|
Dec. 9, 2011 MVP Round Up |
|||||
|
Special Edition:
A Tribute to Nate Oliver and Mary Sauer
|
|||||
|
MVP Family Suffers More Losses
Just weeks after the Office MVP Family lost Word MVP
Shauna Kelly, we were devastated by the unexpected and sudden loss of Excel
MVP Nate Oliver and Publisher MVP Mary Sauer.
Nate was a vibrant young man of 35 who passed away from complications
due to a weak heart valve and Mary suffered a fatal heart attack at age 73,
still too young.
Both were amazing
people in their own right and left a lasting mark on the community.
Nate was originally awarded MVP in 2007 and
contributed in more ways to recount, including answering a stunning 10K
questions on MrExcel.com. Mary was
originally awarded in 2000 and was also a powerhouse in the forums and had an
extremely popular website that boasted of a stunning 2,600 sites linking in
to hers. What is even more impressive
about Mary and Nate however, is the impact they made on fellow MVPs and
Microsofties alike, which became obvious with the flood of emails, forum
posts, Facebook messages and water cooler discussions after learning of their
deaths. We were a better, stronger
community with them, and they will be dearly missed. |
|||||
|
Remembering Nate
"Nate was one of those rare
stars of a caliber and quality that was simply a privilege to meet."
Access MVP Albert Kallal “Nate was a good man and a good friend. There are a lucky few of us
that - thanks to the Microsoft MVP program - got to actually meet Nate
personally. For the many who only ever knew Nate virtually, he was quite the
Renaissance geek. Yes, due his pedigree in Finance and Economics he first
became exceptional at Excel. Then, after becoming dominant in Excel he then
turned his attention to Access and again earned a reputation as an expert.
But beyond his prodigious knowledge of Excel and Access, Nate had a passion
for fast cars, football and pool.” Excel MVP Greg Truby “The world is missing a
brilliant, thoughtful and generous man” Zack Barresse, Excel MVP “Nate was a very smart, funny, and warm guy who never hesitated to help
those who asked — and when he sensed it, to help those who didn’t ask. Nate
touched countless thousands of people’s lives by sharing his knowledge and
expertise in Microsoft Excel, other Microsoft and non- Microsoft
applications, and his brilliant programming techniques.” Tom Urtis, Excel
MVP “We'll miss the witty and cheerful Nathan,
his sunny hearty smile and his talent to help with the ease and grace.” Vladimir Zakharov, Excel MVP “If you didn't get the
chance to interact with Nate you missed out, as he was a lot of fun, and a
whiz with VBA (among other things). He got a hard time for how young he
looked, but he more than made up for it with his skills and great
personality.” Chris ‘Smitty’ Smith, Excel MVP "To Nate's family and friends,
with sincere sympathies on behalf of his extended family here at UtterAccess.
We have all been so fortunate to have met or known Nate, and he will indeed
be missed terribly. Nate has always been so brilliant, fun and kind.
His spirit and attitude are things we can hold in our hearts forever, and smile
with such fond memories. It was truly
a pleasure. Thank you Nate." Access MVP Gord Hubbell “For those who did not know Nate
personally, he was a very smart, funny, and warm guy who never hesitated to
help those who asked -- and when he sensed it, to help those who didn’t ask.
Nate touched countless thousands of people’s lives by sharing his knowledge
and expertise in Microsoft Excel, other Microsoft and non- Microsoft
applications, and his brilliant programming techniques. Nate and I last spoke
a month ago, with a tip he sent me about how to improve my web site for IE8
users. Nate will be sadly missed, not just by his own family but by the
global technical family of which he was so valuable a part.” Excel MVP Tom
Urtis "I remember
coding an Excel automation process and putting the 'close Excel' in the wrong
part of the loop ending up with many EXCEL.EXE processes (bad thing). As I
was fixing the problem, I was hearing his voice in my head "Doug, Doug,
Doug, do not leave hanging processes like that". When we met the
following Summit, and I told him the story, he cocked his head and said
(while laughing) "Doug, Doug, Doug, did I not tell you to not leave
hanging processes like that.” Access MVP Doug Yudovich “I think all of us who
were afforded the privilege of meeting him in person would like those of you
who only ever met him in cyberspace to know that while the cyber-Nate was
great; the real Nate was even better. He channeled his formidable intellect
towards helping thousands of people online solve their problems. He leaves a
legacy befitting a man of his good character." Excel MVP Greg Truby "Nate was always
smiling -- even when he was just walking along. He was a good friend who was always there
to help anybody who needed it. I learned so much from him, especially about
exchanging data between Access and Excel.
