Hoo Knew… Vance Williams
Uncategorized June 11th, 2008Monday, June 9, 2008, was just like any other day. Apple opened up their big conference… emails to open… blogs to write… But, it was not like any other day. Our good friend and colleague, Vance Williams passed away suddenly from an unexpected and unknown illness.
Vance was Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center’s (MATEC) Network and Computer Systems Administrator. He was in the heart of the computer revolution. He started as an accountant and wrote his own accounting software for the first computers. From there it lead him to IT where for over 22 years, he taught courses on computers, set up Maricopa Community Colleges’ first computer networks, and for the last ten years, kept MATEC on top of everything.
As a side job, he was our very own personal “Mr. Wizard”, or like the wise “owl” from the Tootsie Pop commercial; we could go to him on questions or advice on any topics. My former cubemate, Lara Sayer, would ask me a question, and many times I would respond, “we need to ask Mr. Wizard!” He was a wealth of knowledge and conversations with Vance were always fascinating.
Vance was very patient with many of our questions. If I had a question or an idea, I knew that I could always go to Vance and ask him. He would listen, and either gave you the answer, or, if he didn’t know it, he would tell you he didn’t know. It was rare when he didn’t know. If he didn’t know, he would research it (without telling you he was researching). Usually, within twenty minutes or so, he would email you the answer, or if it were a question that intrigued him, he would come over to your desk so the discussion could continue. Often times one of our discussions would fascinate him, and the next thing I knew, a blog would show up.
Based on his knowledge, he was asked to write the “Hoo Knew” articles for our @matec newsletters. I
laughed as I wrote that because when Vance left on vacation, our Mistress of Practical Jokes struck his cube, covering every flat surface, every book cover, every picture, calendar page, Kleenex box, even the inside of his famous coffee cup, with pictures of owls all saying “Hoo Knew?”.
Vance kept a very neat, organized desk and what we did was sacrilege. We figured when he came back he would take down the fifty or so owls right away. He came in, saw his cube, smiled, and sat down to work, only removing the owls that were preventing him from working; first from his coffee cup, and then from his computer screen. As he needed something, only then did an owl get removed and stacked in a neat, organized pile. To our surprise, it was after about a week that he removed the other owls. He did keep up eight of the owls that were not in his way (our sign that he approved of our joke). He had a great sense of humor. Anytime the Mistress of Practical Jokes was going to strike, he wasn’t afraid to give suggestions (very devious suggestions…).
Another sign of his humor (or his patience with us), Shay Johnson, Photoshopped his face to Bill Murray’s character McCraken, in the movie Kingpin (long story on why this happened – but it is funny). I printed out an eight-by-ten, and since my eight-year-old daughter Hannah was visiting the office, I had her to ask him for his autograph. He laughed and signed the picture, treating my daughter nicely. That endeared him forever in my heart.
Now, his cube is empty. A few owls are still up, but everything that made Vance’s cube his, is packed away for his family. But his MATEC family will not forget, and we will always have a few owls watching over us.
Mark Viquesney
If you have any stories or memories of Vance that you would like to share, please feel free to leave comments below.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
This was Maricopa Community College’s announcement for Vance’s passing:
It is with a deep sense of loss that we tell you Richard Vance Williams of the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, passed away on June 9th after a short illness. Vance was known throughout the district as an extraordinarily competent specialist in the areas of information and instructional technologies.
Vance joined the district as an adjunct faculty at Rio in 1986. He worked at RSC and SCC until joining the District Office training group in 1990. In 1993, he became a project manager in the Center for Workforce Development. In late 1996 he was a founding senior staff member of the Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center where he provided instruction technology leader for this National Center until his passing.
We remember Vance as kind, giving, gracious, funny, and committed to service and excellence. We miss him profoundly.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Vance & I weren’t coworkers, but dear old friends for over 15 years. I will always remember a good heart, a wonderful sense of humor, an unlimited knowledge base always gladly shared, and countless tales from camping trips and poker games. He was one of the rare people my crazy dog loved(Most others she would attack on sight); that tells right there of his kindred spirit. My deepest sympathy goes to those of you who worked with Vance; this must be a very difficult time for you. I am in IT as well, and we shared MANY stories over the years – I was blessed to hear & tell those stories over an occasional campfire. He loved his work, and as I changed from one shop to another, Vance stayed the course at his. More than once I’d heard from him that he felt fortunate in that he was working with a great team – thought you’d like to know that.
