(This is from Alan's siblings. TUG will print an obituary in a subsequent issue of TUGboat.)
We are sorry to let Alan’s friends and colleagues know that he passed away in the early hours of Thursday.
Most of you will know, Alan was diagnosed with an aggressive and inoperable brain cancer in November, which was then followed by related complications. He received excellent medical and nursing care over those months, never felt any pain, had lots of visitors, and was with family until the very end. He was alive long enough to know his younger daughter had turned 18 and graduated from high school. So, as utterly unfair things go, it went well.
The irony that someone with such a brilliant mind was brought down by brain cancer is not lost on us. We take great comfort in the fact that Alan’s personality never changed; he remained kind, patient, curious about the world, funny, and just a 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 bloody-minded until the end. Even on Tuesday, Alan was enjoying being told about Labour’s predicted victory in the General Election.
Alan’s wishes were to have two events after he died, to reflect the two places he called home. We are therefore organising a gathering in Chicago for family & friends in the US and then a larger Celebration of Life, to be held in the UK later in the year (we will look for somewhere that offers live streaming, so people can join from afar).
If you would like to be sent details of the Chicago gathering, please use the following email address; david AT dands DOT org DOT uk
If you want to know about the Celebration in the UK, please wait … it’ll take us a while to arrange.
You know Alan, he hated anything sentimental and was not one for flowers. If you want to mark his passing, then toast him over a nice glass of something whilst donating to a charity he cared about. Here are some choices:
Please understand that we probably won’t have time to reply to individual messages left here, but we will read them and they will bring smiles to our faces. We will let his girls know how loved and admired their Dad was.
Very best wishes, Catherine & David (his sister and brother)