I never met Istvan, but I heard his voice on mailing lists, his code contributions, and his release management work, and I am saddened that this voice has now gone. I am thankful for his contributions to our community, and I send my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
I would like to find an appropriate way to remember him. Some possible ideas: * Dedicate the next Avatica release to Istvan, with a paragraph in the release notes. * Someone from Calcite who knew Istvan could collaborate with people from the other ASF communities Istvan was a member of -- HBase and Phoenix, I believe -- to add to the ASF memorials page [1]. * Add an 'In memoriam' section to the community page [2] similar to the existing Emeritus section. What do you think? Julian [1] https://www.apache.org/memorials [2] https://calcite.apache.org/community On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 1:30 AM Francis Chuang <[email protected]> wrote: > > I am extremely saddened to learn about the passing of Istvan. He was a > prolific contributor to Calcite Avatica and was always a pleasure to > work with. In the last few Avatica releases, he was the contributor of > the majority of commits and changes. > > May he rest in peace. > > Francis > > On 14/04/2026 5:34 pm, Stamatis Zampetakis wrote: > > I was deeply saddened to hear about Istvan’s passing. > > > > Although we worked at the same company for several years, most of our > > interactions were through ASF channels. He was always professional, > > patient, and kind, and his passion for open source was clear in every > > exchange. He consistently showed a willingness to help, no matter the > > challenge. > > > > In recent years, he became one of the key driving forces behind the > > Avatica project, and his contributions will have a lasting impact. > > > > He will be greatly missed. > > > > Best regards, > > Stamatis Zampetakis > > > > On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM Alessandro Solimando > > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> Dear All, > >> The Calcite PMC has received a message from Istvan’s manager regarding his > >> passing. We are sharing this update with the community to honor his memory: > >> > >> Dear All, > >>> It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague and > >>> friend, Istvan Toth > >>> <https://people.apache.org/committer-index.html#stoty>, > >>> who died peacefully on Friday, 3rd April after a short illness. Istvan was > >>> a valued member of the Operational Database team at Cloudera for 6.5 > >>> years, > >>> serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and a member of the Apache > >>> Calcite-Avatica, HBase and Phoenix PMCs. > >>> He was known for his expertise, reliability, positive attitude, and the > >>> kindness he showed everyone around him. His contributions and warm > >>> presence > >>> will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Istvan's family during this > >>> difficult time. > >>> May he rest in peace. > >> > >> We have decided to share this publicly to reach all who knew him and to > >> provide a space for everyone to share a thought or memory of Istvan. > >> --Alessandro >
