Frank Kabel: A Sad Day For The Excel Community

[Norman Harker]

Hi Everyone!

The heading expresses our distress at a loss to the community of
Excel.

It is with the greatest of sadness that I must report the news that
Frank Kabel has died in a tragic accident whilst on holiday in his
home country of Germany.

I'm afraid that at this stage, whilst the news has been confirmed from
his employers, we know nothing more. It falls to me to try and do
justice to a good mate on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin and all
of Frank's other many "Excel friends".

Frank was not only a very major contributor to these newsgroups but he
was also a great innovative developer and friend to all. Despite
English being his second language his replies to public and private
correspondence were always well worth reading for content and charm.
It is difficult to believe that Frank only started posting to
newsgroups in late 2003 but his posts were immediately prolific and
helpful to all. At one stage Frank was such a prolific poster we even
thought that he was several people. It was difficult to comprehend how
he could compose so many excellent replies at such a high speed. Frank
was our newest MVP Excel and he achieved this recognition at the same
record speed that he was used to working at. It is distressing to
many outside Germany that we never got to meet him in person. Here
though is a photograph that we can remember him by.

http://www.jumper.ch/infos.htm

Many thousands will have benefitted from his efforts to help and
educate; even more will benefit over the years from the time and
considerable energy that Frank devoted to developing and sharing his
knowledge. Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin and I worked many hundreds of
hours with Frank on projects such as QDE (Quick Date Entry) and the
EasyFilter Addins. A pre-production Addin CFPlus being worked on with
Bob Phillips and giving the additional conditional formatting has only
happened because of Frank's energy and we know that he was very proud
of its concept and implementation. Frank also was driving,
contributing, and stimulating other projects and updates and we know
that Frank had so much more he wanted to give to the community of
Excel users. He was a great team player and we could guarantee high
speed, critical and friendly feedback. We will miss him not only for
his contributions but also for his humour and sincere friendship. He
enjoyed a Single Malt and a good cigar and lived, and gave of his
life, to the full.

We offer condolences to his family and friends at the loss of Frank at
such a young age. Frank came from Hamburg where his family still live
and had a long term girlfriend to whom we offer the sympathy that can
do little to make up for her loss.

We have all lost a good and sincere friend. Frank represented the very
highest of the traditions of these Excel Groups.

I have undertaken to ensure the collection and collation of responses
to this post both public and private and I will ensure a suitable
presentation to his family.

--
Regards
Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin
Sydney, Australia
[email protected]

--
Regards
Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
Sydney, Australia
[email protected]

[Kevin H. Stecyk]

Hi Norman,



I am very sorry to learn of Frank's passing.



I enjoyed seeing and learning from his posts.



His absence will be dearly missed.



Best regards,

Kevin

[Don Guillett]

Norman,

It is, indeed, a sad day. Thank you for providing this information on our
loss. We, here, tend to become a family and he will be sorely missed on all
fronts. You couldn't have said it better. I never knew where he found all
the time to contribute so much. Sometimes I thought him to be several people
using the same name.

BTW. The pictures did not come thru on the url.

