Devin Freed-Karns, 40

WILMINGTON — Devin Freed-Karns, 40, died unexpectedly at his home recently. 

He was the author of "The Pawn's Game" fantasy trilogy (Openings, Gambits, and Sacrifices) under the pen name Victor Nox, and the founder of The Karns Archive, a nonprofit created to catalog and preserve artifacts of cultural legends and mystical practices.

Son of the late Bedford Karns and Erin Freed, he was born in Amherst, on Sep. 19, 1980. 

He was raised in Western Mass. and attended Drury High School in North Adams, in the late 1990s where he played football and won the Rookie of the Year Award for wrestling in 1998.  Devin also played football for Mohawk Regional High in Buckland and graduated from there in 1999. 

He went on to earn his associate degree at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

He moved to the Deerfield Valley in 2013 to write his fantasy novels and build his nonprofit, The Karns Archive. 

He will be remembered for his imaginative storytelling, his dedication to preserving artifacts of legends and mysticism, and his wry sense of humor.

He will be missed by all who knew him including his mother Erin Freed and stepfather William Johnson, both of Longmeadow; his brother Gandy Freed-Karns, of Easthampton; his sister Caitlin Freed, of Northampton; and many extended family members, Twitter followers, and friends.

A private online memorial service will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 8 pm.  To receive an invitation contact his mother, Erin Freed, at ebfreed15@gmail.com. 

To send the family personal condolences, please visit www.sheafuneralhomes.com.