Bill_ListServ

ListServ messages in response to Bill's Passing



July 1, 2016

Dear friends,
We are sad to inform you that our mentor, colleague and friend Bill Loomis passed away yesterday, June 30. Bill started his scientific journey with Dicty in the 1960’s and remained active in the field until his death. He was looking forward to joining all of us in Tucson at the end of the month. Bill was a passionate and erudite scientist, his enthusiasm and love of knowledge were infectious and his devotion to rigorous biological research and education was unwavering. To us, Bill was a teacher, a mentor, a friend and a father figure. We will miss him dearly.

Gadi and Adam
July 1, 2016

Speaking for many of us, I am stunned and deeply sad, I will miss Bill a lot.

Richard Gomer
July 1, 2016

Very sad new indeed! He was an important influence on my early career as well.

Rex
July 1, 2016

Dear Gadi and Adam,
I am so very sorry to hear this sad news. I consider Bill a very good friend and a genuine scientist. Though he has been critical of my research at times, he has been a very stimulating and constructive force throughout the 37 or so years that I have been in the field. I had hoped to see him again in Tucson and will miss himself and his insight very much.

Pauline
July 1, 2016

dear all,
this is completely unexpected! I believed Bill would live forever!.

I was priviledged to work next to his lab and I seriously exploited him: drawing all the knowledge I could get - and it was a lot! Bill knew everything about Dicty and beyond. I owe him most of what I know about Dicty and will not forget him. It's not only his students and affiliates, the entire community has lost a friend and a pioneer in the field.

wolfgang
July 1, 2016

Really sad. I remember being thrilled as a young assistant professor when Bill asked me to write a review of chemotaxis. I will miss the many discussions we have had since..

Peter
July 1, 2016

So sorry to hear this! He was one of the Dicty greats! Always willing to engage new ideas! So spirited!

Joan
July 1, 2016

Farewell Bill, a unique character who has been the backdrop to my, and many other, scientific lives in Dicty. Fantastic scientific courage. Shall miss you hugely….

Rob
July 1, 2016

Sorry to hear the sad news. I first met Bill in the 1996 Dicty conference in Sendai. I thank Bill for many memories over last twenty years. I will always remember him. So long.

Tian
July 1, 2016

Very sorry to get this news. It is hard to imagine the Dicty field without Bill, or a meeting without his presence. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him as a scientist and to get to know him as a person. He was a truly unique and fascinating person with a remarkable intellect.

Dave
July 1, 2016

Dear Friends, really sad news for everyone. For me Bill was a hugh influence in the way he looked at science and his passion for Dicty. My stay in his lab were unforgettable. A great scientist with an incredible vision. I will miss him for ever.

Ricardo
July 1, 2016

Very sad, indeed. Bill was a fine scientist and a very good friend. Iwe will miss him,

Salvo
July 1, 2016

"Sit down before a fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing." - TH Huxley

Frederick W. Spiegel
July 1, 2016

Conversations with Bill were a pleasure, a privilege, educational, and provocative. I shall miss him.

Jeff Segall
July 1, 2016

I echo all of the touching testimonials. This is a very sad day for the Dicty community.

Carole
July 1, 2016

Dear All I met Bill on my first Dicty conference in Bar Harbor in '99 While as a new Dicty research assistant.... to me he was formidable! On meeting him he was knowledgable, enthusiastic and down to earth and will be sadly missed. Best wishes

Emma
July 1, 2016

Very sad to hear this news. Bill was always an interesting and fun guy to interact with.
He will be surely missed

Adrian
July 1, 2016

I last met with him at the Gordon conference for cell migration last year. He told me a lot of Dicty stories and interesting ideas about how they differentiate. We had a really good time. So hard to believe he is gone.

Miho
July 1, 2016

One more tribute to Bill: I got to know Bill initially long ago during my several years at Scripps, from whence I would bike quite regularly to UCSD in order to join in his weekly lab meetings. I learned a good bit of Dictyology from Bill and even more so appreciated the original thoughts he would offer and probing questions he would pose. Many years later I had the chance to host Bill overnight at a time my family rented the "Loomis House" (named for and first occupied by a distant relative of his, as Bill explained) at Amherst College. "Loomis" was chiseled prominently into the cornice of the building in which he gave his lecture the next day.
As is already apparent, Bill will be missed around the globe.

