John Vlissides
August 2, 1961 – November 24, 2005
Software Engineer & Design Patterns Co-Author
A Gang of Four co-author who dedicated Design Patterns to Joshua 24:15
Biography
American software engineer and one of the 'Gang of Four' who co-authored Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software, one of the most influential books in computer science. He worked at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center and held a PhD from Stanford. He passed away on Thanksgiving 2005 at age 44 from a brain tumor.
Faith & Testimony
A bold, outspoken Christian who dedicated his portion of the Design Patterns book with 'Joshua 24:15b — J.V.' ('As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD'). When asked about his faith by colleague Ken Auer, Vlissides replied: 'Yes, I am a Christian. The fundamentalist, politically incorrect kind that believes the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that we are all sinners that are going to burn in hell unless we put our faith completely in Jesus Christ who is the only way to heaven. You know, the kind that the media thinks is the most dangerous kind.' He served as an elder at his church and later as chairman of Christian Education. During his battle with cancer, he told visitors 'God is good all the time' and drew strength from Isaiah 43:1–5. His wife Dru Ann wrote: 'John trusted those words, He lived those words. He knew God's character and he had peace in the midst of his circumstances. He IS in a better place.'
Sources
- John Vlissides — Wikipedia — Biography of the GoF co-author
- John Vlissides — jontsai on Xanga (archived) — Jonathan Tsai's post compiling testimonies of Vlissides' faith from colleagues and family
- John Vlissides — C2 Wiki Memorial — Colleague remembrances including faith testimonies from Ken Auer, Heinz Kabutz, and his wife Dru Ann
- John Vlissides Obituary — Washington Post — Obituary of the IBM researcher and GoF co-author
Videos
- John Vlissides — Memorial and Legacy — Remembrances of Vlissides and his contributions