Those are great initiatives, Julian, +1 on all of them. His team shared that they are actively working on the ASF memorial page, they will let us know when ready, if someone feels like adding a thought to that page, I can put you in touch.
Once the memorial page is available, we can link it the 'In memoriam' section. Dedicating to Istvan the next Avatica release seems like a good idea, let's make sure we keep that in mind when we start that process. Best regards, Alessandro On Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 20:19 Julian Hyde <[email protected]> wrote: > 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 > > >