David Ratner
July 1, 2016

This is very sad news for all of us. Bill has made innumerable contributions to the field and was a tireless and eloquent populiser of the organism. He was a "one off" and will be sorely missed.

Jeff Williams
July 1, 2016

Bill was giant of the field, his influence touched nearly everyone. Certainly he was my baptism of fire, and certainly a crucible that forged great minds everywhere. Bon voyage, Bill. Condolences to all his loved ones.

Richard Sucgang
July 1, 2016

This is really sad news, Bill has always been such a strong and influential presence that is hard to imagine him gone. I'm going to miss my dear friend of so many years. Please send my condolences to his family.

Glaucia Souza
July 1, 2016

I am very sad to hear this. The Dicty meeting will not be the same without him. The community has lost a great scientist and advocate. While some of you know this, Bill (acting on a hunch from his father) also made a long lasting contribution to our understanding of skin pigment and Vitamin D biosythesis (see his 3 Science papers in 67-68).

Chris Janetopoulos
July 2, 2016

Very sad news! I talked with him for a short time at the international meeting in Tsukuba (2008). He was cool.
May his soul rest in peace!

Yuzuru Kubohara
July 2, 2016

I am extremely sorry to hear this. He was a great scientist and will be sorely missed.

Aline
July 2, 2016

Very Sad. Even I couldn't have a chance to meet him during my work with dicty, I do consider him one of the dedicated dicty figures.

Medhat El-Halawany
July 2, 2016

I also like to acknowledge Bill's the many original and important scientific contributions that Bill has made to the field over the years and the key role he has played in the promotion and development of the field. On a personal level I will fondly remember and miss the many engaging and spirited discussions we have had over the years.

Kees
July 2, 2016

Bill surely was a pioneer who dedicated his life to the cause. He touched me significantly and I too will miss him greatly. It is going to fall on new generations of Dictyologists to carry the torch.

Chris West
July 2, 2016

This ia a really sad story. Bill was sometimes my severe opponent in a scientific argument, and often a nice collaborator in the Dicty community. I have greartly respected for his scientific and educational contributions. In fact, he have brought up a lot of efficient scientists and students, frankly facing tightly to them in his daily life. I am still believing that he probably could enjoy a longer and good life, provided that he could save rather himself from alcohol drinking, though I (a somewhat heavy drinker) have no qualifications to say that.
Paying sincerely my last respects to Bill !

Yasuo Maeda
July 2, 2016

Very sad indeed. I remember many chats, many arguments, many visits, many drinks together.
Bill was always stimulating, exciting, provocative, and fundamentally interested in things. I join others in saying goodbye to a great character.

Julian Gross
July 2, 2016

Very sad news. I had the pleasure to meet Bill at various Dicty meetings in the past. He was part of the inventory, so to say. The field has lost a legend, he will be deeply missed.

F. Rivero
July 2, 2016

Such sad news. So much of the vitality of Dicty meetings was Bill's lively energy for discussion and argument. He made us think more critically and made us better scientists by challenging us. For so many years as an editor of Developmental Biology, Bill went above and beyond, helping so many of us rewrite our papers to make them stronger and so many times helping us see things in a different light. He was not only a colleague but a real friend who was so generous is sharing his insights and ideas. A real loss to our community.

Daphne
July 2, 2016

Bill had just left Maurice Sussman’s lab when I arrived there in 1968. Since then I’ve met Bill many times at meetings and enjoyed his company and insights. He was a good host when we were in San Diego, and was extremely supportive when we started the Dicty Stock Center. Bill, we’ll miss you. Here’s one for on the road,

Jakob
July 2, 2016

I too am sad to hear this news. I always appreciated his spirit and character. I hope his family can find reprieve.
Best wishes,

Doug
July 3, 2016

I am also very sad to hear the unexpected news about Bill's passing. My first contact with him was when I was looking for a PhD supervisor back in the late 1970s. Bill was one of the eminences in the field and an obvious person to write to. Had it not been for the unhelpfulness of the US consulate in Brisbane, Australia at the time, I would likely have been one of his "scientific offspring", a member of his close "scientific family" as he once put it to me. I was excited to meet him then some years later at my first Dicty conference (in Tutzing, Germany) and greatly enjoyed my interactions with him over the following years. He was a great scientist, a real champion of our beloved Dicty and will be sorely missed.

