Ken Brill: September 6, 1944–July 30, 2013
Ken and Margot Brill, with Ken reading to one of our sons, on May 8, 2011. Photo credit: Jonathan Koomey.
My dear friend Ken Brill passed away on July 30th, and a few of his colleagues and I gathered with Ken’s family in Maine on August 17th of this year to celebrate his life. I’ve posted below links to the text of the eulogies given by me, Martin McCarthy of 451, and John T. Thornell of Upsite Technologies, and the homily by Rev. Timothy Boggs, so that people who weren’t able to attend the ceremony can read what we said, reflect on those thoughts, and add additional comments if they want.
“What makes a great man?”, by Jonathan Koomey
“Eulogy for Ken Brill”, by Martin McCarthy
“In Honor of Ken Brill”, by John T. Thornell
“Homily in Celebration and Thanksgiving for the Life of Ken Brill”, by Rev. Timothy A. Boggs
I’ve also posted the “Core Values“ document that Ken shared with all of his employees during the twelve years I’ve known him. This document captures some of what made Ken special, and it’s worth a read.
Martin McCarthy ended his eulogy with a quote from Ken that sums it up perfectly: “‘Drop the boulder. Grab the balloon.’ Let’s all grab a balloon for Ken.”
In talking with Jim Glanz, a reporter at the New York Times who wrote about data centers, I learned a few weeks ago that Ken had been especially proud of the video he and Jim did walking through a data center, with Ken explaining things as they walked. It was created to accompany a long article Jim did that got lots of attention. But Ken was much more interested in how many people had watched the video. I post the link here, so more people can watch it!
Obituaries and Tributes for Ken Brill
There was an outpouring of discussion upon Ken’s passing, and I’ve collected some of the key links below. Please let me know if I’ve missed any important ones.
Portland Press Herald: Obituary for Ken Brill
Uptime Institute: Uptime Institute Grieves the Passing of Founder Ken Brill
The Register: Ken Brill, ‘the father of data centers’, powers down at 69
PC World: Data center innovator Ken Brill dies at 68
Computerworld: Ken Brill, the man who defined the data center, dies
eWeek: Ken Brill, Data Center Pioneer, dies at 69
The 7x24 Network’s tribute to Ken Brill
Data Center Dynamics: Uptime Institute Founder Ken Brill Passes
Data Center Dynamics: Info-graphic summarizing Ken Brill’s accomplishments