--
Don Guillett
SalesAid Software
[email protected]
"Norman Harker" <> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Everyone!
>
> The heading expresses our distress at a loss to the community of
> Excel.
>
> It is with the greatest of sadness that I must report the news that
> Frank Kabel has died in a tragic accident whilst on holiday in his
> home country of Germany.
>
> I'm afraid that at this stage, whilst the news has been confirmed from
> his employers, we know nothing more. It falls to me to try and do
> justice to a good mate on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin and all
> of Frank's other many "Excel friends".
>
> Frank was not only a very major contributor to these newsgroups but he
> was also a great innovative developer and friend to all. Despite
> English being his second language his replies to public and private
> correspondence were always well worth reading for content and charm.
> It is difficult to believe that Frank only started posting to
> newsgroups in late 2003 but his posts were immediately prolific and
> helpful to all. At one stage Frank was such a prolific poster we even
> thought that he was several people. It was difficult to comprehend how
> he could compose so many excellent replies at such a high speed. Frank
> was our newest MVP Excel and he achieved this recognition at the same
> record speed that he was used to working at. It is distressing to
> many outside Germany that we never got to meet him in person. Here
> though is a photograph that we can remember him by.
>
> http://www.jumper.ch/infos.htm
>
> Many thousands will have benefitted from his efforts to help and
> educate; even more will benefit over the years from the time and
> considerable energy that Frank devoted to developing and sharing his
> knowledge. Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin and I worked many hundreds of
> hours with Frank on projects such as QDE (Quick Date Entry) and the
> EasyFilter Addins. A pre-production Addin CFPlus being worked on with
> Bob Phillips and giving the additional conditional formatting has only
> happened because of Frank's energy and we know that he was very proud
> of its concept and implementation. Frank also was driving,
> contributing, and stimulating other projects and updates and we know
> that Frank had so much more he wanted to give to the community of
> Excel users. He was a great team player and we could guarantee high
> speed, critical and friendly feedback. We will miss him not only for
> his contributions but also for his humour and sincere friendship. He
> enjoyed a Single Malt and a good cigar and lived, and gave of his
> life, to the full.
>
> We offer condolences to his family and friends at the loss of Frank at
> such a young age. Frank came from Hamburg where his family still live
> and had a long term girlfriend to whom we offer the sympathy that can
> do little to make up for her loss.
>
> We have all lost a good and sincere friend. Frank represented the very
> highest of the traditions of these Excel Groups.
>
> I have undertaken to ensure the collection and collation of responses
> to this post both public and private and I will ensure a suitable
> presentation to his family.
>
> --
> Regards
> Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin
> Sydney, Australia
> [email protected]
>
> --
> Regards
> Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> Sydney, Australia
> [email protected]
>
>

[CarlosAntenna]

Norman,

It is indeed sad for such a young and vital individual to be lost in the
prime of life. I can only echo your sentiments that he will be greatly
missed. I always found his posts to be informative and his treatment of
people to be of the highest caliber.

Carlos

[Bob Adams]

Greetings Norman.

It was with deep sadness that I read of Franks passing. He will surely be
missed, both in the Excel community and in his private circle of friends
and family.
His willingness to be of service and his gentle manner have been evidenced
in this group for some time.
I don't contribute very often but I read this group quite frequently and
have archived many of Franks solutions which were both elegant and generous.
My condolences to his family and to his friends, of which I'm sure he has
many.

regards,
Bob

[Earl Kiosterud]

It seems the good -- they die young. We just turned around and he's gone.

--
Earl Kiosterud
mvpearl omitthisword at verizon period net
-------------------------------------------

