correction: a brimmed red hat, rather On Sun, Feb 14, 2016 at 10:33 PM, Warren Luebkeman <war...@resara.com> wrote:
> wish i had seen this earlier. bill was one of the first people i had met > when venturing into the Linux community in NH. he was wearing a red > brimmed hat at the lug meeting in peterborough, probably around 2007. had > a chance to spend some time with him at a conference in maine, he was > presenting on python. at the end of the conference he was looking for a > ride to the local airport to fly himself home. > > reading this makes me wish i had gotten to know him more. seems as though > he had as full of a life as anyone could hope for. > > On Sat, Jan 16, 2016 at 2:11 PM, mad...@li.org <jonhal...@comcast.net> > wrote: > >> Bill (William Joseph) Sconce, age 72, Lyndeborough, NH, died on January 5, >> 2016 at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA. The cause was a cerebral >> hemorrhage. He was a good man. >> >> >> Bill was born April 19, 1943 in Indianapolis, IN, and came home to the >> House on the Hill in Edinburgh, IN. Bill grew up there with his brother >> David, who predeceased him. His parents were Eva Mae and Joseph Byce >> Sconce. Bill soon became a proficient Spelunker and surveyor in the caves >> of Indiana and Kentucky, and a motorcycle enthusiast. Graduating from >> Culver Military Academy, where he earned his Amateur Radio License, he >> received a Fulbright scholarship and rode his Norton motorcycle to CalTech >> in San Francisco, CA where he studied Physics and worked in a >> crystalography laboratory. He was drafted during the Vietnam war protests >> at that school and served in Taigu Korea, where he studied IBM Cobol and >> the Korean language, and rode a Honda 90 motorcycle in the mountains. He >> returned to Louisville, KY and began a long career in computer science and >> founded his company Industrial Specialities. He met the love of his life >> in Louisville, Janet Levy, and with her encouragement he completed his >> dream of becoming a pilot, holding a Commercial, Instrument, and >> Instructor >> license. He continued studies at University of Louisville in linguistics >> and computer science. Bill & Janet moved to NH in 1979 for Bill to >> graduate >> from being Symposium Coordinator for DECUS to assume the position of >> Product Manager for the RSTS Group at Digital Equipment Corporation. Bill >> worked for and was layed off from DEC, Compaq, and Hewlett Packard, at >> which point he revived his corporation, named it In Spec, Inc. and divided >> his time between software engineering and flight instruction. Bill was a >> devoted supporter of GPL and "free" Linux software and the Python >> programming language. Bill was a member of the Vintage BMW Motorcycle >> Owners, Ltd., the BMW MOVer Motorcycle Club of Vermont, the Contoocook >> Valley Radio Club, a life member of the National Speological Society and >> the American Radio Relay League. He supported the EAA and was a Regional >> Judge for aerobatic competitions for IAC for many years. He loved >> aviation, >> including hot air ballooning and skydiving. He participated in Young >> Eagles at Boire Airport in Nashua, NH and enjoyed teaching young people to >> fly. He taught spins in his Cessna Aerobat. And he was a Quiet Birdman. >> He >> was a member of the Rex Stout Wolfepack Book Club and The Wodehouse >> Society. Bill loved theatre, classical and rock music, and especially >> lately, attending Dr. David Landman's Poetry Nights of medieval poetry in >> Lexington, MA. >> >> >> He loved fixing things and if there were no parts available for a project >> he promptly made them himself on his metal lathe, or just used his >> ingenuity to create something needed. >> >> >> He loved cigars, scotch, butter, reading, airplanes, old test equipment, >> Paris, BMWs, his red convertible Cabriolet with red earmuffs, and his big >> black 4 cylinder 4WD truck, bird watching (outwitting squirrels), camping, >> hiking on Pitcher Mountain, William Blake, and he suffered not fools. One >> of his favorite lead-ins: "As an engineer..." >> >> >> Bill is survived by his wife, Janet Levy Sconce, his sister-in-law, June >> Levy and her family, and many dear friends. Bill was a kind and loving >> "daddy" to Virgil Fox and RDB, the cats of his home. Thanks to "The >> Committee" and especially Donna Shea, Chris Levin, Ken Hamel, Donna >> Giovannini, Tom Steger, Michelle Donovan, Simon Hutchings, John & Cathy >> Gubernat and the surgeons, doctors, and nurses at Lahey Hospital. The >> family is grateful to all of his many friends who offered support and >> love. >> >> >> There will be a memorial for Bill on February 13, 11:00-2:00 at Nashua >> Jet >> Aviation located on Boire Field in Nashua, NH. Call Air Direct Airways, >> (603) 882-5606 for more information. >> _______________________________________________ >> gnhlug-discuss mailing list >> gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org >> http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ >> > > > > -- > warren > -- warren
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