Zoner Down ❤️ G.Dad

Wow.... rip

Aw man

Peace Barry 

G Dad  The  Best of Us   Philzone    what great times G Dad ~ Rob   + lord henry Times. Hoover..

It goes in 3's...

(((((((((( G Dad's Family & Friends )))))))))

Never met in person, but had lots of interaction on the black screen. Was a truly kind soul and a devoted parent.  Condolences to his family and friends.

R.I.P.

Wow.  Vibes and blessings to his friends and family.  Life is so fragile.

RIP G-Dad

One of the first zoners I encountered on our beloved black screen (v.1).

RIP G.Dad.

Fuck.  This is depressing how many are falling.  
 

RIP GDAD

it's more than 3

it's too fucking many of us

i hate this all

may he be at peace

goddammit

i received a text from g.daughter yesterday breaking the news.

i lost another friend the week prior.

gdad was not unexpected, he had been dealing with for emphysema for quite a long while. he was on air the last few years and really couldn't get out of the house too far.

over the last few years he was regularly sending me videos and communicating via instagram. that was his preferred platform.

just a classic individual who i adored. 

like my other friend, i am honored to have known him and been able to share good times and jokes.

"places people"

"4 letter word, sit-down-show"

he loved cooking, Jerry, and his daughter immensely.

i will remember our times together at republic house parties and hanging with the entire sd zoner family.

i am glad he is not suffering anymore and at the great gig in the sky. fly on my brother, fly on...

Sorry to hear another Zoner pal gone. GDad was a fun guy to hang with when I was in SoCal a few times.
RIP Mr. Dadrovski. 

So sorry to hear we have lost GDad.  In the early days, I used to text set lists to GDad in real time from Phil concerts using my nine key Nokia and he'd post on the zone.  This was before I could zone from the phone and before Taper Rob's live streams made gdad and me dinosaurs.  Never met hlm in person but he was always so kind.  I know he lived up to his zone name and was a grateful and devoted dad.

RIP GDad. 

Really sad news, although not unexpected. Peace and ease, Comrade George Dadrovski.

I remember meeting G.Dad at a WCZJ. Nice guy. Sorry that he is gone.

We are going through a real rough patch. We are all getting old-er.

Once a Zoner, always a Zoner.

Long Live the Zone!

Sleep in the stars

Another Zoner Vet is ridin' the clouds. Condolences to the family. The trend may be natural, but that doesn't make it any less painful. Hopefully G.Dad gets to visit with Jerry and Phil! 

Isn't piling on illegal? My younger brother's wife died a couple of weeks ago. He's now alone in Frankfurt, confined to a wheelchair with one dead hand and the other is only half functional after 3 strokes. My cousin in LA  just ended almost a month of hospital time resolving heart issues. That's it, nobody else is left. I'm left feeling lucky in one sense, doomed in another. It seems the clock is ticking louder than ever. 

I am just the opposite of most of you as I stayed mostly in the HepC threads from 2004 until after Gdad had mostly moved on. But I knew him in the real world through Turtle and Timmy Hoover and the Republic gang when I lived down south.  Was  a class act and superb human. RIP GDad.  Really one of the good ones. 

Rest in peace

'69 boston

RIP G Dad~

I first met G Dad in 2003 at the Oakland Marriott we had a large gathering and we were all pretty drunk (probably not G Dad) and were telling stories. I start talking about my first time back stage at a Grateful Dead show and I said something along the line of "I met Bob Weir, said hello and he just kinda looked at me like I had an arm growing out of my forehead". RIght after the comment an older couple came up. "Bobby is a little deaf you should try again if you ever see him". Turns out it was his mom and step dad or the both were steps. So fast forward to the next day Bob Weir walks up to the bar so I figured I would follow the advice. So I walk up and say "hello, nice show last night". Bob paused and said "I thought it sucked" well ok you have a nice day.

               Another story also in San Francisco- I owed GDad $20 for who knows what and Zippy comes up and hands me $20 to pay what he owed me . I tried to give that $20 to Gdad but he refused because he wanted nothing to do with money from Zippy. 

Anyone who ever rode with him at or around shows still remember the ride.  This "Asshole Putz Loser" bids you a fond farewell G Dad!

Was that to pay for his pay per view porn bill? Lol

APL, thanks for the reminder. Ha!

GDad one of the good ones!

Saddened to hear this news. I was searching for some WCZJ vids and came across this:

apparently the old PZ show reviews are archived! I can't believe the extensive list of shows we all shared in our community...

https://www.philzone.com/shows/setlists/459920/391395.html

"Was that to pay for his pay per view porn bill? Lol"

Yes , He paid me in full.... I probably should have disputed that charge. "That bill is fake, I would never" . 

Still remember that story lol.... weve had some real gold on this zone 

That was fun. Thanks for the link Wally. 

We were dedicating shows to GDad before it was cool.

We'd dedicate the next one too him if DJ didn't pass away last year.

Gdad was huge in my life. Without him The Republic wouldn't have existed and one of the most fun decades in my life would have been way different. He leaves a big hole in our community but his ripple effects will be felt for a long time.

Rest in Peace....

Its a sad day to find out that Barry Ward, AKA GDad has passed. I last talked to him in March 2025 before he went into rehabilitation. He was in poor health for the last couple of years, suffering from COPD and frequent lung infections. He may also have had valley fever. He was on oxygen and was recently in a rehabilitation hospital to help improve his lung function. He was a few years older than me, so that probably made him 75 or 76.

 I first met GDad about 2003 here on the zone. It became apparent that we both liked the ridiculous and irreverent which probably cemented our friendship more than anything else. His zoner APL CLUB stood for "Asshole Putz Loser" of which he considered himself #1. We first met in San Francisco during a Phil and Friends run and were all holed up at Park55 hotel during the famous Zippy Bathtub event. What a weekend that was!People may not have known that GDad was an artisan doing custom glazier work. For many years he owned Torry Pines Glass but specialized later in doing custom work. His specialties were bathrooms and glass deck railings. On one of my visits to San Diego he took me on a tour of his work which was impressive. He also took me to the Tower 23 Hotel in Pacific Beach where he had done all the glasswork on their wine cellar, which is still there today.

People may also not have known that his one and only true love and calling in life was his daughter Rachel, which is why he chose the name Grateful Dad. He was truly grateful he had one daughter. He always talked about her and her interests, accomplishments and achievements. I was finally fortunate enough to meet her last year when she was in town with her boyfriend Sam. GDad was originally from Chicago and was a cab driver. He didn't suffer fools lightly, and was quick to dismiss if he felt you were one. That rubbed some people the wrong way, but it was part of the package that you were going to get from him. He also was famous for "Pulling a GDad", which only meant that he didn't show up after talking about some event that everyone should attend.

RIP GDad, I was lucky to know you.

Thanks Bigbub and all for the very much appreciated insights into someone I only knew by cell phone calls, texts and the black screen.  For reasons I never completely understand, I really admired GDad. You helped me understand why. 

RIP GDad.  May his memory be a source of joy to all he touched.   
 

Wow this is definitely happening too much. GDad was the first Zoner I met, outside of my own friends, who were already on the black screen in 3D. He took me to see The Republic? With Mylar, Lord Henry, and Tim Hoover in the band, I think. This was in 2007. 

RIP GDad, to me one of the original Zoners. Condolences to all who knew and loved him, especially his daughter.