In Memory of Andreas Raab

All,

I met Andreas many years ago.  I knew very quickly that Andreas was extremely bright and a very interesting person to know.  The more I found out about him the more we interacted the more I grew to respect him and his talent.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to work with Andreas.  Andreas was a phenomenon.  The work that he created was beautiful.  His method precise, his solutions well thought out and he was able to create with unmatched dexterity and efficiency.  We became good friends.  I was also lucky enough to be meet Andreas in person for the first time at his wedding.  Andreas was a very happy man.  Kathleen was Andreas’ perfect match.

We will miss Andreas terribly not only for his talent, but for how he touched our lives.  We lost a great friend.  The world feels like a much smaller place today.  Our hearts go out to Kathleen, and to the big group of family and friends that loved him so.

Ron Teitelbaum

From Alan Kay:

Dear All

At lunch today we -- Bert, Aran, Yoshiki and myself -- first got word (via a phone call from Rita to Bert) that Andreas was suddenly in a hospital in serious condition. Then a few minutes later we were told that he had died.

At this point we have no other information except that he left normally for work this morning.

Bert will let us know when we have more news.

We all loved Andreas and nothing can lesson our grief at this sudden tragedy

Best wishes to all

Alan

Despite not knowing him personally his name appears a lot in the
Squeak mailing lists and in a lot of packages.
When I saw this message I thought he passed away earlier and this post
was to commemorate the event, not knowing that it was all so sudden.

I am sure I will miss his presence and any contributions he would have
made if we was still present with us.

My condolences to his family.

Sincerely

Frank Church

=======================
http://devblog.brahmancreations.com

I am very sad to hear the news.  I didn't know him but I am grateful for the work he has done and the help he has offered me a newbie.

I really think you should name some part of Squeak in his honor.  It is important to remember the founders.


Sincerely,

Joe.

I knew Andreas for about 18 years, ten of those as a co-maintainer of the Squeak VM. This is a long time.  Nearly two decades. I am reminded today of how short life really is. 

I'd like to share an analogy. 

My relationship with Andreas can be compared to running on a beach.

Sometimes the sand was great and I could keep up, other times it grew soft and he would be far down the beach. Yet always checking and ensuring I could keep up. Much like the role he took later with the Squeak Board, setting the direction for the community; waving people onwards.  As people have already pointed out, it's easy to quantify the lines of code he wrote. It's harder to understand the impact he had on folks with his ideas; how he did things, and where he ran to. I would always wonder what he would do next.

Once or twice I buried myself (and the community, little did you all know) quite deep in the sand dunes. Andreas came back to save me. Instead of a shovel, he'd use some sand levitation device carefully built with Squeak bytecode, to extract me and you from disaster. I'd thank him, then spend the rest of the day trying to understand what happened.  Before, and after the sand trickled over my eyebrows.

That was the era of trust, before Sunits were written, and we trusted all his code.  It is not that Andreas was infallible, but playing the game "hunt for bugs" in his software was like digging for diamonds in your back yard. Possible yes, in actuality not really workable.

Beyond the large amounts of software Andreas wrote for the community, it was always great to catch up to him at conferences.  He would always have a smile and time to talk. He should be remembered not only for his software, but as a caring person who was a good friend. I will miss him greatly.

My wife Cordelia and I both are saddened by his sudden passing, and send heartfelt condolences to his family.

John

Dear all

All,

I met Andreas many years ago.  I knew very quickly that Andreas was extremely bright and a very interesting person to know.  The more I found out about him the more we interacted the more I grew to respect him and his talent.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to work with Andreas.  Andreas was a phenomenon.  The work that he created was beautiful.  His method precise, his solutions well thought out and he was able to create with unmatched dexterity and efficiency.  We became good friends.  I was also lucky enough to be meet Andreas in person for the first time at his wedding.  Andreas was a very happy man.  Kathleen was Andreas’ perfect match.

We will miss Andreas terribly not only for his talent, but for how he touched our lives.  We lost a great friend.  The world feels like a much smaller place today.  Our hearts go out to Kathleen, and to the big group of family and friends that loved him so.

