marched to the beat of his own drummer.
RIP

 

[swilford]

As promised, here's the obit from us. This is the first time I've written one of these for one of our own.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/loving-memory-chip-kushner

 

[woodsroad]

A beautiful tribute, Sykes. Thank you.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks for that. May he r.i.p..

 

[daveinlax]

Sad News. RIP

 

[philobeddoe]

I only knew of him through the Smokingpipes.com videos he was in, he seemed to be a clever, funny guy, may he Rest In Peace.

 

[The Pipe Professor]

This is completely shocking news. I never met Chip but he seemed like an individual I would have enjoyed talking with over a bowl of good tobacco. Rest In Peace pipe pal.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Awful news indeed. I never met Chip but did catch him on the phone a couple times. He was ever professional and obviously enjoying his job (even the answering of phones). Requiescat Chip.