From Bill Tucker

It is with great sadness and fondness that I write this now about Gary. He was just awesome. There is no other way to describe him. I feel so lucky to have interacted with him in so many ways. He was guru, friend, supporter, co-conspirator, bouncing board, laugh and smile machine and co-empathiser. I'm not sure what I did for him, other than run with whatever he threw my way, which was a lot. He was always there for me, and I hope that the reverse was true. As we worked together more closely last year, I saw more parallels, personal and professional, and that made his passing that much more tragic.

So, my history with Gary began when I started the PhD at UCT with Edwin back around 2001. Gary was a part of the CVC lab (collaborative visual computing) and I'm trying to remember why I roped him in as co-super. I think it was his budding interest in ICT for development, and the mobile stuff, too. He would come to the meetings with bridges.org and the like, and be busy beavering away with his latest handheld or Apple device. I knew he was still with us, though, because his greatest skill as an academic was the ability to chime in with precise surgical input at the most crucial times. For example, with my thesis, he read it fast and made minimal suggestions that shaped the argument just so. I still remember us looking at the whiteboard results of one of these large multi-group meetings and he pointed out that my thesis was staring me in the face. Gary also set me up with supreme collaborators: Murray for the wifi, and Nic for the ethno. We co-super'd Andrew's M before he upgraded, and had some stumbling blocks that were quickly overcome. All this is work-related, because hey, that's where our relationship originated. Then there was music, wine, coffee, hanging with him and Gil at Dave and Ilda's wedding, the kids. Oh, I'll always remember the advice he gave me when Jedd was coming along, something like there are no words to describe what is about to happen to you. You have no idea! I pass that on regularly.

The funny thing is that Gary was younger than me, yet he'd already done and inspired so much. He was so unassuming, and one could easily misinterpret that as arrogance. It wasn't. He was as genuine as it gets. I think he knew how much he did for us. He was just so happy to see us do it. It was always win-win with Gary.

So many parallels - two foreigners in Cape Town, married to white Africans, for so many years, wanting to supervise ourselves out of a job. Believing in Africa. I don't know how to fully convey my appreciation and respect for you, Gary. I really miss you, and I'm really glad we got to hang together for so long, and do so much together. It was really, really cool.

From Jenny Kirsten

My teenage son and I happened to be at Glencairn beach the day Gary passed away. I realise in hindsight this wasn’t a ‘chance’ happening. Sometimes in life, one experiences events and people that touch you and change you on a soul-level forever. This was one of those times.

We were sitting on the beach very close to where the Marsden family were. We did not know the family at all at that stage. While my son was swimming, I noticed Gil and her dad in the sea - they were boogie-boarding like a pair of happy teenagers. Gil even did handstands in the water, and I remember thinking how beautiful it was to see people having such fun. At one point, Gil’s dad was helping her mum stand in the shallows with her walking aid, and I could see something special about these people. When Gil and her dad had finished their boogie-boarding, Gil’s mum was taking photos of them in the shallow surf, and then Gary joined in taking photos too. It was simply lovely to see a family like this.

Not long after that, Gary experienced his tragic heart attack on the beach. The events were a blur for everyone, but I want to highlight what was so incredibly amazing during that time, and how the right people were there at the right time for Gary, Gil and their family. I hope that in some way this helps everyone to know that Gary received the most incredible care, and that everything that could possibly have been done to save him, was in fact done.

The things that stood out for me:

The family called out for help, and within moments three men appeared from different directions, and started CPR on Gary. One of these was a young off-duty lifeguard (who happened to be sitting nearby), and he knew exactly what to do. The other men did too. They administered CPR unceasingly and valiantly until the medics arrived, and continued to assist the medical team thereafter. I have never seen such commitment from a group of ‘strangers’ and such determination to save a life. These guys were unbelievable. They would not give up.

Two ambulances came, plus another medical team, and an off-duty medic from Cape Medical Rescue arrived. Every individual gave 100%. The off-duty medic was exceptional in taking charge of the situation, and he calmly and professionally coordinated the efforts to try save Gary. They tried everything medically and humanly possible, under that umbrella.

