Another silent key

[Kirk Reiser]

Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.

Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.

He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.

I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.

73s Bill. It's been a good journey.

Kirk

[jeremy]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear this. Thank you for letting us know.

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk

[Hart Larry]

Well Kirk-and-All, this has been the unfortunate news I have been dredding for quite some time.
Times I asked him if I would learn of his passing on this list, he wasn't sure?
I certainly spoke with Bill on his May 25 Birthday, maybe once
afterward. I knew Bill from 1979 when I began working at a phone company. Both
of us were in close touch over our carreers-and-methods of making telephony
better. We shared many `happy hours discussing Radio-and-other mutual
enjoyments. In September 2003 Bill was quite instramental in my first Linux
installation, once there were decTalk drivers in Speakup. He anxiously kept
asking why I was staying in windows at all? I told him about DecTalk challenges,
as well as OCR with OpenBook in windows were smoother. In 2006 Bill was on the
phone live when we completely nuked windows. Once I switched to Debian, he
hardly had a need to login-and-support me, but still earlier this year, I asked
him about WB, he had no problem installing or useing it.
Certainly Bill `loved the phone, but he also took lots of pride helping a
Linux/Unix user, live by phone.
Anyway, a tremendus amount of knowledge and experiences left with Bill last
evening.
I will attempt to phone his Wife-and-offer my condollances
There will hardly ever again be some1 like Bill. Thanks for listening.
Hart

[Gregory Nowak]

That is indeed sad news. I too have recollections of Bill always being
willing to help out. When I was getting started in running my own
server, he very kindly agreed to do secondary DNS for me. That's still
the case on a couple of my domains. He also let me run a virtual
machine by him several years ago for a couple of months when I was
moving, and needed to get electrical/phone wiring in place post move
before I was able to bring my server machine back on-line. I have also
benefited from his vast knowledge more than once. Rest in peace Bill,
you will be missed.

Greg

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk
--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

[Willem van der Walt]

Hi,
I have never met Bill, but also remember him as very helpfull on this and
other lists.
His efforts regarding the building of custom kernels containing speakup
for the old Redhat and fedora releases saved me and meny others lots of
time.
Kind regards, Willem

Post by Gregory Nowak
That is indeed sad news. I too have recollections of Bill always being
willing to help out. When I was getting started in running my own
server, he very kindly agreed to do secondary DNS for me. That's still
the case on a couple of my domains. He also let me run a virtual
machine by him several years ago for a couple of months when I was
moving, and needed to get electrical/phone wiring in place post move
before I was able to bring my server machine back on-line. I have also
benefited from his vast knowledge more than once. Rest in peace Bill,
you will be missed.
Greg

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk
--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

--
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gpg public key: http://www.gregn.net/pubkey.asc
skype: gregn1
(authorization required, add me to your contacts list first)
If we haven't been in touch before, e-mail me before adding me to your contacts.
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[Al Sten-Clanton]

I'm also very sorry to hear this. I didn't know he was sick.

I didn't know Bill the way some who wrote here did, but I knew him
enough by way of his help getting speakup working in Fedora 17. And, of
course I benefited from his work on earlier Fedora releases. I think
that, like me, he was something of a Stephen King fan.

Al

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

It is always sad to hear of another silent key.

73 OM BV as we used to bid my radio officer brothers on their Eternal
Journey as they cross the bar. (Sandbar as they clear the pilot station
outbound.)

73 OM BV = Best Regards Old Man, Bon Voyage.

73

David
N1EA

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk
--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

[Terry D. Cudney]

Thanks for letting us know, Kirk.

Bill has been struggling for quite a long time.

He really helped many of us. I personally benefited from his email assistance... and still do!

We'll miss him.

--terry

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk
--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

[Jim Kutsch, KY2D]

I was honored to know Bill in four areas: ham radio, Linux, Asterisk, and through The Seeing Eye. Also we shared a common bond as long time Bell System guys. Even though I was quite comfortable with Unix from my time at Bell Labs, I had been away from it for 15 years. Bill was the one who brought me "back" in 2005 when I needed to get up to speed with Linux to build an Asterisk system for work. We had many, many long evening calls. I'll never forget his voice mail, "I check my messages often, so please leave one." And, indeed he did. Return calls came in minutes.

Bill, you will be deeply missed.

73, Jim


-----Original Message-----
From: Speakup [mailto:speakup-***@linux-speakup.org] On Behalf Of Kirk Reiser
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2015 11:32 AM
To: ***@linux-speakup.org
Subject: Another silent key

Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.

Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup for many members of the community.

He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which many people using voip still use.

I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been fighting for the past couple years.

73s Bill. It's been a good journey.

Kirk

--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
***@linux-speakup.org
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

[Stephen Dawes]

I too have fond memories of Bill. Although we never met in person, we had
long chats about the phone system, ham radio, and of course Linux.

