I was just at COMMON in Nashville with Al as most of you were. This past Friday Al Barsa Jr. passed away. I had to read it a few times as I did not think it was right or maybe it was some other Al Barsa but in the LIST I found people talking about it. I would like to send out my heart felt condolences to the Barsa family, this must have come as a shock. Al did not look great at COMMON this year and had a band-aid over his right eye the entire time. Sad sad news.
Obit:
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BARSA, ALBERT SIMON JR. |
April 07, 2008
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Albert Simon Barsa Jr. of Rye passed away suddenly on Friday, April 4, 2008 at age 55. Al was born in New York City and raised in Rye, New York. He graduated from The Cranwell School and received his B.S. in Management and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At age14, he founded “The Admiral’s Rack, Inc.”, a business to sell and service Sunfish sailboats. In 1974, he was recognized for being among the top 25 dealers in the U.S. An active member of the Westchester Country Club, he was an avid sailor and was for many years the driving force in the club’s sailing program. He served as chairman of the club’s Technology Committee, in addition to his being a long time member of the Beach Committee. For more than 20 years, Al was President of Barsa Consulting Group, LLC and Barsa Systems Distribution, Inc. in Purchase, NY. He was an IBM business partner and expert with regard to every aspect of the software and hardware relevant to IBM’s System i (AS/400, i Series) midrange computers systems. He was widely regarded as a pioneer in his field and unique in his computer related knowledge. He was very active in the ?COMMON’, the world’s largest community of IBM midrange users. He was a frequent speaker at both U.S. COMMON and Europe COMMON. He was also an Editor of the COMMON Technical Library, and a member of the Speaker Excellence Committee. Al had been voted COMMON’s “Best Speaker,? and received COMMON’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. He will be fondly remembered as a gregarious and enthusiastic business leader who loved to tell jokes. Every year from 1996 to 2000, he was named on the ?AS/400 Insider Weekly’s “10 Biggest AS/400 Market Influencers? list, making him the only person in the world to have received this honor 5 times. He also served as the president of the Long Island Systems User Group (LISUG). He is survived by his beloved wife of 32 years, Susan, his two loving children Albert and Christina, his devoted mother and father Gloria and Albert Barsa and his beloved sister Barbara Jamison. Visiting is Tuesday April 8th, 2-4 and 7-9PM at the Graham Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian burial will be held 10AM Wednesday April 9th at The Church of the Resurrection. GRAHAM FUNERAL HOME 1036 Boston Post Road Rye (914) 967-0129 |
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April 8th, 2008 at 9:29 am
This really is sad, he was a great POWER and i O/S resource and will be missed by all in our little community.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Al is going to be truly missed within the IT community for his dedication, knowledge and character. I had the pleasure to work with him on a few projects & he was a wiz. My best wishes go to his family. It was truly a pleasure to have met such a terrific guy. God Bless.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
It’s all so sad. I was truly upset yesterday as it came as a shock to me as well. Like most of you we all just saw him a day before. Looking like Al. He was at MOM saying what a great meeting it had been and how he was excited about the POWER stuff. Very Sad. They should have an Al Barsa POWER Limited Edition. I would come with an explanation of the System Values and it will eventually run out of handouts in the first 30 minutes of running. But would clean itself up every day because Al would have wanted it that way.
April 8th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I was just at common with Al, and wish to convey my condolences his leadership will be sorely missed!
April 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
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April 10th, 2008 at 9:28 am
It’s been a few years since I had the opportunity to see Al. He was always so helpful at the Common Conferences and I’m sure everyone will miss him. His family will be remembered in my prayers.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:34 am
I have known Al for over 15 years and like everyone who knew him ….. I loved his exuberance and enthusiasm. My condolences to his wife and family.
April 11th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I said bye to Al,,on Wed. nite at MOM. I have known Al for over 27 years and respected his opinion in everything I did when I worked for IBM. When I was in Rochester in 1997 developing the 170 (along with many other great teammates) he was an amazing influence to challenge and change what we developed.
The great news is,,,,HE always had something positive to add…that in the end made the product better.
I will miss my conversations with him over the many years, as I know everyone that knew him will..
We all will miss you……all the AS/400…etc. customers that have learned so much from him….
May God Bless you and your family.