Ralph E. Griswold

Hi Madge. I was shocked to see Ralph's passing when I was on the internet. I really appreciated you and Ralph taking Sasha when I found out I was allergic to her. I think of her fondly, and missed her a lot, but felt better knowing she was with a very loving couple.

Although I never met Ralph Griswold in person, I exchanged a lot of snail- and e-mail with me, and he acted as an external advisor on two PhD theses I supervised. I have always been fascinated by his achievements in the area of programming languages which come orthogonally to all others.

Please accept my condolensces.

I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Griswold at the first Icebol convention. He was very nice and patient with me and all of us! I wish i had had the opportunity to take classes from him, but his works with Snobol continue to enrich my life.
May God Bless,

Russ Urquhart

Madge,
Saw the notice of Ralph's passing and wanted to send you my condolences. A voice from your past.

Ralph was a wonderful teacher who left behind an enviable legacy; hundreds of students who were prepared and inspired to shape the world in which we live by pushing the frontiers of computer use, as he himself did. When I was an undergrad, Ralph took a chance on me and gave me a job working with him in the CS department. Later, as one of his
graduate students, he taught me that the best researchers are a combination of artist, craftsman, and progressive thinker.

Thank-you Ralph, for...

It was a privilege to learn from such
an extraordinary man.

I had the great fortune of working for Ralph as a graduate research assistant. I didn't realize it on my first day with him, but my education was just beginning.

In one of many meetings with him he patiently listened as I enumerated a list of potential enhancements for the Icon programming language. When done, he said, "Sure, go ahead with those..." As I rose to dash to the nearest keyboard, he finished his sentence: "...but for every feature you add, first find one to throw out." ...

Although I never met Ralph Griswold, he
had an enormous and positive influence
on how I spent my time, beginning in
the 1970s with SNOBOL4 and later with
the Icon programming language. I will
always be indebted to him.

Bye, Ralph! It was fun and interesting working for you. I won't ever forget cutting up pink sheets of paper for you for note-taking.

Hugs to Madge, too! My thoughts are with you.

Margaret