NBC 10 I-Team: Last working 38 Studios employee dies

CRANSTON, R.I. — The NBC 10 I-Team has learned Jeff Easley, the last remaining employee of 38 Studios, died from complications of esophageal cancer over the weekend.

"This is a sad day for everybody. Jeff was a great guy, incredibly helpful and impossible to replace," said Richard Land, the state-appointed receiver of 38 Studios assets.

The I-Team originally interviewed Easley, a systems administrator, in July 2014. Out of nearly 400 employees, Easley was the last to go, literally the last man standing from 38 Studios, Curt Schilling's now defunct gaming company.

"It has been a challenge to wear a lot of hats. I've had to learn a lot of stuff," said Easley at the time.

Easley was difficult to miss, sitting in front of his computer screen wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans, ostrich leg boots, and donning his signature beard long before "Duck Dynasty" was popular.

While others left the company and abandoned their work stations, Easley kept showing up.

"It was the most exciting job that I've ever had in my entire life. I would have kept coming until they told me you can't come back, just don't come back to the building," he said.

And Easley held no ill will against his old boss, Schilling.

"You could love or hate the man. He'd give you the shirt off his back. He was always very generous with me," said Easley.

Easley was responsible for keeping 38's intellectual property afloat, namely the unfinished multi-player video game Copernicus. The IP is housed in a Providence data center, where Easley maintained the assets. The cost was significant, about $15,000 a month, according to Land. With Easley's death, what becomes of the remaining assets?

"Jeff would want us to press forward and we intend to do so," said Land.

The costs, he added, have dropped to roughly $3,000 to $4,000 a month.

Friends, family and former co-workers are posting tributes on social media.

"RIP Jeff Easley ... You fought cancer like nobody's business. All of us 38 Studios alum were better for knowing you," wrote Shannon Eric Denton.