Having only briefly met Tim Tripcony in person and lacking the writing skill for the task, I feel like it's not entirely proper for me to comment on his death, but I'm doing to do so anyway.

Years ago, when I was finding out about the Lotus community and starting my journey learning XPages, Tim immediately stood out as one of The People to pay attention to. His knowledge of the platform and willingness to share made his blog an excellent resource, but it was more than that. In a way that is extraordinarily rare in the world, Tim wrote code that wasn't just good or useful, but Right. Just looking at the way he approached and solved a problem, you could tell immediately that it was correct, that it was the product of a mind filled not just with knowledge and trivia, but with a desire to come up with the best, most beautiful solution.

That's a skill and a way of going about programming that I strive to reach, and I was glad to ride Tim's coattails in that direction when I could. When I read a blog post of his, I knew immediately it was advice to take to heart. When I saw that his approach differed from mine, I knew that mine was wrong. He was the type of programmer I want to be.

And though I didn't know him very well personally, it was clear that his joy in sharing and sense of humor shone through. Talking to him and reading his work, you could tell he relished the opportunity to engage with others and mutually improve. His generosity and evenhandedness are further traits I aspire to.

I admired him immensely, and I have a hollow feeling in my gut knowing that I won't have an opportunity to know him better.