RE: Henry Story

Dear Sarven, dear all,

I am very sorry to hear this - I have not seen Henry in the last couple of years, which I suspect, given Covid, is true for many of us. 
I remember many interesting conversations with Henry over time - especially how passionate he was. 
It is sad when somebody leaves at such a young age - leaving behind a devastated family and friends. 
My condolences.

Best,
Stefan




-----Original Message-----
From: Sarven Capadisli <info@csarven.ca> 
Sent: Friday, September 8, 2023 2:51 PM
To: public-solid@w3.org; public-webid@w3.org; W3C Semantic Web <semantic-web@w3.org>
Subject: Henry Story

It is with great sadness that I must inform everyone that we have lost our dear friend and colleague Henry Story ( https://bblfish.net/people/henry/card#me ) earlier this week.

This is incredibly hard for me to write. I am deeply saddened by his friends' and family's loss, as well as personally, and for several communities he has been part of for so many years. My deepest condolences, and those of members of the community who knew him and admired him, go out to his family.

If memory serves me well, Henry and I were acquainted in 2008, but met online in 2010, when we discussed FOAF+SSL / WebID, social web, decentralisation, and everything in between. And, of course, with Henry, if one is willing, there is always a healthy dose of discussion on philosophical and mathematical underpinnings of a lot of such topics, and how it all came together.

Over the years, Henry provided me with all the context to undoubtedly interconnected ideas in technology and philosophy I ever needed.

I had the privilege of having him visit my place in Bern. He was kind enough to eat my overly spicy food and drink wine to compensate the taste. It was a joy to talk about life stuff and tech in my balcony.

Henry has impacted and influenced me in different ways over the years. 
His perseverance to get to the bottom of a problem is unmatched.

Whenever I felt frustrated in open standards development, Henry reminded that standards are like wine: some will age well, and others spoil. He encouraged me to be patient, assuring me that things will work out in due time.

He took the time to research and develop, and meet open challenges by approaching from multiple disciplines to solidify the ideas is inspiring, and has been instrumental, to say the least, for the communities he has been part of. One doesn't have to look far to come across Henry's footprints. Quite literally the father of many works and projects.

 From my perspective, he generally came across like the underdog in whatever he was doing. Humble and aiming for the stars. He took time to carefully listen what others had to say and was generous with his knowledge and time, and kind.

Henry, I admire you immensely. Words will never suffice.

I'd like to invite everyone to reflect and honour his memory. Carry on with his work. A moment of silence will be observed at W3C TPAC to remember Henry and his impact on our community.

-Sarven
https://csarven.ca/#i

Received on Sunday, 10 September 2023 16:21:19 UTC