God bless you, and thanks for the opportunity to post.
Janice Lusignea
June 12th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Vance will be truly missed. As another BMW nut, He was there since day one of the local clubs driving schools, wear his all white SCCA outfit ready to work. Always keeping the club with money in the bank.
God Speed with you Vance.
Ray Bladine
Bavarian Motors Ltd.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I will write more details later. I just want to thank everyone who has written and encourage those who are thinking about writing to do so. It is very healing. I miss my “little brother” very much.
June 12th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
My deepest condolences to Vance’s extended family. I first met Vance through the local BMW club when I moved to Phoenix. I have a vintage 1972 BMW 2002tii vehicle. Parts for it are expensive and oftimes hard to find. Vance contacted me and said he was cleaning out his garage and had some ’02 pieces from his old ’02 that I might need. He gave me a transmission, a cylinder head and boxes of other parts. Some have made it onto the car and some are still in my garage. Vance will ride with me forever. Thanx old friend until we meet again.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I had the honor of working with Vance at MATEC for the past 16 months. When I first started, I believe I heard him before I actually met him – and I swore he was Sean Connery. Vance was like the “voice of reason” that I often heard over my cubical walls. We sat across the hall from each other and even though he claimed that he could not hear that well… he heard whatever he needed to.
- If I had a question that was reasonable…I knew I could ask “Encyclopedia Vance”.
- If I made a comment or told a joke…I knew it was funny if I heard a deep chuckle…and if it was really funny, Vance would come to my desk to keep it going.
- If I was only halfway correct in a statement…he would hold his coffee cup and say, “wwwellllllllll theoretically…”
- If I-I mean if “The Mistress of Practical Jokes” was plotting…I would either hear an “Uuuuuhhhhh… you might wanna think twice about doing that,” or “you know what you should do is…”
No matter what I was up to, I realize now that Vance was more aware and more involved in watching over me, and over all of us here at MATEC, than I realized at the time. I will always remember him as extremely wise, helpful, honest, and respectable. He was, and is, an outstanding example for us all.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I had the pleasure of working with Vance at MATEC for a couple of years, and it was indeed a pleasure. As others have noted, he was extremely intelligent, friendly with everyone, generous with his time and knowledge, and very funny. He was also extremely patient, supportive, and a great teacher. In the course of my work, I often had to ask Vance technical questions. He always gave clear, concise and correct answers, but he never made me feel ashamed of my ignorance. Vance also knew a great deal in a wide range of subjects from science to pop culture. He could talk about car engines or computer chips just as easily as he could about the “South Park” cartoon series or the old Legend City amusement park. The breadth of his knowledge always astounded me. Additionally, he always loved a good joke — practical or not. “Rumor” has it that Vance once took part in blockading Mike Lesiecki’s old office from floor to cieling with hundreds of small boxes that had earlier contained giveaway items for the SAME-TEC conference. I cannot — or will not — confirm this, but if Vance was involved with something, you can be sure it was memorable. And, ultimately, that’s what Vance was: memorable. I am truly grateful for knowing Vance and will remember him forever. My deepest and most sincere sympathies go out to all of Vance’s relatives, co-workers, and friends.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I just began working with Vance on occasion this year, but I was really affected by the news of his passing. He was a person I immediately liked and trusted, full of helpful knowledge and a subtle sense of humor. If I ever had to, say, pilot a plane by following directions from someone on the ground, I would want Vance to be the person on the ground.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Hoo Knew? – I was just reminded while eating my lunch – that Vance might have wanted it on the record that, “He never ate and never would have ever even tried eating Sushi. He thought that those of us that liked sushi were disgusting and wrong for eating ‘Raw Fish’.”
(A little laughter helps with healing too.)
