This post originally appeared on Facebook. It has been lightly edited.

Incredibly sad news: Jim Perry, former host of the game shows Card Sharks and Sale of the Century, has died.

Growing up, Card Sharks was far and away my favorite game show. I watched it religiously as a little kid and would force visitors to play with me, making them say “higher!” and “lower!” more times than they would have liked, I’m sure. There was something about Jim that put him head and shoulders above other game show hosts. You could sense how genuine he was and how much enjoyed what he was doing.

Fast forward to the 2000s when Paul and I were running the Daily Ping. I wrote a couple of entries about Card Sharks and my love for it. Lo and behold, his wife June joined in the conversation and even facilitated a discussion with Jim himself about the show. That was a serious high point for me. But, much like one of the most common words used on the show, it went just a little bit higher.

In August 2010, my family and I took a vacation down to Ashville, NC. I knew that Jim and June lived nearby, so I figured I’d drop them a note and see if, by some off chance, I might be able to stop by and say hi. Nothing had been firmed up by the time we left for the trip, so I was sort of resigned that it wasn’t going to happen.

But partway through the trip, I heard back from them and arrangements were made. June asked for my number, I gave it to her, and a few minutes later I answered and heard on the other end, “Hi, Ryan! This is Jim Perry!”

If you’ve ever had one of those moments in life where you’re thinking, “Is this really happening?” and time seems to stop, this was one of those. The voice on the other end of the phone wasn’t an unrecognizable voice that happened to be Jim Perry, it was Jim Perry speaking in the same tone I had heard for so many years on television. And he was giving me directions to his house.

My wife, daughter, and I sat on Jim and June’s porch and chatted with them about the show and life in general. My daughter drew a picture and gave it to Jim. Jim drew a picture and gave it to her. We took photos together. I got to see one of the giant Card Sharks cards hanging in their house. We bought some of June’s wonderful pottery. Jim signed some things for me. And to top it all off, he gave me a very rare deck of cards with the Card Sharks logo on them that were made as souvenirs or gifts for the crew. He signed the box, “Don’t cheat!! - Jim Perry.”

He also shared a number of stories about his time on the show, including a fun fact that his aggressive card flipping technique (which I maintain is one of the things that made him a much better host than Bob Eubanks) earned the ire of Standards and Practices. Apparently the trademark snapping of the wrist would sometimes bend a card, which meant that in the eyes of S&P it became “marked” and thus, a new deck needed to be introduced. I can just picture “the suits” getting all uptight about having to buy more big cards.

I’d been meaning to write Jim a letter thanking him again for letting us visit, for being so welcoming and warm, and for lighting up my childhood. But I never got around to it. Nevertheless, he will be missed.

Thanks for the memories, Jim.

Box of red cards with the Card Sharks logo and a signature that says Don't Cheat! Jim Perry