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On October 24, 2005, the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands suffered a great loss when Master Johan von Traubenberg died of a pulmonary embolism.  

Johan joined the Society in A.S. X (1976) in the Barony of Carolingia (Boston) while a student at MIT.  During that time, Johan moved to the Buttery, a well-known boarding house for Scadians owned by Mistress Marian of Edwinstowe.  Johan, his MIT roommate (now Master) Kobayashi Yutaka, and (now Master) Kale Harlansson became thanes and  later squires of Duke Sir Vissevald Selkirksson of Carolingia.  Johan was awarded Arms by King Vissevald and Queen  Embla (now Eva van Oudereachterkol) in A.S. XIII (1979).

The next year, Johan and Mistress Marian founded the Sated Tyger, the first restaurant at Pennsic.  For four years, Johan loaded up his two homemade coolers with frozen ingredients and drove from Boston to Butler to feed Pennsic's hungry crowds.  Each year Johan and his crew built two clay ovens named Hansel and Gretel so they could provide fresh bread to the Sated Tyger's patrons.  This good work earned Johan the Order of the Burdened Tyger in A.S. XVIII (1984). 

After college, Johan moved to New Hampshire.  While there, he helped organize the Barony of Stonemarche, which earned him the Order of the Cornerstone in A.S. XXII (1987).  While a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire, Johan ran into Arianna at a Kingdom 12th Night in Ostgardr.  Though they had known each other for many years, it was only then they realized that they were meant to be together. In September A.S. XXIV (1989) Arianna moved from the Barony of the Rhydderich Hael (Buffalo, NY) to Stonemarche to be with Johan, and the following July they moved to the Debatable Lands (Pittsburgh).  They were married on August 11, A.S. XXV (1990).

Johan became Debatable Lands' seneschal in A.S. XXVI (1992) and guided the barony until A.S. XXX (1995) when he was succeeded as seneschal by Arianna. 

In A.S. XXVII (1992), Johan ran the land agent office for the Pennsic War under autocrat Duke Sir Gavin Kilkenny of Kilcarren.  That war, Johan established the first pre-registration system for groups to claim land.  Despite lots of initial trepidation, Johan's system has endured for 13 years and will undoubtedly continue for many more.  This great feat, along with many others, caused King Tsurunaga and Queen Genevieve of the East to elevate Johan to the Order of the Pelican in A.S. XXVIII (1993).  Not one to brag, Johan didn't wear his medallion much, but occasionally the "hubcap sized beer opener" would come out.  Johan took two proteges: Leifr Hjalmsson in A.S. XXVIII (1993) and Michelina Cenomani da Trento in A.S. XXXV (2000).

During his 15 years in the Debatable Lands, Johan autocratted and cooked feasts for many events.  One of his proudest feasts was the "poisoned" feast served to the Board of Directors at the meeting where AEthelmearc became a Kingdom, in July of A.S. XXX (1995),  Everything in the feast was either thought to be poison in period or dressed up to look, smell or taste like a poison.  During this time, Johan also had the dubious distinction of being one of the "three bad peers" of AEthelmearc who fought against the first non-member surcharge.

Johan went on to do many things for the people of AEthelmearc and the Debatable Lands.  He had a regular column in the AEstel called the "Curmudgeon's Corner."  He and Arianna hosted New Year's Day parties every year for the barony.  Johan also designed, built and/or inspected houses for people, including Mistress She'erah's now-famous Little House on the Flatbed.  One of Johan's last projects was designing the post-and-beam frame for the great hall at the castle being built by Lord Thomas Byron of Haverford and Lady Ariella of Thornbury, a project he took great joy in.

Through all this time, Johan was a fighter and a cook.  His polearm was feared on field and in forest.  For his fighting skill he received the Tygers Combatant and the Golden Alce.  His great skill in cooking also gained him the Keystone and the Sycamore.  The last feast Johan cooked for us was the Coronation of King Rurik and Queen Angelik, in September, A.S. XXXIX (2004).

Outside of the SCA, Johan was greatly respected.  He held a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering from MIT and a Master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.  Johan worked as an engineer for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority for 12 years.  There he mentored many new engineers, and designed the micro-filtration plant for Highland Reservoir #1.  In May 2004 he left the PWSA to start his own consulting business.  Work came in, and he was asked to do projects as far away as New Orleans.

In 2001, Johan and Arianna were part of a group that founded the Kentucky Avenue School, located in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.  It was created after the McEwan school closed unexpectedly.  The school building sorely needed renovations and an expansion if it was going to survive, so Johan designed and helped install a new ventilation system as well as 7 new classrooms.  He always said his reason was selfish: he did it for his sons.

For all of his achievements in the Society and the modern world, Johan's proudest moments came in 1990, when he married Arianna, and in 1996 and 1999, with the birth of their sons, Kenneth and Robert.  

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