Death of Howerd Oakford

[Stephen Pelc]

Gerald Wodni just passed me this awful news

It is with great sadness, that I have to announce the Death of Howerd Oakford.
Howerd was hit by a car while cycling on the bike lane. He was not able to
recover and died 2 days later on the 16th of November in hospital.

He was a great thinker and tinkerer in the Forth community and he will always
be remembered as such.
His efforts to understand the most complex inner functions of projects like
colorForth,
and presenting them in an entertaining and engaging way were unique and will
be missed.

His wife, Rita Oakford said that he was very much looking forward meeting us
again at next year's EuroForth - As were we of course looking forward seeing
him again.
He will be cremated and put to rest in a forest the week before Christmas.
Rita would welcome some attendance from the Forth community, I will announce
the details here.

All the best to Howerd on his final journey.

Sincerely,
Gerald

[Paul Rubin]

I'm very sorry to hear this. I always liked his posts, and appreciated
his efforts with Colorforth.

[minforth]

I am saddened to learn this and send my condolences to the family.

So many Forther have already passed away. Just as an example
I remember good interesting conversations with Jerry Avins,
formerly a very active participant in c.l.f.

RIP

[Brian Fox]

Post by Stephen Pelc
Gerald Wodni just passed me this awful news
It is with great sadness, that I have to announce the Death of Howerd Oakford.
Howerd was hit by a car while cycling on the bike lane. He was not able to
recover and died 2 days later on the 16th of November in hospital.
He was a great thinker and tinkerer in the Forth community and he will always
be remembered as such.
His efforts to understand the most complex inner functions of projects like
colorForth,
and presenting them in an entertaining and engaging way were unique and will
be missed.
His wife, Rita Oakford said that he was very much looking forward meeting us
again at next year's EuroForth - As were we of course looking forward seeing
him again.
He will be cremated and put to rest in a forest the week before Christmas.
Rita would welcome some attendance from the Forth community, I will announce
the details here.
All the best to Howerd on his final journey.
Sincerely,
Gerald
--
MicroProcessor Engineering, Ltd. - More Real, Less Time
133 Hill Lane, Southampton SO15 5AF, England
tel: [phone]
http://www.mpeforth.com - free VFX Forth downloads

Thank you for letting us know in such a warmly written post Stephen.
It seems so senseless but such is our fragile life.
My heart goes out for Rita.

[Anton Ertl]

Post by Stephen Pelc
It is with great sadness, that I have to announce the Death of Howerd Oakford.

I am saddened to read that.

Of course he is well-known for his long-standing interest in
colorForth (starting in 2001 or earlier and resulting in
<http://www.euroforth.org/ef01/oakford01.pdf> and later papers and
presentations). But I also vividly remember your and his presentation
on bomb disposal <http://www.euroforth.org/ef03/pelc-oakford03.pdf>.
Looking at the EuroForth page, I also see several papers on a variety
of other topics, mainly in the 1990s.

Post by Stephen Pelc
Howerd was hit by a car while cycling on the bike lane. He was not able to
recover and died 2 days later on the 16th of November in hospital.

It seems that this posting describes the accident:
<https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/62459/5649355>

- anton

[Jurgen Pitaske]

Post by Anton Ertl

Post by Stephen Pelc
It is with great sadness, that I have to announce the Death of Howerd Oakford.

I am saddened to read that.
Of course he is well-known for his long-standing interest in
colorForth (starting in 2001 or earlier and resulting in
<http://www.euroforth.org/ef01/oakford01.pdf> and later papers and
presentations). But I also vividly remember your and his presentation
on bomb disposal <http://www.euroforth.org/ef03/pelc-oakford03.pdf>.
Looking at the EuroForth page, I also see several papers on a variety
of other topics, mainly in the 1990s.

Post by Stephen Pelc
Howerd was hit by a car while cycling on the bike lane. He was not able to
recover and died 2 days later on the 16th of November in hospital.

<https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/62459/5649355>
- anton
--
M. Anton Ertl http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/anton/home.html
comp.lang.forth FAQs: http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/forth/faq/toc.html
New standard: https://forth-standard.org/
EuroForth 2023: https://euro.theforth.net/2023

I am so very sorry to hear this.
I had some discussions with him over the last months
and he was a very kind person. And very helpful.
My thoughts are with his wife. She must be very shocked.

Rest in Peace.

For people here I did a quick translation of the text at this link.

