This page is for site visitors to post remembrances and thoughts at the time of Dr. Pournelle’s passing (8 Sep 2017). Your thoughts can be added using the form at the bottom of this page. Comments that are not related to words of encouragement or condolences will be removed.
Dr. Pournelle’s family appreciates those that have taken the time to send condolences and well wishes.
For those that are interested in Dr. Pournelle’s books, please see the e-books page or the Amazon page . Here’s a list of all of Jerry’s books: All The Books.
Jerry’s last post is here. The text of the eulogy given at the memorial is here. Site news is here. – Editor
It is one of those melancholy days during which you realize that the world you grew up in just changed, irrevocably, and for the worse. The passing of important men is an unwelcome reminder that the bell tolls for us all.
RIP Jerry Pournelle
Jerry will be missed.
Alas, we all know this day is coming for each one of us.
My condolences to Roberta and all the children. May God Bless and Keep you in your time of hardship.
It has been said that it is “Better to wear out than rust out’, and from your comments about DragonCon, Jerry was on the go, till the very end.
I’ve been an avid fan of Jerry’s books going back over 30 years and have followed his day book and website almost as long. Though I never was blessed with the opportunity to meet in person, I had several long distance conversations with him over the years via his day book.
The country will miss his insights and commentary dearly and will be the poorer for it.
Godspeed, Jerry
Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat ei:
Requiescat in pace.
Amen.
My best wishes to Jerry’s family. Jerry was a force of nature, and he will be dearly missed.
What a loss to the world. His writings, columns, books and articles were entertaining, informative and enriching.
I will miss him greatly.
My sympathies to his family and friends.
A very, long time fan …. who today, feels very old.
Helped me so much throughout my life, discussed an incredible range of topics.
Example, Pressure Cooker! Several postings that got me cooking for myself without recipes. Thanks Jerry!
Sad day for free-thinkers, libertarians and sci-fi fans. Dr. Pournelle will be sorely missed. Thankfully his work will live on.
I have had so many hours upon hours upon hours enjoying living in the universes he created. And then thinking about what he created. I am bereft and bereaved.
The world has lost a great thinker and a great man. He will be missed as much as any individual could be.
I think ‘Footfall’ was the first modern sci-fi I ever read. And I was floored that such a well-crafted story could be told and so believable. The same for ‘The Mote in God’s Eye’ and the whole “future history” series. It will never be bested.
Our best to his family. There are many, many who owe a debt to Dr. Pournelle.
Jerry Pournelle filled the corners of the world with his insight and humor. He will be missed.
RIP Jerry. Been a fan since the ’70s, Mote, Lucifer’s Hammer, Footfall, Co-Dominium. I adopted “Think of It as Evolution in Action” as my tagline when I was developing ground tactics for USAF Mobile Radar units. It was my way of stressing “Do this and LIVE” as I sought to teach Air Force to think like Infantry.
Loved his columns, and his Blog. He was a legend, and he will be missed.
Condolences to his family, friends and associates.
Jerry won’t be reading this, but surely someone will. He probably didn’t think of it this way, but he was an important part of the lives of those who came frequently to his blog. I have followed his writing for at least 45 years, and was the person who got him and Roberta to Moscow in 1990.
My wife will tell you that I did not react to the news gracefully.
He was smart, knowledgeable, and well-connected. While he did not suffer fools gladly, I never heard him say an unkind word to or about anyone, even those who displayed bad form (a catch-all that forum readers will understand).
Who will take his place?
Well, as he would surely say, “Despair is a sin.”
To those of his family who will see this, please accept my sincerest condolences. I have met Roberta, and Jerry has kept us all more or less up-to-date on Alex, Philip, Richard, and Jennifer.
I need to add something.
This was the man who won the Cold War.
Whenever I mentioned it, he alsways brought up the fact that Marilyn Niven was the one who kept everyone happily fed during the meeting of President Reagan’s Space Advisory Council. Not out of that negative bragging called modesty, but giving credit where it was due.
I have only known him from the columns in Byte since I was young and later from his posts, this was the only connection to italian readers, and I appreciated him very much.
My deepest condolences To his family and friends.
Sorry to hear Jerry passed away, he was a huge inspiration to me in the past.
My deepest condolences to you and must simply say the World has lost a giant.
At FurCon 2007 I was on an Interstellar Espionage panel with him. He opened by saying, “I know absolutely nothing about interstellar espionage,” and then proceeded to keep everyone riveted until someone came in and told us we were running an hour and a half late.
The fight was long, and the foe was strong, but he paid as good as he got.
I think I may have stopped breathing for a brief moment when I read of Dr Pournelle’s death. Is it too much to say that I’ve lost a friend and mentor? Because we never actually met. But you can’t read someone a few times a week for years and have opinions formed by him without some sort relationship arising . . . even if it was only one way.
I have so many of his books. He wrote like John Ford directed; there is honor and duty and courage on every page. I checked the link to Amazon at the top of this page and I find I have everything on page one of the list. And there are 29 pages more. I suspect that Dr Pournelle’s spirit and thoughts will be with me for a while longer yet. But the almost daily comments will be sorely missed.
I’ll break out the pipes this evening and play Flowers of the Forest for him. God speed, Jerry.
I came to know him a bit later in life.
Listening to him talk and express his views was inspiring.
I truly wish I could have listened to him talk more about his amazing life.
My condolences to Dr. Pournelle’s family. His science fiction gave me inspiration in my youth, forty years ago: courage and curiosity hand in hand. His writing in BYTE set me on the path to a career.
Many, many thanks for the contributions of this incredible man.