"Norman Harker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Everyone!
>
> The heading expresses our distress at a loss to the community of Excel.
>
> It is with the greatest of sadness that I must report the news that Frank
> Kabel has died in a tragic accident whilst on holiday in his home country
> of Germany.
>
> I'm afraid that at this stage, whilst the news has been confirmed from his
> employers, we know nothing more. It falls to me to try and do justice to a
> good mate on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin and all of Frank's other
> many "Excel friends".
>
> Frank was not only a very major contributor to these newsgroups but he was
> also a great innovative developer and friend to all. Despite English being
> his second language his replies to public and private correspondence were
> always well worth reading for content and charm. It is difficult to
> believe that Frank only started posting to newsgroups in late 2003 but his
> posts were immediately prolific and helpful to all. At one stage Frank was
> such a prolific poster we even thought that he was several people. It was
> difficult to comprehend how he could compose so many excellent replies at
> such a high speed. Frank was our newest MVP Excel and he achieved this
> recognition at the same record speed that he was used to working at. It
> is distressing to many outside Germany that we never got to meet him in
> person. Here though is a photograph that we can remember him by.
>
> http://www.jumper.ch/infos.htm
>
> Many thousands will have benefitted from his efforts to help and educate;
> even more will benefit over the years from the time and considerable
> energy that Frank devoted to developing and sharing his knowledge. Bob
> Phillips, Ron de Bruin and I worked many hundreds of hours with Frank on
> projects such as QDE (Quick Date Entry) and the EasyFilter Addins. A
> pre-production Addin CFPlus being worked on with Bob Phillips and giving
> the additional conditional formatting has only happened because of Frank's
> energy and we know that he was very proud of its concept and
> implementation. Frank also was driving, contributing, and stimulating
> other projects and updates and we know that Frank had so much more he
> wanted to give to the community of Excel users. He was a great team player
> and we could guarantee high speed, critical and friendly feedback. We will
> miss him not only for his contributions but also for his humour and
> sincere friendship. He enjoyed a Single Malt and a good cigar and lived,
> and gave of his life, to the full.
>
> We offer condolences to his family and friends at the loss of Frank at
> such a young age. Frank came from Hamburg where his family still live and
> had a long term girlfriend to whom we offer the sympathy that can do
> little to make up for her loss.
>
> We have all lost a good and sincere friend. Frank represented the very
> highest of the traditions of these Excel Groups.
>
> I have undertaken to ensure the collection and collation of responses to
> this post both public and private and I will ensure a suitable
> presentation to his family.
>
> --
> Regards
> Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin
> Sydney, Australia
> [email protected]
>
> --
> Regards
> Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> Sydney, Australia
> [email protected]
>

[Ken Macksey]

Hi

I never met Frank but have read many of his responses in the excel
newsgroups. He will be missed greatly here and my condolences go out to his
family and friends.

Ken Macksey

[Norman Harker]

Hi Don!

Thanks for your tribute. It is true that we "Regulars" are a family. I
certainly felt as if I had lost a brother. Although I haven't been
very "public" recently, I was working with Frank, Bob, and Ron on a
number of projects that will be published very shortly. Right up until
5th January we were working on a major spreadsheet on dates. It is a
great pity that I can no longer look forwards to his critical comments
and the comfort of knowing that if Frank has said it's OK, then it
*is*.

Frank was a great stimulator of thought on the EasyFilter Addin and
the next version will reflect a lot of his ideas. Frank was also
working closely with Bob on a new conditional format addin.

The link is working OK now. At least it is from here.

http://www.jumper.ch/infos.htm

It might have been taken down for a short time whilst Monika Weber was
upgrading it.

Frank will certainly respect my toast to him with a good Single Malt
and I know he would have accepted with resignation your toast with Old
Turkey.

--
Regards
Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
Sydney, Australia
[email protected]
"Don Guillett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
> Norman,
>
> It is, indeed, a sad day. Thank you for providing this information
> on our
> loss. We, here, tend to become a family and he will be sorely missed
> on all
> fronts. You couldn't have said it better. I never knew where he
> found all
> the time to contribute so much. Sometimes I thought him to be
> several people
> using the same name.
>
> BTW. The pictures did not come thru on the url.
>
> --
> Don Guillett
> SalesAid Software
> [email protected]

[Don Guillett]

Norman,

I recall that Frank was always gentle in correcting some of my hasty posts
to the ng. He was very supportive in all that he did. Again, he will be
missed. I'll have a sip of bird in his honor.

Thanks for the link. Although I lived in Austria/Germany for 3 years as a
teenager (so long ago), I can no longer properly read German but do
appreciate the feelings on the link.

