MAURIZIO FUMAGALLI (1958-2015)

Maurizio Fumagalli emailed me on August 7, 2015 that he had to leave Vientiane for his home in Italy because he had been diagnosed with liver cancer. I immediately replied with his favorite curse word, which was appropriate with him. On August 16, I sent him another email asking him about his situation. I never received a reply from him. A couple of months later, I received an email from Sanida Luangrath, who is the daughter of Mrs. Paboukham Luangrath, that he had passed on August 14. I said his favorite curse word. As we used to say during the Vietnam War to someone who has passed, I also said "See you on the other side."

I had given him the nickname of Mau after we first met in Vientiane in 2002 and we quickly hit it off with our mutual like for gallows humor. If he was not away guiding tourists, mostly Italians, around the country, we would have lunch and dinner every day I was in Vientiane. Sometimes I would ride on the back of his motorcycle and other times when I wanted a safer method of transport, I walked because most of the places we ate at were less than 4-6 blocks from the Lao Plaza Hotel, where I have always stayed. Mau and I rarely discussed numismatics and philatelics during our meals but talked about the food, family and friends.

Howard Daniel and Maurizio Fumagalli

My wife, Phung, met Mau for the first time only two years ago at the Paboukham & Sons shop. After a few moments, she told us we acted like brothers. We walked down the street to his favorite Lao restaurant in an old French villa. We told him to order and we thus ate a large meal of excellent food. During the meal, Phung discovered several Lao dishes that she continues to order when we are eating in Lao restaurants.

I also learned from Sanida that he was born on October 19, 1958 and passed away in his hometown of Commune di Monza, north of Milan. Before moving from Italy to Thailand in 1995, he worked in the printing industry and collected Thai and Lao stamps. In Thailand, he sold Thai and Lao stamps. In 1998, Mau moved to Vientiane in the Lao PDR, and specialized in selling Lao stamps. Later, he added Lao coins and paper money to his business. Besides selling from the http://paboukham.comlu.com website, he also put his detailed knowledge of Lao numismatics and philatelics on it, and it is still there. He also regularly contributed to my catalogs and articles.

He also sold pieces in the Paboukham & Sons shop in Vientiane at 328, Samsentai Road, which was just to the left and across the street from the Lao Plaza Hotel. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 9685, Vientiane, LA-01000, Lao PDR, and their telephone number is 856-2121-9556. Besides regional numismatic and philatelic pieces for sale, they also sell postcards, books and a few souvenir items. Inside, you will find Mr. Daly and Mrs Pa (Paboukham Luamgrath), a very friendly and helpful couple who have assisted me in accomplishing many tasks. I am sure Mau would want his former customers and friends to continue doing business with them.

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web