by Doug Lawrence
Bob and I were Internet colleagues in the Catholic faith since the early 2000’s. We spoke on the telephone on only a few occasions, but we kept in regular communication, via email.
At some point, Bob mentioned that he was getting older and was concerned about one day, being unable to maintain The Catholic Treasure Chest, so I told him I would make regular backups of the site and should it ever go offline and I was unable to contact him, I would restore and maintain it.
Bob liked the idea, so that’s what we agreed to do.
With Bob’s permission, I had been distributing the Catholic Treasure Chest on CD, mailing copies to people all around the world (Internet service was often “spotty” back then) so most of the technical work was already done.
Bob mentioned it in his article, entitled “In Lieu of A Book”:
“I have received many requests to put this website into a book.
But, I sense a frustration in having to download and save each page
of this very large site.
It has taken me years and thousands of hours
to put it all together and I certainly would not relish the time
it would take to download it page by page, either.
Putting it all into a book is a good idea.
However the sticking point is my having the time to do it.
I simply cannot do it for that reason, among others.
However I have a great solution
that was suggested by a dear new-found friend.
He is a teacher and many of his students do not have a computer
that is online, in order to go and visit the site.
He asked my permission to put the whole website onto a cd-rom
and pass a CD to each of his pupils.
I thought that was a great idea
and wondered why I had not thought of it myself.
Of course I gave him permission and he sent me a copy
and it was just like visiting the site online,
but much faster than even DSL…”
I would often link to the Catholic Treasure Chest from my website, referencing many of Bob’s wonderful articles. So, when The Catholic Treasure Chest domain was taken over by an Indonesian gambling casino and much of the content became unreliable or unavailable, readers from far and wide emailed me, asking what had happened.
Unable to make contact with Bob, I assumed the worst and went to work, successfully salvaging and restoring the site.
Because the Internet domain had already been assumed and taken over by others, it was necessary to bring The Catholic Treasure Chest over to my askmeaboutgod.org domain. It should be “safe” here, for many years to come, as by design, my site should be able to continue on (God willing) long after I have passed away.
Meanwhile, readers from a host of different countries, all around the globe, are beginning to reconnect with Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest” (as I respectfully refer to it.)
Bob had quite a following. I have received a good number of enthusiastic emails from readers who are very thankful that Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest” is back.
I’m sure that Bob would agree that this is no mere, coincidence. Together, we prudently developed a simple, effective plan for succession. I consider it a grace to have been privileged to do the work. Praise God!
The world needs Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest”. It has always been a unique and precious, irreplaceable Catholic information resource. People of faith instinctively recognize that fact.
Bob will be sorely missed. Even though he’s gone, his great work will carry on, as a blessing to the whole world.
There’s not very many people about whom that may be truly stated.
I have arranged for Bob to be remembered in daily Mass intentions,
until the end of time. Please pray a “Hail Mary” for the repose of his soul,
when you have the time.
Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest” is available on-line,
in English and Spanish languages,
as well as in a portable, downloadable PDF version.
Here’s the links:
Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest” (PDF)
Down To Earth Answers To Virtually All Your Heavenly Questions.
English – On the Web
Spanish – On the Web
The web versions also have a new, very convenient, custom search feature, which makes locating specific content much faster and easier.
Doug Lawrence's Catholic Site 