June 12th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I first got to know vance in a bar. Just after MATEC began in 1996 the first two employees (Vance and I) were assigned to go to Washington DC to the NSF. After the meeting we headed over to Old Ebbets grill near the white house for a beer on a cold windy night. I remember thinking this is a guy I would like to work with. Turned out it was very true. I also shared this air cooled VW car thing with Vance.
He really had a sense of adventure travel heading off on solo bike trips on the Norton or BMW or the old 2002 for that matter as well as his trip to wales for a couple of weeks. As you all know he was a very independant, I’ll-figure-this-out-myself sort of guy. A lot to admire there.
mike
June 12th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
My husband, Bryan, has been friends with Vance for almost 30 years, and we loved him very much.
We were fortunate to be visited by two Santa’s each Christmas. One was the fat, jolly man who arrived in the middle of the night in a sleigh. The other was the tall, lean one, with a dry sense of humor, who arrived on Christmas morning in a BMW.
Each December, I got a call from Vance asking for ideas for presents for my children Billy (now age 13) and Natalie (now age 11). We all know that Vance was a very even-keel guy. The only time I ever heard a note of panic in his voice was this past year when I told him Natalie would love anything related to Hannah Montana. Although Vance was extraordinarily smart and talented, the idea of navigating the Hannah Montana section of a store in the middle of December had him completely unnerved! So he did a very Vance-like thing by ordering online. (And got not just the CD, but the blonde wig and sequin microphone, too.) The only problem was that he then began to be bombarded with offers for related items. Months later, he told me he was still getting them on a regular basis – and of course he remembered each one. Who would have imagined that, among us all, the one person who was most up to date on every CD, DVD, poster, etc. for preteen girls was actually Vance?
Vance often selected electronic toys for Billy. When Bill would open the box, he would find the item already assembled, with the battery already charged up and ready to go. Vance would then proceed to explain every button and feature on the toy. This seemed very thoughtful because it meant Bill could start to play immediately. But actually, Vance just enjoyed playing with all of the toys on Christmas Eve as he did his wrapping.
So the kids always got fun gifts from Vance and I always got beautiful things from him – but I can’t say as much for the gifts he would give to Bryan. One of Vance’s talents was finding the most bizarre and absolutely useless gifts that you could imagine for his guy friends. It was a source of great pride to him and he delighted in making me squirm at the thought of what weird thing I would find in my house next. All I can say is – every time I see the full-size, stuffed and mounted armadillo that is currently on the top of my refrigerator, I’ll think of Vance.
June 12th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I have the opportunity to receive emails from people in our community college district who wanted to send their thoughts. I take the liberty of abstracting some of them here:
I will remember him as a person who is immediately likeable, easy to trust, and both knowledgeable and helpful in his work. – Erin Sweeten
Vance was a very dear friend of mine for over 20 years. I will miss my dear, dear friend – Linda Collins
I consider myself one of the lucky individuals who worked with Vance many years ago, and who also could call him a friend. I indeed will miss him. – Christina Milanez
We remember Vance as kind, giving, gracious, funny and certainly committed to service and excellence. – Maria Harper Marinick
…..this kind man – Kristine Wilcox
I can’t imagine him gone. I’m so sorry for you folks, as well as the District as a whole. He was such a competent, gracious person. – Margaret McConnell
What a great guy …… I always did like to say hello, chat about BMWs and whatever. I will really miss him as I know all of you will. – Lou Frenzel
Vance was such a kind hearted and funny guy and always a pleasure to talk with and work with in person as well as on our various phone calls over the last several years. – Rachel Bower
June 12th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
When I got the phone call from Mike telling me that Vance had died, he said that he told us right away because he knew that the BMW Club meant a lot to Vance. I’d like to tell you a little about how much Vance meant to the Club, and to me personally.
Vance was one of the earliest members of the Roadrunner chapter of the BMW Club. He often joked that his first duty as Treasurer was to put $100 in the account so we wouldn’t bounce our checks. Vance went on to be an active member of the Club. He served as Treasurer and later webmaster, and helped out at all of the Club’s driving schools. Vance was not only a fan of BMW cars, but of motorcycles as well. He recently told me that he grew a beard to cover the scars of one of his two wheeled indiscretions.
