Following a diagnosis with an aggressive form of brain cancer, YouTuber Tony "Thick44" Schnur has passed away at the age of 47, and there has been a massive outpouring of love and grief from the Neebs Gaming community.
Neebs Gaming is made up of five content creators: Jon "Appsro" Ethco, Brett "Neebs" Triplett, Nate "Doraleous" Panning, Bryan "Simon" Mahoney and Tony "Thick44" Schnur. The team found fame for their animations on adventures in Battlefield, Ark, Minecraft, Apex Legends, 7 Days to Die and more, and their dynamic charmed countless gamers to become one of the most cherished channels on the platform.
"It is with heavy hearts we must inform you that our dearest friend Tony "Thick44" Schnur has left us after fighting valiantly for as long as his body would allow. He passed peacefully with his family by his side," said Neebs Gaming in a post to Instagram. The GoFundMe that had been set up to support Schnur's treatment, which at the time of writing had raised over $260,000 for a $44 goal, will be repurposed as a trust for his daughters.
Neebs Gaming expressed their gratitude to the medical professionals who tended to their friend and to the community for their infinite positivity in the face of something so heartbreaking. "You gave Tony and his family so much comfort throughout all this. They felt the love from all over the world," they said.
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The community is devastated by this loss and fans paid tribute to the YouTuber in different ways. "He wasn't just a content creator for us Neebs Gaming fans, he [Skyped] with my buddy while he was deployed, he was a man of the people who you could grab a beer with ... the world has lost someone great and it will never be a huge [hole] in many hearts for a long time," said one. Some had even bought and cooked a steak in honour of Schnur and his guide to the perfect steak and signed off with the reference "Long live the Wyvern King" to the team's Ark videos.
Our thoughts go out to Schnur's family and friends at this difficult time - may he rest in peace.
Featured Image Credit: Neebs Gaming, Tony Schnur via InstagramTopics: Real Life, no article matching, Youtube, Battlefield