--
Don Guillett
SalesAid Software
[email protected]
"Norman Harker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Don!
>
> Thanks for your tribute. It is true that we "Regulars" are a family. I
> certainly felt as if I had lost a brother. Although I haven't been
> very "public" recently, I was working with Frank, Bob, and Ron on a
> number of projects that will be published very shortly. Right up until
> 5th January we were working on a major spreadsheet on dates. It is a
> great pity that I can no longer look forwards to his critical comments
> and the comfort of knowing that if Frank has said it's OK, then it
> *is*.
>
> Frank was a great stimulator of thought on the EasyFilter Addin and
> the next version will reflect a lot of his ideas. Frank was also
> working closely with Bob on a new conditional format addin.
>
> The link is working OK now. At least it is from here.
>
> http://www.jumper.ch/infos.htm
>
> It might have been taken down for a short time whilst Monika Weber was
> upgrading it.
>
> Frank will certainly respect my toast to him with a good Single Malt
> and I know he would have accepted with resignation your toast with Old
> Turkey.
>
> --
> Regards
> Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> Sydney, Australia
> [email protected]
> "Don Guillett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:%[email protected]...
> > Norman,
> >
> > It is, indeed, a sad day. Thank you for providing this information
> > on our
> > loss. We, here, tend to become a family and he will be sorely missed
> > on all
> > fronts. You couldn't have said it better. I never knew where he
> > found all
> > the time to contribute so much. Sometimes I thought him to be
> > several people
> > using the same name.
> >
> > BTW. The pictures did not come thru on the url.
> >
> > --
> > Don Guillett
> > SalesAid Software
> > [email protected]
>
>

[Keyur]

May God Bless his soul and my deepest condolences to his family.

[Bob Phillips]

Don,

It has been translated to English as well now for all of us who struggle
with German.

Bob


"Don Guillett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
> Norman,
>
> I recall that Frank was always gentle in correcting some of my hasty posts
> to the ng. He was very supportive in all that he did. Again, he will be
> missed. I'll have a sip of bird in his honor.
>
> Thanks for the link. Although I lived in Austria/Germany for 3 years as a
> teenager (so long ago), I can no longer properly read German but do
> appreciate the feelings on the link.
>
> --
> Don Guillett
> SalesAid Software
> [email protected]
> "Norman Harker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hi Don!
> >
> > Thanks for your tribute. It is true that we "Regulars" are a family. I
> > certainly felt as if I had lost a brother. Although I haven't been
> > very "public" recently, I was working with Frank, Bob, and Ron on a
> > number of projects that will be published very shortly. Right up until
> > 5th January we were working on a major spreadsheet on dates. It is a
> > great pity that I can no longer look forwards to his critical comments
> > and the comfort of knowing that if Frank has said it's OK, then it
> > *is*.
> >
> > Frank was a great stimulator of thought on the EasyFilter Addin and
> > the next version will reflect a lot of his ideas. Frank was also
> > working closely with Bob on a new conditional format addin.
> >
> > The link is working OK now. At least it is from here.
> >
> > http://www.jumper.ch/infos.htm
> >
> > It might have been taken down for a short time whilst Monika Weber was
> > upgrading it.
> >
> > Frank will certainly respect my toast to him with a good Single Malt
> > and I know he would have accepted with resignation your toast with Old
> > Turkey.
> >
> > --
> > Regards
> > Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> > Sydney, Australia
> > [email protected]
> > "Don Guillett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:%[email protected]...
> > > Norman,
> > >
> > > It is, indeed, a sad day. Thank you for providing this information
> > > on our
> > > loss. We, here, tend to become a family and he will be sorely missed
> > > on all
> > > fronts. You couldn't have said it better. I never knew where he
> > > found all
> > > the time to contribute so much. Sometimes I thought him to be
> > > several people
> > > using the same name.
> > >
> > > BTW. The pictures did not come thru on the url.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Don Guillett
> > > SalesAid Software
> > > [email protected]
> >
> >
>
>

[David McRitchie]

Norman and Monika,
Thanks for updating us, and condolences to his family.

It is hard to believe that he is gone. I did not expect to see young
man when I went to look at the picture(s), which makes his skill in
Excel, and the time he spent in the newsgroups even more amazing.