Vance was also a great sounding board. Whenever I had doubts about handling something, I turned to Vance. He had an encyclopedic memory for everything that ever happened within the Club and was able to tell me what he had learned over the years. He never had a private agenda, never bore a grudge, and was always willing to speak his mind without showing any sign of animosity towards anyone. I trusted him when he told me I was right, but I trusted him even more when he told me I was wrong. He was just that kind of guy.
Any time I saw Vance at a meeting, I had a sense of calmness – it was hard to get all worked up about anything when Vance was around. This year, after some good natured arm twisting, Vance volunteered to become a Board member again. I felt that we could all learn a lot from his wisdom and experience, but mostly I was just hoping to see him around more. I was looking forward to getting to know him a little better. Unfortunately, we never got that chance.
A strange thing has happened since his untimely passing. I’ve heard from many of our members who felt that, even though they didn’t know much about Vance, they thought of him as a friend. I know how they feel. Although I didn’t spend much time with him, I could not help but think of him as my friend and to look forward to being around him. It might have been his dry sense of humor, the way he managed to be classy and dignified and yet remain approachable, his ability to be wise without having a hint of arrogance, his willingness to give of himself freely; or it might just be the gut feeling we all had that he was simply a very good man.
I know the Club meant a lot to Vance. I only hope Vance knew how much he meant to us, and to me. We will all miss Vance greatly.
Marty Saltzman
President, Roadrunner Chapter BMWCCA
June 12th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I only met Vance in person maybe 3 or 4 times, most recently at a Visiting Committee meeting last month for MATEC Networks. Even though we did not meet in person often over the past couple of years I’ve been on a number of conference calls with him – his voice was pretty unique and easy to identify!
It was always impressed with his sense of humor, work, dedication and (as Maria Harper Marinick said above) his commitment to service and excellence. Through his work at MATEC he positively influenced tens-of-thousands of careers and lives across the entire United States.
His work will live on and continue to influence.
Gordon F. Snyder Jr
National Center for Telecommunications Technologies
Massachusetts
June 13th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Wow, like all of you, I am still in shock at the news of Vance’s passing. He and I go way back to the District Training Services office. When Vance started working with us he was the only guy in a department of women raising young children solo. And let me tell you that all of our children (now adults) benefited from his wise counsel. He was the voice of reason as we debated “groundings for life”. Vance had posted a little sign in his office that said NO SNIVELING. We ignored the sign and he passed us the tissue box.
Tradition in our department was to celebrate every birthday with cake (and candles), gifts, and singing. Vance’s birthday was shortly after he arrived in Training Services. When we surprised him in his office with big perky smiles and a flaming cake, he quickly realized he had no choice but to act like he was thrilled. And we believed he was even if he did caution us on the candle safety issue!
I never got a car repair without consulting Vance first. He would thoroughly explain the problem to me, even draw me a picture. A few repair shops were impressed with my (limited) knowledge.
Gifts from Vance were always one-of-a-kind. Christmas of 1999 many of us received the metal Y2K Bug. It is still sitting on my desk along with the miniature cast iron WWII Army Tank that I got one other year.
Vance joined my extended family for many a Thanksgiving dinner. The men and boys always checked out his BMW and the ladies thought it was neat that he wore a sport coat with his jeans. Before Vance quit smoking, he and my Dad would have a beer and a cigarette on the patio and talk cars.
You will be missed by all of us my friend. We always counted on you and you never once disappointed us.
Love ya VW,
Debbie Krumtinger, Luke, Kari, and my entire family
June 13th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Witty and wise are the two words that immediately come to mind when I think of Vance; that is why it is still hard for me to believe he now gone. He was full of such energy and spirit!
I was lucky enough to have worked with Vance for close to four years and can’t begin to tell you just how much I learned from him. To this day I still quote some of his very valuable teachings, such as, “You can never fully idiot proof something because idiots are just too creative.” Ah, classic, and oh so true!
I loved hearing Vance tell stories of his childhood because unlike most kids Vance spent a lot of his time building high-tech “toys” such as rockets. He often told me about the times when he and his friends would build rockets and shoot them off with birds inside. Now as an avid animal lover I would normally be horrified to hear of such an act, however after being reassured that no birds were injured during the process, Vance had a way of making the whole scheme seem ingenious! It wasn’t long before I left MATEC that I nicknamed Vance, Stewie – after the genius baby from The Family Guy. I swear that was Vance when he was young (minus the British accent of course).
