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 was a treat for me when one of my favorite authors started writing for BYTE magazine. I fondly remember receiving the latest issue in the mail & the first thing I always did was turn to his article. Dr Pournelle will be greatly missed! My condolences to his family. RIP
Certainly a sad day. I read Jerry regularly during his Byte days and his struggle with his brain tumor was very instructive after my own father passed away one from a similar one. While I never put much stock in his conservative diatribes I enjoyed his contrarian viewpoint as a thoughtful balance. Non omnis moriar. RIP
I have been reading and enjoying (and will continue to do so) Jerry’s writings for around 40 years. His fiction and collaborations with Larry Niven and Steven Barnes are among my favourite SF books. The collected A Step Farther Out paperbacks quite literally blew my mind as a teenager and made a lasting impression – I’ll still quote explanations and ideas from them anytime someone will listen.
The respect and affection in which he is held is evident anywhere you look at pages noting his passing. I am sorry I was never able to meet him or hear him in full flow in person and he will be greatly missed in many spheres.
My deepest sympathies and hopes for strength to his family and many friends and anyone who will miss that wonderfully fierce and wide ranging intellect.
RIP sir.
My condolences to the family on the passing of Dr. Pournelle.
I was an avid reader of his Byte column since it first appeared. I switched to his online daybook, when he started posting there. Over the decades Jerry made my life a brighter place with his columns, fiction, and insights.
He’ll be missed.
It is with a heavy heart that I try to express my deepest sympathies for the family and friends of such a great man. Please hold on to each other, and help each other. Blessed be…
Rest in peace, good Sir. I will never forget scouring the racks of the local bookstore for any title bearing the Niven and Pournelle by line. Condolences and sympathy to your friends and family.
RIP Dr. P,
we never met, but you taught me so much. Your action novels that made me think about humans and our civilization. Your columns in BYTE were the basis of much of my knowledge of computers.You were a great teacher.
The world is a better place because you were there and made us look at it.
Thanks.
My condolences to Dr. Jerry Pournelle’s family and friends.
I know of Dr. Jerry Pournelle from the TWIT podcasts he has been on, which led me to his novels. I loved his stories and his straight forward voice and attitude.
Two quote’s I love
“You never understand how smart a moron is until you try to program a robot” – He said this was a common phrase in the robot industry, but I’ve never heard it before.
“I’ve always been an operations research guy. That’s a guy that knows less and less about more and more until he knows nothing at all about everything.”
My condolences to Jerry’s friends and family. I will miss reading his posts here on Chaos Manor. I believe I am wiser and more knowledgeable for having encountered his writing. I was a relatively young man when I discovered his fiction and his collaborations with Larry Niven are some of my favorites. I will continue to refer a younger generation to his work. God bless!
Jerry will be missed. I first encountered him some 30 years ago in the pages of “Byte” magazine. He was an inspiration to many. My condolences to his family and friends.
I have read his writings in Byte and his books for many years, deepest sympathies to his loved ones.
I’m in shock. I’ve been reading jerrypournelle.com since its inception. It was the most rational, well-reasoned site on the internet. I don’t know how I will replace Jerry.
So Dr. Pournelle has filed his last column on this side of the veil. I still have some of his columns which I clipped from Byte magazine over the years. We will all miss him.
Dr. Pournelle is one of the SF authors who had a strong influence on me growing up. It’s hard to imagine him ever passing. I had always hoped he’d write more about the CoDominium or something, and popped over here to read whatever he had to say. He will definitely be missed.
I’ve had lunch with Jerry’s columns for many years, and will truly miss his wisdom and insights. My deepest sympathies to the family.
I’m incredibly saddened to hear that my favorite author has passed. Just a few days after rescuing my autographed copy of Lucifer’s Hammer from Houston’s floods coursing through my house, too. There is this empty space.
I haven’t felt quite like this since RAH passed back in 1988.
I hope my forty-five year old Latin isn’t too rusty. Requiescat in pace, Dr. Pournelle. You will be missed far more than you know!
May light perpetual shine upon him.
He is with our Lord now.
We grieve for ourselves, not for him.
One of the grand old mossy trees of our forest has fallen. We shall not see its like again. My condolences to Jerry’s family and friends.
My condolences to the Pournelle family.
Jerry was one of my favorite writers of fiction and non-fiction.
I didn’t always agree with him, but his thoughts were always carefully considered. He was a wonderful example of Proverbs 27:17 – “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
I’m grateful for the honing.
Grace and peace to you all.
RIP – you will be missed