--
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel

[Ed]

I, too, felt the warmth and graciousness of Frank's help on the NG. He
offered to receive workbooks from me - someone he knew only as a newbie
needing help - and burden his own time on them with no compensation other
than knowing he had helped someone else out of a burden. He will continue
to be an inspiration to me as an Excel worker, but more as an example of
selfless giving.

Ed Millis

"Norman Harker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi Everyone!
>
> The heading expresses our distress at a loss to the community of
> Excel.
>
> It is with the greatest of sadness that I must report the news that
> Frank Kabel has died in a tragic accident whilst on holiday in his
> home country of Germany.
>
> I'm afraid that at this stage, whilst the news has been confirmed from
> his employers, we know nothing more. It falls to me to try and do
> justice to a good mate on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin and all
> of Frank's other many "Excel friends".
>
> Frank was not only a very major contributor to these newsgroups but he
> was also a great innovative developer and friend to all. Despite
> English being his second language his replies to public and private
> correspondence were always well worth reading for content and charm.
> It is difficult to believe that Frank only started posting to
> newsgroups in late 2003 but his posts were immediately prolific and
> helpful to all. At one stage Frank was such a prolific poster we even
> thought that he was several people. It was difficult to comprehend how
> he could compose so many excellent replies at such a high speed. Frank
> was our newest MVP Excel and he achieved this recognition at the same
> record speed that he was used to working at. It is distressing to
> many outside Germany that we never got to meet him in person. Here
> though is a photograph that we can remember him by.
>
> http://www.jumper.ch/infos.htm
>
> Many thousands will have benefitted from his efforts to help and
> educate; even more will benefit over the years from the time and
> considerable energy that Frank devoted to developing and sharing his
> knowledge. Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin and I worked many hundreds of
> hours with Frank on projects such as QDE (Quick Date Entry) and the
> EasyFilter Addins. A pre-production Addin CFPlus being worked on with
> Bob Phillips and giving the additional conditional formatting has only
> happened because of Frank's energy and we know that he was very proud
> of its concept and implementation. Frank also was driving,
> contributing, and stimulating other projects and updates and we know
> that Frank had so much more he wanted to give to the community of
> Excel users. He was a great team player and we could guarantee high
> speed, critical and friendly feedback. We will miss him not only for
> his contributions but also for his humour and sincere friendship. He
> enjoyed a Single Malt and a good cigar and lived, and gave of his
> life, to the full.
>
> We offer condolences to his family and friends at the loss of Frank at
> such a young age. Frank came from Hamburg where his family still live
> and had a long term girlfriend to whom we offer the sympathy that can
> do little to make up for her loss.
>
> We have all lost a good and sincere friend. Frank represented the very
> highest of the traditions of these Excel Groups.
>
> I have undertaken to ensure the collection and collation of responses
> to this post both public and private and I will ensure a suitable
> presentation to his family.
>
> --
> Regards
> Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> on behalf of Bob Phillips, Ron de Bruin
> Sydney, Australia
> [email protected]
>
> --
> Regards
> Norman Harker MVP (Excel)
> Sydney, Australia
> [email protected]
>
>

[[email protected]]

I am so sorry to hear Frank has passed on. I only met him online less
than a year ago. His warmth and generosity has a lasting legacy all
over the planet... as his solutions are helping to run spreadsheets in
many small business here in Canada.

We wont' forget what you did for us all, Frank.

Nick
British Columbia
Canada

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005 07:23:27 +1100, "Norman Harker"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi Everyone!
>
>The heading expresses our distress at a loss to the community of
>Excel.
>
>It is with the greatest of sadness that I must report the news that
>Frank Kabel has died in a tragic accident whilst on holiday in his
>home country of Germany.
>

[Fizz]

Norman.

Really sorry to hear this. Frank helped a lot of people and was the
first to answer my posts. He was smart, articulate and professional.