William M. Leblanc

I was just thinking about William, and google led me here. I had no idea. Will and I were grad students at Caltech. We lived in adjacent rooms in a special dorm called "Avery House"; it was special because it was a mix of undergrads, grad students, and faculty. As fellow grad students who were into gaming, surrounded by undergrads, I think we commiserated.

Two quick stories:

At the time, Diablo 2 was going to come out. William had won the lottery into the beta! He played a lot, of course, but also let me come over and at first watch him, and even sometimes I got to play. That was nice of him, considering all he had was the dorm room and his computer, so it's not like he could go elsewhere to sleep/play. (Maybe he went to his office. I was just happy to play Diablo 2 beta! =)

I forget what William ate, but for some reason I remember him talking to me about bread and olive oil. I guess he was into simplicity, which is something that took me a couple years to catch on to. Apparently, pre-Caltech, William would eat just bread and olive oil (and presumably a multivitamin), for a long time. He said it was the best thing ever. Until one day he just got sick of olive oil. And then he never had olive oil again because it made him sick. Lol.

Rest in peace, my friend. We had some good times.

Many long and enjoyable nights spent gaming and chatting with William (Cydmab, his in-game name). I had the pleasure of hosting him twice as well. My thoughts and well wishes go out to his family.

-Derek

Adieu Cydmab. You were quite the fine iconoclast, and I'm glad I got to host you in real life at least that one time.

Dear Marilynne and Larry,

I am so sorry for your loss. I still have vivid memories of William. He was always so upbeat and positive, and a very smart and cute boy who grew into a very intelligent and thoughtful man.

With deepest condolences,
Margaret Stock

I am so sorry Marilynne about your son's loss. You & I were @ NHS, class of '71 together. May he rest in peace.
In Sympathy,
Sue (Pike) Seri

I am shocked and saddened. I still remember babysitting for William several Halloween weekends. I'll keep you all in my thoughts.