Ron Teitelbaum

From Alan Kay:

Dear All

At lunch today we -- Bert, Aran, Yoshiki and myself -- first got word (via a phone call from Rita to Bert) that Andreas was suddenly in a hospital in serious condition. Then a few minutes later we were told that he had died.

At this point we have no other information except that he left normally for work this morning.

Bert will let us know when we have more news.

We all loved Andreas and nothing can lesson our grief at this sudden tragedy

Best wishes to all

Alan

I hope that in the manner of the passing of Josef Knecht at the end of Das Glasperlenspiel something transcendent can come from this.

Chris

On Jan 14, 2013, at 6:30 PM, "Ron Teitelbaum" <[hidden email]> wrote:

All,

I met Andreas many years ago.  I knew very quickly that Andreas was extremely bright and a very interesting person to know.  The more I found out about him the more we interacted the more I grew to respect him and his talent.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to work with Andreas.  Andreas was a phenomenon.  The work that he created was beautiful.  His method precise, his solutions well thought out and he was able to create with unmatched dexterity and efficiency.  We became good friends.  I was also lucky enough to be meet Andreas in person for the first time at his wedding.  Andreas was a very happy man.  Kathleen was Andreas’ perfect match.

We will miss Andreas terribly not only for his talent, but for how he touched our lives.  We lost a great friend.  The world feels like a much smaller place today.  Our hearts go out to Kathleen, and to the big group of family and friends that loved him so.

Ron Teitelbaum

From Alan Kay:

Dear All

At lunch today we -- Bert, Aran, Yoshiki and myself -- first got word (via a phone call from Rita to Bert) that Andreas was suddenly in a hospital in serious condition. Then a few minutes later we were told that he had died.

At this point we have no other information except that he left normally for work this morning.

Bert will let us know when we have more news.

We all loved Andreas and nothing can lesson our grief at this sudden tragedy

Best wishes to all

Alan

Below.

On Jan 15, 2013, at 1:57 PM, "David T. Lewis" <[hidden email]> wrote:

> On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 04:16:30PM +0100, Andreas Wacknitz wrote:
>> Like many said before: I was shocked when I got the news today.
>> I didn't have the honor to meet Andreas in person but as a long time lurker I recognized his many contributions to Squeak.
>> May I propose to devote a Squeak release in memory to Andreas?
>>
>
> It will need to be a release of exceptionally high quality.
>
> Dave

This expression answers true.

On 1/15/13 4:15 PM, "Jecel Assumpcao Jr." <[hidden email]> wrote:

> This is a very sad day! I am glad that this community clearly showed
> Andreas its appreciation in every single board election in which he
> participated.
>
> -- Jecel

About this, my proposal is in this election we have a empty chair.
His deserved chair , so we remember our loss.

Edgar

On 1/16/13 2:08 AM, "Tansel Ersavas" <[hidden email]> wrote:

notice that there is no Wikipedia page for Andreas. It would be proper if we authored such a page to make his contributions more acknowledged and to honor his memory more properly.

Tansel

+1

Edgar

On 16 January 2013 09:13, Edgar J. De Cleene <[hidden email]> wrote:
There is a big problem with this idea, in that the SOB currently
number 7. Having an odd number is very good, because it means you
can't have a deadlocked vote (barring abstentions). With an empty
seat, we don't have that guarantee.

I do like having an "in memoriam" release, or dedication, or something.

I may not have interacted much with Andreas, but I read every single
one of his mails. When he erred in his dealings with others, he
apologised. Aside from all the other great things he was, this ranks
highly in my own list of admired traits.

frank

Dear all

What a tragic news. Condolences to his family and friends.

In the past 8 years, I've learned a lot from the code
he wrote and the discussions on the mailing lists.

Stephan

On 1/16/13 6:44 AM, "Frank Shearar" <[hidden email]> wrote:

Yes, odd number warranty decisions.
But Board members was elected for good reasons, so for this year we could
trust they more and work wit six members.

Still we need six candidates...

Edgar

P.S. The idea of empty chair was from TV show "Castle" when Stephen Cannel
pass away, another loss we have

This has arrived as a real shock: he is so young. I still have difficulties to use the 'was'.

Andreas Raab was my best friend.

