Today, we have a guest post by Team MaximumPC. Two new work unit servers have been funded by the Folding@home (FAH) community in memory of Gordon T. Smitheman and his wife, Rose Anne.
Gordon, a dedicated member (username:
gsmitheman) of Team MaximumPC (#11108), passed away January 25, 2012. His death came just a couple of months after
his beloved Rose passed away on November 27, 2011 after a battle with
pancreatic cancer.
As evidenced by his 17,000 posts in the MaximumPC Folding Forum, Gordon was very active at promoting the project. It wasn’t just the quantity, but the quality of his posts that made him a revered teammate. His calling card was recognizing others: welcoming new folders, celebrating personal and team milestones, coordinating contests with prizes of hardware donated by him and others, and other posts that encouraged active participation in the forum. He also visited other teams’ forums to extend greetings and recognize their milestones.
The impact of losing
such a valuable teammate and genuinely kind-hearted person was hard to put into
words, but many did their best in a forum thread titled “We Lost One of F@H's
Greatest Champions - Gordon Smitheman.”
Teammate and FAH beta tester Michael “Doc” McCord, MD proposed a server purchase as a tribute to the tireless dedication Gordon demonstrated in promoting folding. The generosity of donors, representing numerous teams throughout the world, resulted in the funds to purchase not one, but two servers for the project.
Gordon greatly valued his family. It was one of the few things that took precedence over folding. But, his family was very supportive of his FAH activities. It was for that reason naming the second server after Gordon’s wife, Rose, was a natural choice.
Many thanks to Dr. Pande, Dr. McCord, Team MaximumPC, and everyone who donated funds that made this commemoration possible. Fold On!