Odenthal (ots)

Yesterday, Tuesday (November 14th), the police, fire department, rescue service
and an emergency doctor were called to the Glöbusch district
after a traffic accident occurred there between a car and a cyclist.

A 36-year-old woman from Kürten was driving her Citroen on Schlinghofener Strasse around 11:50 a.m.
and intended to turn right at a junction onto the higher-level Bergstrasse.
According to her own statements, she stopped her car in front of the junction
and only started again after she had not noticed any other road users coming from either direction.

However, she apparently overlooked a 69-year-old cyclist from Odenthal
coming from the right who was driving on the left side of the mountain road
on the shared footpath and cycle path in the direction of Blecher.

This area is a pedestrian and cycle path for both directions.
The cyclist was trapped under the Kürten woman's car
and had to be freed by the fire department.
He suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance.
The woman from Kürten was also taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The traffic accident investigation was supported by a traffic accident investigation team from the Düsseldorf police headquarters.
The bicycle, which had an estimated damage of 200 euros,
and the Citroen were seized as evidence.

While the accident was being recorded, the junction area was completely closed for around three hours.
The Rhein-Berg police are now asking witnesses
who can provide information about the accident to contact the Burscheid traffic commissioner on 02202 205-0. (th)

[none) (albert]

Post by Stephen Pelc
Gerald Wodni just passed me this awful news
It is with great sadness, that I have to announce the Death of Howerd Oakford.
Howerd was hit by a car while cycling on the bike lane. He was not able to
recover and died 2 days later on the 16th of November in hospital.

Very sad to hear this. It hits close to home, because I have cycling
several times a week too. He was so enthusiastic about colorforth!
With the monthly zoom meeting interactions he became more than a name
joined to a website.

Let us hope that his legacy lives on, with his github and colorforth
website kept for posterity.

Post by Stephen Pelc
--

Groetjes Albert

[Ingo Mathyl]

I am very sorry to hear this.
I wish Howard's family a lot of strength during this difficult time.

Best wishes Ingo Mathyl

[Jurgen Pitaske]

Post by none) (albert

Post by Stephen Pelc
Gerald Wodni just passed me this awful news
It is with great sadness, that I have to announce the Death of Howerd Oakford.
Howerd was hit by a car while cycling on the bike lane. He was not able to
recover and died 2 days later on the 16th of November in hospital.

Very sad to hear this. It hits close to home, because I have cycling
several times a week too. He was so enthusiastic about colorforth!
With the monthly zoom meeting interactions he became more than a name
joined to a website.
Let us hope that his legacy lives on, with his github and colorforth
website kept for posterity.

Post by Stephen Pelc
--

Groetjes Albert
--
Don't praise the day before the evening. One swallow doesn't make spring.
You must not say "hey" before you have crossed the bridge. Don't sell the
hide of the bear until you shot it. Better one bird in the hand than ten in
the air. First gain is a cat spinning. - the Wise from Antrim -

and for people who do not know Howard, here the link to his website
https://www.inventio.co.uk/InventioSoftware/index.html

[JKN]

Post by Stephen Pelc
Gerald Wodni just passed me this awful news
It is with great sadness, that I have to announce the Death of Howerd Oakford.
Howerd was hit by a car while cycling on the bike lane. He was not able to
recover and died 2 days later on the 16th of November in hospital.
He was a great thinker and tinkerer in the Forth community and he will always
be remembered as such.
His efforts to understand the most complex inner functions of projects like
colorForth,
and presenting them in an entertaining and engaging way were unique and will
be missed.
His wife, Rita Oakford said that he was very much looking forward meeting us
again at next year's EuroForth - As were we of course looking forward seeing
him again.
He will be cremated and put to rest in a forest the week before Christmas.
Rita would welcome some attendance from the Forth community, I will announce
the details here.
All the best to Howerd on his final journey.
Sincerely,
Gerald
--
MicroProcessor Engineering, Ltd. - More Real, Less Time
133 Hill Lane, Southampton SO15 5AF, England
tel: [phone]
http://www.mpeforth.com - free VFX Forth downloads

Oh, that is sad news.

I employed Howerd on behalf of the company I was
working for, for some (non-forth) embedded workpython
when he was based near Brighton in the mid-2010's.

Although that work can't be said to have been a resounding
success, I always found Howerd to be civilised and
personable. His posts on the development of
Colorforth were always interesting. My condolences to
his widow and family.

J^n