Gil was the most unbelievable pillar of strength throughout everything. She remained calm and courageous, and she prayed. She even stood holding Gary’s drip at one stage. I have never witnessed such faith and courage in such a traumatic situation in my life. She is such a beautiful soul, and we so wanted things to turn out differently for her and the children.

Despite their deep shock at what was unfolding, Gil’s parents huddled together with her, and they prayed together.  The grandmother of the lifeguard who was helping with the CPR, took me aside and put her arms around me and said: ‘Come, let us pray together.’

Other folks on the beach stood back respectfully, but lovingly enquired if there was progress. There was such concern on that beach.

The whole team working on the rescue continued their efforts non-stop for over an hour… It was hot and humid, and the physical demands of performing extended CPR must have been exhausting. Yet there was such commitment to saving this special life.

When the young medic approached Gil with the very difficult task of telling her that they had done all they could, he did so with such gentleness and compassion. Gil could not have had a kinder person helping her. He introduced himself, he called her “ma’am” and even apologised to Gil for being dressed in casual clothes as he was off-duty, bless him. He said they would try for another few minutes - they in fact continued for yet a further 10 minutes. They were phenomenal.

Once the rescue efforts had been concluded, Gil gathered the entire rescue team, and those of us who were supporting her, into a large circle on the beach. Everyone linked arms and Gil bravely proceeded to thank everyone for what they had done for her husband. She looked directly at us all and asked that God’s blessing and peace be with us, and that if anyone was struggling to understand what had happened, that God would help them through it. There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole circle.

This desperately sad day was also one characterised by the most moving display of human goodness. Gil even said that there were so many angels on the beach when they were needed.

Her closing words to me as we hugged and said goodbye, were: “May God’s peace come into you and always be with you.” You gave me God’s peace that day, Gil, and it is still with me. Bless you and your family, and bless the memory of Gary.

Looking for more photos

I have posted some more photos, many from the Internet and some from his Facebook page.  PLEASE, if you have any photos, PLEASE send them to me so I can post them!  We need them for a project.

It's been such a heartbreaking time, both literally and figuratively.  Hoping all of your hearts are mending...  It's a very slow and very hard process IMHO.  So sending all hugs too...

From the Alliance for Affordable Internet team

We were very sad to hear of Gary Marsden’s passing and send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues at UCT. We worked closely with Gary in planning our events during the ICTD conference and his help was invaluable. He was such a warm and kind host and really made us feel welcome and supported in Cape Town. 

It is amazing to see all of the fond memories that people had of him and know that we have lost a great researcher, leader and inspiration in the ICT for development community. 

We will keep his family in our thoughts at this difficult time. 

The Alliance for Affordable Internet team  

From Isabel Venter

I am profoundly saddened that the South African Computer Science community has lost someone so talented as Gary Marsden and that his team at University of Cape Town (UCT) will now be without their talented mentor. Gary’s work was inspirational and I often referred to his work and his innovative approach to Interaction Design when teaching Human Computer Interaction to final year undergraduate students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).

When my daughter, Anja, was considering doing an interdisciplinary masters degree at Leiden in the Netherlands and was worried about the funding for this international degree, I suggested that she should contact Gary to find out if there were any such opportunities at UCT.  He pointed her to Marion Walton under whose able leadership she completed her masters degree in 2012 .  During her masters studies and in 2013 when she started with a PhD (with him as co-supervisor) she was so fortunate to be able to work in his research laboratory and with his guidance, contribute to some of his projects. Anja often spoke of her wonderful interaction with him and his team and she was devastated by the news of his untimely death.

I only met Gary on a few occasions at conferences and workshops – most recently at an ICT4D conference, which he so ably and successfully hosted. He was a warm and inspirational person – and I especially appreciated his inclusivity.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family, Gill and his two children Holly and Jake .  His family was very dear to him and he often referred to them in his conversations with his students and colleagues.  His death is a personal loss to many - family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances.  

