I just got word that Brett passed away a few days ago.

Brett was a long time denizen of DBForums and a friend of mine.

He will be sorely missed.

-PatP

Brett was a true character, and a strong influence on the culture of dbforums.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Pat.

Yes, he will be missed. Thanks for letting us know, Pat.

Brett will be sorely missed. He was a good guy and I also appreciated his support, friendship, and muse.

sad news indeed

what a character he was

Damn! Very sad to hear the news. Pat, did he die of cancer? I thought he was about to beat that damn thing.

I don't know, this caught me pretty flat footed. I haven't talked to Brett for about six weeks. I knew that things were touch-and-go, but Brett never let me think that he was worried about the outcome.

I hope to talk to his wife over the weekend. Right now she's probably got more happening than she knows how to handle. Maybe I'll have more information to share after that.

I know that Brett refused to permit a traditional funeral, opting instead for a party at his home. For those that knew Brett, this was truly in keeping with his values!

I'm thinking of doing something to help people to remember Brett and his contributions to DBForums and the SQL Server community (along with many other communities). Maybe a special tent at a Jimmy Buffet show. Is anyone else interested?

-PatP

I'm up for a buffet. Where is the big question.

Elaborate, please?

Brett's family hosted a small gathering at their home just after he passed... I'd like to host a gathering for some of Brett's online friends in a few months for us to get together and roundly abuse his memory (much like we abused him via forums and in person).

For something done in Brett's memory, there are two choices: music and sports. Not everyone would be happy at any one of the sports venues that Brett haunted, so that leaves music. Jimmy Buffet was Brett's long time #1 favorite, so hosting one of the party tents at a Jimmy Buffet show seems to be the logical choice to me.

I'm certainly open to other suggestions!

-PatP

That is heartfelt, but I'm not sure how practical given how scattered we all are.

Brett Kaiser:
--Join Date: 11-25-02
--Total Posts: 10,322
--Posts Per Day: 2.78
--Last Activity: 06-08-12 16:02

Rest In Peace, Data Warrior

I was surprised and sorry to learn this. He was indeed a character and will be missed. He helped thousands of people on this and other forums.

Losing family members and friends has to be the hardest part of getting older. It's been 3 years and I still can't get believe my mom is gone.

Brett liked margaritas. Have one for him.

I had no idea of any of this - it's a total shock and a crying shame.
My heart goes out to Brett's family.

He will be missed.

It was many years ago that I found DBForums, and after lurking for a while, I IM'ed Brett with a question. He encouraged me to start posting, so I did ... and found that it felt good to help others and help formulate NZDF answers to the students.

Thanks Brett for the push to become active. I'm sure you were the inspiration for many folks to visit and join DBForums and you will be sorely missed.

Pat - maybe forward these to Brett's wife?

so long x002548

The physical order of data in a database has no meaning.

That's awful. When I think of the people who taught me the most about what I do for a more than adequate living, I can say Brett certainly was a significant influence in the way I approach my work.