René Gijsbert Vancampen
May 16, 1960-June 24, 1989
Born in Haarlem, The Netherlands, René Vancampen moved to Southern California with his family when he was four years old. He took up figure skating at the South Bay Figure Skating Club at the age of sixteen. He represented the Arctic Blades Figure Skating Club several times at the Southwest Pacific Championships and passed his seventh figure and junior free skating tests. He and his twin brother Edward later opted to skate for their country of birth. René won the silver medal in the senior men's event at the Dutch Championships twice. His coaches were Jerry and Louella Rehfield, Kim McIsaac, Doug Chapman and Dianne de Leeuw. Off the ice, he worked in retail and modelling. He collected Dutch antiques and Delft Blue porcelain. He passed away on June 24, 1989 at the age of twenty-nine.
Photo courtesy Edward Vancampen
Memories from René's brother Edward: "René was beautiful. I was so jealous of his looks. I thought he had it all. Not realizing that he was also jealous of me. We fought a lot. Such a waste of valuable time. He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. He then moved back home with my mother. She took care of him for the last year he was alive. Remember, at that time, HIV and AIDS was a death sentence. There were no real medicines to combat this illness. AZT was a medication that my brother was taking. It is now believed that, AZT and its horrible side effects did more damage that good. I would visit and spend time with René once or twice a week. We would just sit and watch a movie or TV. There were times when he spoke to me, and for a split second I would forget that he was dying of AIDS, and I would turn around to answer him and I would be shocked all over again. He was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 125 lbs. He passed away in his own room with my mother by his side in 1989 at the age of 29. Losing my twin brother changed my life forever. After he passed, I started skating again and never stopped. You could say, because of my brother, that I have the life I have now."
*Source for inclusion: National AIDS Memorial, The Names Project Memorial Quilt
