Ed Dravecky III, co-founder of WhoFest, a fan event celebrating the BBC’s long running science fiction television program Doctor Who, was found dead in his hotel room in Irving on April 23 during this year’s convention. He was 47.

When Ed didn’t show up for a convention on Saturday, his girlfriend went to his room at the Westin D/FW and found him unresponsive. He was rushed to the hospital, but the emergency room staff couldn’t save him.

His brother wrote on Facebook:

When Eddy didn’t show up for an event, his longtime girlfriend Robyn went to his hotel room and found him unresponsive. He was rushed to the hospital where the medical staff worked on him for about 45 minutes but were unable to resuscitate him. The doctor said he died peacefully and painlessly.

Dravecky, 47, also co-founded FenCon in Dallas in 2004 and was a past president of ORAC, the “Organized Rebel Adventurers Club” of Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Dravecky, a dedicated fan of Doctor Who and MST3K, worked behind the scenes at some of North Texas’ most memorable science fiction and pop culture events, according to a Give Forward page. The donation page was set up to help pay for the funeral costs and transporting him home to Huntsville, Ala. There will be a separate memorial service for friends in Texas.

“Ed was as wise, hilarious, and dedicated to his interests as he was kind,” Mike Erickson, convention co-chair of WhoFest 3, said. “(He was) an outstanding friend.”

Dravecky, a nationally-known convention runner, also co-founded FenCon in Dallas in 2004, handled social media for LoneStarCon 3 (the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention in San Antonio, Texas), and was a past board member of its parent group, ALAMO, a Texas nonprofit corporation that has organized many major conventions. Dravecky also was a past president and held other offices in ORAC, the “Organized Rebel Adventurers Club” of Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Dravecky attended Georgia Tech, and spent a dozen years working as a radio disc jockey. He said of his experience:

I broadcast under my own name as well as the airnames ‘Scott Montgomery’ (my idea) and ‘Skip Church’ (not my idea). Yes, “Skip” had the Sunday morning shift before the syndicated countdown show. Surprisingly, the station received no complaints.

He finally settled in Dallas, where he helped develop music scheduling and broadcast automation software with several leading companies.

This year’s WhoFest was the third annual event, including three days of panels, guest appearances, autograph sessions, gaming, cosplay and costume events.

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