From Matthew Kam

"All of Computer Science is a subset of Human-Computer Interaction." -- Gary Marsden

I was deeply shocked by Gary Marsden's unexpected passing during his prime. It is a huge loss for his family, his students, the University of Cape Town, and the broader ICT4D community. Gary and I crossed paths so many times throughout our professional lives. If I knew that ICTD 2013 would be the last time that many of us would get to see him, I would have put the conference on my travel plans. At this point, I deeply regret not being able to attend ICTD 2013 and meeting him for the last time. 

It seemed like yesterday when I last met Gary, which was during the CHI 2013 conference in Paris. Gary, Melissa Densmore (whom I'm excited to learn is joining the UCT faculty now that they have lost Gary) and I were sitting at a cafe at the conference convention center. Having recently recruited Gary to the advisory board for the ACM SIGCHI special interest group on Human-Computer Interaction for International Development which several of us founded, Melissa and I were picking Gary's brains on how we could take HCI4D to the next level. At the same time, Gary asked if I might be willing to step up and be a subcommittee chair for CHI 2014's papers committee. I never fail to be amazed at the breadth and depth of his perspectives, and his generosity.

I still vividly remember my first meeting with Gary, which was when I was a PhD candidate at Berkeley. We were seated at the same table close to the door, at the first HCI4D workshop at CHI 2007 in San Jose. Gary had blazed a trail with his research in ICT4D, and was the winner of the SIGCHI Social Impact Award at CHI 2007 (which was incidentally CHI's 25th anniversary, hence the significance). I went up to him during a break to introduce myself, and to tell him how thrilled I was that he had received this award. Gary brushed aside the compliment in his usual self-deprecating manner. I bet he could never have imagined that as one of the earliest ICT4D researcher, and his putting ICT4D on the "world map" at CHI through his award, he inspired a generation of younger researchers, including myself, who were passionate about technology for improving lives among the most disadvantaged but couldn't quite see what the future of our field would look like. Gary's successes (and persistence in the face of numerous failures) kept me going when what we were doing was neither mainstream, understood nor recognized at CHI.

I remember another meeting that I had with Gary two years later in 2009. It was the workshop at my alma mater Berkeley that ignited the series of ACM DEV symposiums. (At that time, I had graduated not too long ago from Berkeley and started a tenure-track professor position at Carnegie Mellon.) Gary made an insightful statement at the workshop that I continue to remember today: "All of Computer Science is a subset of Human-Computer Interaction." This was just one of the several examples of how Gary possessed the imagination to see things in a different light, to provide a fresh perspective on the so-called conventional wisdom in and about HCI. When a student subsequently asked me if HCI is a subset of Computer Science, I shared Gary's wisdom with him. 

Gary's wisdom will continue to live in our hearts and minds.

From Michael Talbot

I remember wanting to do an MSc but not really knowing what direction to do it in. Gary's work seemed interesting after our ICT4D lectures in honours so I asked to chat to him. He took me out to Nandos below campus and we chatted. I really wanted to make a difference in the world but felt that just being another computer techie wasn't going to change much. He helped me understand properly that everyone's strength is different and few people can do the type of work that we do. That conversation at our little Nandos table changed the way I see my contribution to the world. His caring attitude really grabbed me and I'm privileged to have had him as my masters supervisor.

Apart from the fun lab meetings, his amazing stories from ventures passed, and the tales he brought back after going overseas each time, the thing I hold most dear was the way he invited us into his home for lab braais. It was so great to be welcomed like that, to play silly games in the pool with Jake and Holly and to enjoy Gil's warm hospitality. Those fond memories will stick with me. 

Gary's love for his family was obvious and the stories he told were filled with wonderful ideas that I hope to do with my family and children one day.

It truly seems too soon to have lost a man like Gary. What a loss it is to us who remain, but also a challenge to us to be warm, inviting, loving and excellent, like Gary was.

Thanks for sharing your stories.