Andreas loved to challenge me to express and exceed my abilities. In so doing, he forced me to challenge him. We pushed each other up the tallest mountains where, together, we had the honor of viewing the world from a new point of view.

He loved to program. He was the best programmer I have ever known – by a lot. This is not an idle statement – I have known and worked with the best in the world. Andreas was better.

He loved exploring and understanding new systems. He was fearless. He would not only understand how to use the new tool to accomplish his task, he would also figure out how to make it even better for the next person.

Andreas loved to make great things for people to use. He was never content with “good enough”. Every line of code he wrote was an opportunity to teach someone a new idea. Every system he built greatly empowered the person willing to embrace it and it allowed them a new freedom to create and explore.

He loved beer and introduced me to some fantastic brews. Learning to drink from a German is a valuable skill.

He loved to violently explore ideas. We had many loud discussions –often at a bar, where we threw ideas back and forth like rag dolls. Most ideas did not survive. The ones that did were very strong.  He was as intent a listener as he was a proponent, and often succeeded in convincing himself he was wrong. He certainly convinced me he was right more often than not.

He loved food and was as essential a partner in exploring great restaurants as he was in exploring ideas.  We visited Canto do Brasil in San Francisco every weekend we could and always had two (three?) Caiparinhas each and the Feijoada. And of course, the steak at Angus Barn… (yes, he was jealous when we went without him).

He loved language – he was always searching for how to express an idea in English with just the right word or phrase. He loved coding in the same way. He loved exploring the subtleties and power of how ideas could be expressed, communicated and unleashed.

Andreas loved classical music. We carpooled to work every day and he always had the radio on the classical station when he picked me up. We challenged each other on what the piece was, who the composer was, and even who the performers were. It was probably the only thing I was better at than him.

Andreas loved his friends. There were no conditions or requirements. He worked to see the world from their perspective – honoring them by always caring enough to understand them. He also expected them to live up to his high standards of thought, action, caring and love.

Andreas loved Kathleen. He was always a positive person, but he glowed from the moment he met her. He loved her more than anything else in his life. She completed his world and he completed hers.

On Tuesday 15 January 2013 08:00 AM, Ron Teitelbaum wrote:

>  From Alan Kay:
>
> Dear All
>
> At lunch today we -- Bert, Aran, Yoshiki and myself -- first got word
> (via a phone call from Rita to Bert) that Andreas was suddenly in a
> hospital in serious condition. Then a few minutes later we were told
> that he had died.
I read this mail in shock! His last post to this list was just this
Saturday. It is hard to believe that Andreas Raab is no more! He had
accomplished so much in so little time!

RIP .. Subbu

What a good guy. What a loyal and honorable friend. He would come out to North Carolina from California to visit David and me often. When I imagine him now, in my mind's eye, he is sitting on our screen porch with a beer, smiling and laughing. He was here on many Thanksgivings and 4ths of July. When he visited us on our 25th Anniversary, he had just been here the week before, and I said, "You didn't have to come all the way out here again!" and his response was, "Of course I did. You're my friends." He was even here on 9/11. He had been due to fly back to San Francisco that day, but his concern was for Alan Kay, who he thought was on the Boston-LA flight that was one of the planes that hit the towers. Luckily Alan was not aboard. Some of my fondest memories of Andreas are of how he brightened when he learned a new English word. His English was impeccable, mind you, but he delighted knowing the nuances of meanings of words like "hokey," (which I had used to describe our local restaurant The Angus Barn where he would get his favorite steak). When Andreas moved back to Germany right before Christmas 2010, he told us we should make a trip there, and we did, in June 2011. He had met Kathleen in the meantime and we had a fantastic time with them, especially in Dresden. So many laughs and good conversations at cafes and pubs, the Green Vault, and even the goofy Hygiene Museum. We hadn't planned on going to Germany twice in one year, but we had the pleasure of returning in September to attend his and Kathleen's wedding. I cannot tell you how happy we were for him. As long as we knew him, we never heard about him having a girlfriend, and now suddenly he had met the love of his life! I am still so happy they found each other even though their time together was way too short. Kathleen's words speak for us all: "Andreas: come back please."