I hope a collection of all the messages remembering Bill can be pulled
together and forwarded on to his Wife.

You will be missed in all the different ways you have touched this
communities lives.

73 Bill, VE6 AYT


-----Original Message-----
From: Speakup [mailto:speakup-***@linux-speakup.org] On Behalf Of Kirk
Reiser
Sent: August-24-15 9:32 AM
To: ***@linux-speakup.org
Subject: Another silent key

Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor Bill
Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.

Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup enabled
distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the server where
we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup for many members of
the community.

He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which many
people using voip still use.

I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as well. He died
of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been fighting for the
past couple years.

73s Bill. It's been a good journey.

Kirk

--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
***@linux-speakup.org
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

[Steve Matzura]

I learned of his passing this afternoon, but knew it was coming for a
long time.

I've known bill since the mid 70's, mostly via amature radio, but I've
heard of him since I was in third grade when some folks with whom I
rode the daily school bus used to complain about him always getting
into trouble with the nuns at the Catholic blind school he attended
for playing with their phones! I never gave him much thought until the
70's when we met on a repeater in his home area quite by happenstance.
We were good friends, although sometimes for years out of touch, ever
since. He tried as best he could to elmer me into the world of
accessible Linux, but I never got into it the way he did, and still
haven't. I last spoke with him from his hospital bed and gave him some
good news, that a server build project he helped me start had finally
been finished successfully and turned over to the client owner, so
when he finally went to his rest, at least that was one thing less he
needed to worry about. That was Bill--always spending time trying to
get others' stuff working. He was a real good egg and is already being
missed.

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk

[Tom Fowle]

Bill was a great guy, was very helpfull to me when learning Fedora and
through several installs. I've always wished I'd had more time to just yack
with him.

We'll all meet someday in that great open source shack in the ether.
Tom Fowle WA6IVG

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk
--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

[Janina Sajka]

Bill was my anchor when first I started using Linux so many years hence.
Helping people get their Linux legs under them was an abiding passion
for him, but it wasn't his only passion. Because I was blessed to call
him my friend, I know his passion for life was all embracing--for his
wife, his friends, his dogs, and for justice in the world. Bill will be
sorely missed and not just personally. His absence will be soon evident
in the many systems he helped maintain for many of us individually--and
for the community at large.

Janina

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk
--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

--
Janina Sajka, Phone: [phone]
sip:***@asterisk.rednote.net
Email: ***@rednote.net

Linux Foundation Fellow
Executive Chair, Accessibility Workgroup: http://a11y.org

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Chair, Protocols & Formats http://www.w3.org/wai/pf

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

I agree -- I knew him, but had not spoke with him for several years.

Post by Janina Sajka
Bill was my anchor when first I started using Linux so many years hence.
Helping people get their Linux legs under them was an abiding passion
for him, but it wasn't his only passion. Because I was blessed to call
him my friend, I know his passion for life was all embracing--for his
wife, his friends, his dogs, and for justice in the world. Bill will be
sorely missed and not just personally. His absence will be soon evident
in the many systems he helped maintain for many of us individually--and
for the community at large.
Janina

Post by Kirk Reiser
Writing to let people know that a long time friend and contributor
Bill Acker wb2flw passed away last evening.
Bill was responsible for putting our first Redhat and fedora speakup
enabled distributions together. In more recent years he maintained the
server where we shared dns services and provided mail and mail backup
for many members of the community.
He was an avid ham and phone freak and maintained a freeswitch which
many people using voip still use.
I am going to miss him very much. I'm sure others here will as
well. He died of complications to his prostate cancer which he's been
fighting for the past couple years.
73s Bill. It's been a good journey.
Kirk
--
Well that's it then, colour me gone!
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

--
Janina Sajka, Phone: [phone]
Linux Foundation Fellow
Executive Chair, Accessibility Workgroup: http://a11y.org
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Chair, Protocols & Formats http://www.w3.org/wai/pf
_______________________________________________
Speakup mailing list
http://linux-speakup.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/speakup

[Jason White]

I would like to echo Janina's comments. Bill had a deep commitment to free and
open telecommunications, to social justice worldwide, to accessibility, to
software freedom, to a decentralized Internet, and to his family and friends
especially. Generosity and giving to others were second nature to him. He
enjoyed sharing his knowledge and ideas and was also a great listener and
collaborator.

I was introduced to Bill by Janina when I decided to venture into the
world of Internet telephony - in particular, Asterisk, and later FreeSWITCH,
which we learned together as part of a collaborative undertaking. Actually, I had
corresponded with him years before on a mailing list, but didn't get to know
Bill until his offer of support in my telephony efforts. Lasting friendship is
one of the great privileges and opportunities in life. I thank Bill for it and
for the many ways in which he made life better.

He will be missed by many people for many reasons.