Paul
July 3, 2016

I remember how Bill was extremely supportive of our early work in the 70s on sexual development in Dicty when most others weren't interested. He saw the potential of comparative studies on alternative life cycles and it definitely encouraged me, as a young scientist, to continue with that work. He was a creative driving force and will be missed,

Dan
July 3, 2016

This is very sad news indeed. I’ve known Bill since me early days in Dicty research. I remember a very personal conversation with Bill about life one night at the Dicty conference in Madrid. He was an exceptional person and a great scientist. A great loss for the Dicty community. We will miss him deeply.

Annette
July 3, 2016

So sad to hear the news. I feel Bill just talked to us yesterday. I miss the happy time at Dicty conference. I miss old friends.

Xin-Hua Liao from China
July 3, 2016

Sad news. I remember him as one of the leader of the field. Farewell.

Lou Kim
July 3, 2016

When I joined Bill’s lab in 1998, I was planing to stay for 6 months at most… I stayed 12 years. The best way to honor him is to keep on doing good science on Dictyostelium: "a simple model organism" that has kept us amazed for decades.

Christophe Anjard
July 3, 2016

So sad to hear the news. I have learned many things from him and his works. Best

Shigehiko
July 4, 2016

I believe I met Bill first when he was a graduate student or shortly thereafter, and I met him last time in Potsdam. It was always a pleasure. I will miss Bill.

Günther
July 4, 2016

Sorry to hear about Bill’s death. I remember meeting him as a young post-doc, for the first time at a Dicty meeting, he immediately put me at ease and he was very welcoming.

Justin
July 4, 2016

This is a sad news also for us. We owe him a lot. He not only established invaluable resources for the genome project, he was also the driving force behind it.

The team from Cologne (Angelika, Gernot, Ludwig)
July 4, 2016

Bill was an associate, competitor, friend for more years than I would like to admit. I wifi miss you.

Herb Ennis
July 4, 2016

Bill was super advocate for Dicty and the Dicty community will dearly miss him.

Jeff Hadwiger
July 4, 2016

I still remember the day I met Bill for the first time as a young postdoc in our department library. He had come to the NIH to discuss the virtues of Dicty as a fundamental model system. It was a formative to hear about the rich history of the field from him and discuss Dicty's utility as a model for mammalian signaling biology and for mathematical modeling of signaling networks. We will miss him.

Joe
July 6, 2016

Shocked! Sad deeply. Because especially we knew we are almost the same age, when he visited our University (Sapporo) about 18 years ago. At the London and Potsdam Conferences I met him and talked together shortly; at those places some people said, “Bill looks amazingly healthy ( considering his age) ”. Suddenly he had gone, unbelievable. I will miss him deeply.

Hiroshi Ochiai
July 7, 2016

I just got back into town and was shocked and saddened to learn of Bill’s death. I always imagined that he would never retire and go on doing research long into the future. Ironically, I was right on the former but sadly wrong on the latter. It is fitting that he was working on a manuscript at the time of his death.
I first met Bill in the 1960s and it was his infectious enthusiasm for Dicty that led me on to a lifetime of working with the organism. While we did have a few differences over the years, he was always extremely supportive, when the crunch came.
An incredibly imaginative and creative scientist, he will be greatly missed.

Gerry
July 8, 2016

I came back from Europe today and found the sad news. Hard to believe that Bill Loomis has gone.
My discussion with Bill was mainly on the genome analysis while I was involved in cDNA project of Japan years ago. He looked like a tough father at first but actually was like a patient mentor. Most impressive, he was watching the future. It is a huge loss for the community and I really miss him.

-Hideko
July 8, 2016

I met Bill Lommis in two Dicty meetings and subsequently, I sent few manuscripts for his suggestions. He was always promot in his reply and was highly supportive of Dicty work. Sad to know that he is gone.

Baskar
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