I could go on and on with great Vance stories and I look forward to reading more from all of his many friends and family! In the meantime, it is still difficult to understand just how and why he was taken from us so suddenly. I have to believe that the Big Guy either wanted to start the ultimate car club with only the most elite members, or that He ran into major networking problems and had to call on the best of the best!
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of his family, friends, and co-workers!
MATECer’s keep the pranks going . . . Vance would want it that way ; )
Thinking of all of you,
B
June 13th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I had the honor of having Vance in the circle of my closest friends, actually more of a family member. Over the last 30 years we expereinced each others highs and lows both personal and professional. Along with untold numbers of motorcycle, camping, fishing, hunting, road trips, barrels of beer and bottles of whiskey.
Let’s not forget that Vance had a sharp side to him. A few years ago I had a poor experience with my (domestic) car warranty and the dealership. Naturally I called Vance to vent, he listened and that was that, I thought. A few days later he called to ask if I could pick him up at the BMW dealership his car was going in for repairs. Sure I’ll pick you up what’s wrong with the car? Oh nothing is wrong, the BMW dealer called because the warranty is almost expired and they want to check it to be sure everything is OK. That’s great, what time do you want me there? We made a time for later in the day. About 10 minutes later he called again. Never mind, the dealer just called and is going to bring me a loaner car and drive my car to the shop, return it when they are done and pick up the loaner. Oh that’s nice. Vance said “what your dealer didn’t do that for you”? Now there was a follow up story about all this stuff they fixed for free but to this day I don’t know if any of it happened or if he was screwing with me.
Vance, my life is richer for having known you.
Bryan Halsey
June 13th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Vance was a friend of my husband, David, and I knew him through that relationship and seeing Vance during the many celebrations at Dan and Susan Crull’s house.
I was always unsure what to talk to Vance about; I guess I was always a little itimidated because he was so smart.
But, last summer, we invited Vance to join us at our house in Prescott for the Cowboy Poet’s event. We thought this would be something Vance would really enjoy; and indeed he did.
He might have enjoyed the event, but I truly enjoyed spending so much time with Vance. I found that, instead of it being hard to talk to Vance, it was so easy because you could talk to him about anything. I could even talk to Vance about cooking!
I am so glad he spent the weekend with us because then Vance became my friend also.
And, because of Vance’s neatness and consideration of others, he was definitely the perfect house guest!
We lost Vance way too soon.
Joan Alexander
June 15th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I met Vance at the 2003 BMW E31 fest in California. From the first night there, we gravitated towards each other because the hotel bar had quite a selection of single malt scotch which we both had a taste for. We took turns buying rounds of different single malts over several evenings. Whenever the question arose “Whose turn is it again?” Vance always said it was his. This was the only time I spend with Vance but “whose turn is it” became a running joke in our email correspondence and BMW forum postings.
Vance was easy to hang around with because as everybody here knows, he was just so easy to like. His intelligence, quick wit and generosity were a one of a kind combination.
I live in Germany but have a sister who lives in Arizona. He always told me to pay him a visit the next time I’m in his neighborhood. I KNOW his invitation was sincere and I looked forward to accepting it. I am saddened that I will not have the honor.
It is rare for such a short time spent together to leave such a lasting impression but as I read these posts, Vance left a big space in everybody’s heart.
God speed Vance. You left the mark of a good man on this world.
Tony Smisek
June 16th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I had the plasure of meeting Vance when he was 16 and a drop out. I was very proud of him when he furthered his education. My condolences to all that knew and loved him. He will always have a place in our hearts.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:39 am
all i can say is “my friend is gone.” damn.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I echo Debbie K’s comments…a shock! I have had the pleasure of knowing Vance at the District Office and when he moved over to MATEC for a number of years. He was always ready to grab a beer and eager to hit the happy hours through the years. He was a very likeable guy and a person that will be missed. Maricopa has lost another good employee. Won’t say goodbye, just see you later Vance!