Many code snippets in my library were written by Nate. We shared ideas and laughed a lot -- that
is what I will remember." Access MVP Crystal Long Here’s a few of the
threads you can look at for more comments and pictures: A tribute by Excel MVP Tom Urtis on his blog A
tribute on Utter Access A tribute on the Excel Blog |
Remembering Mary
Publisher MVP Mary
Sauer was one of our more private MVPs, and was less gregarious than Nate,
but her passing still deeply affected the community. She was very proud to have been a MVP for
11 years, and like many MVPs, made an impact on many more people than the MVP
Program. In addition to being a MVP, she was a dedicated 4-H leader for more
than 25 years; taught adult literacy, supported youth soccer for years; loved
to garden, loved dogs, was an avid reader, delivered meals on wheels, developed
and maintained her church website for several years (and won a national honor
for the design) won many cross stitching blue ribbons, and sent care packages
to many overseas soldiers from Vietnam to the Gulf War. Mary was an amazing and wonderful woman and
will be missed by many. Her fellow Publisher MVP, David Foster, said this,”
She and I were the last Publisher MVPs and there will never be another like
her.” |
||||
|
Tributes From Microsoft “I was Nate's MVP Lead and am stunned by this
news. Nate always went out of his way to help the Excel community. He was
always one of my go-to MVPs who spent hours of his own time, when I reached
out to him directly, to help a non-Excel MVP with a tricky issue. He was a
great MVP and wonderful person. What a tragic loss of someone so young and
vibrant. I will miss him...his sense of humor especially.” Melissa Travers, MVP Lead
“With Nate’s passing, the world has lost one of the good ones—and
entirely too soon. Sure, Nate was a tireless champion for Excel, but he was
also a lovely, funny, and eternally patient person who made a habit of going
out of his way to help anyone who asked. (And quite often, the person asking
was me!) I’m really impressed by Nate’s fellow MVPs, who have already shared
so many moving tributes on Facebook and on their blogs. These are sure to be
a great comfort to Nate’s family, because they clearly show just how many people
truly appreciated Nate and his talents. What a fantastic guy Nate was, and
what a fantastic, supportive community he belonged to!” Anneliese
Wirth, Sr. Writer, Office Content Publishing “I am so very sorry and saddened to hear about Nate. He will most
definitely be missed. I'll miss his quick wit and banter. Please extend my
condolences to his family.” Heather Kostes, MVP Lead “Such sad news. My deepest condolences to Nate's family and Nate's
extended MVP family. Rest in peace Nate.” Joe Camp, Office Community Lead “When I first came on
board as the MVP Lead for Office, Mary was one of the first MVPs that reached
out to me to say hello. She was warm
and welcoming and consistently reached out to me advocating for Microsoft
customers. She embodied the true
spirit of a MVP and I’m going to miss her.”
Kari Finn, MVP Lead |
|||||
|
Memorial
Information Nate: Memorial
visitation Saturday, December 17 from 4-6 PM, with a reception to follow, all
at: Washburn-McReavy Edina Chapel 952-920-3996 West 50th St. & Hwy 100.
Here’s a link
to his
Obituary. Mary: Mary’s
Memorial service was in November, but you can still make donations to
Salvation Army in Mary's name and visit her memorial page here. |
|||||
Copyright 2011 Microsoft Corporation. www.microsoft.com | Legal | Privacy
posted December 9, 2011 with permission from Kari Finn, Community Program Manager - Community and Online, Microsoft
picture by Duane Hookom |
click HERE to see PICTURES of Nate and friends
If you have pictures you wish to add to this collection, go to Nate Oliver's Blog download zipped Word document with Nate Oliver's Blog |
go to the Access MVP home page