| AboutAdaByDnc |
Like everyone else, Nadine and I were saddened at the news of Ada’s passing. She went out of her way to help me and Nadine get acquainted with the downtown core when we first arrived at Datafix 7 years ago. I also enjoyed talking with her at the Datafix retreats and listening to her perspective on how they had changed over the years. At one retreat in particular I had brought up martial arts in conversation and mentioned that I had been training in Karate for a number of years. She surprised me by sharing a similar interest in martial arts and I remember coming away from the conversation feeling that this woman “meant business” in more ways than one. On a personal note I felt a unique connection with Ada since we had both suffered brain trauma at some point in our lives, me with having a brain hemorrhage back in ‘91. She was a reminder to me that a person can accomplish much and continue to be a source of inspiration in spite of such obstacles. On a final note I’d like to say that one of the last things Ada spoke to me about at the office was a simple request to put in a new jug at the water cooler although she had phrased it: Can I get a strong handsome young man to help me with the water cooler?” Thanks for brightening the day for me Ada.
I will always remember you.
| ForAdaByTomYarmon |
Dear Hans,
I was saddened and shocked to receive the news about Ada. Although I did not see her much in the last year or so, over the years I grew to appreciate her quite, solid outlook on live. Please pass my condolences on to her family, colleagues and especially to you. It must leave a gaping emptiness in many lives.
Tom Yarmon.
Tom:
Thank you very much for taking the time to send your condolences message.
You are right that Ada’s passing leaves “a gaping emptiness in many lives”. In fact, many people are only now beginning to appreciate how strong a force Ada was, since Ada was never one to be in the limelight. I will certainly pass on your condolences to her family. In fact, the information I am collecting via the “wiki” web site, will be merged with the Picture album I am creating and will finally be produced as a “book” in both the traditional paper media and as a DVD that also includes some of her favorite music, hopefully before the anniversary of her death. In this way, we hope to provide each of her many Nephews and Nieces with a better appreciation of how special their “Aunt” Ada was and how much she cared for them too.
I really had no idea that Ada’s passing would create such a “project” and I was quite very surprised when our technical friends recognized the AboutAda pages as the second instance of what is now being documented as a WikiMemorial. Given this recognition, it only seems fitting to honor Ada’s last request to “finish what we’ve started”. I believe this book will definitely be a part of that.
Thank you, again. – Hans
| [Bh:FoarAdaByJamieP ForAdaByJamieP?] |
Dear Hans,
I am very sorry to hear of your loss.
She was a pretty cool lady wasn’t she? [I only got that sense, having met her but once].
And as you may recall, we met through the peripatetic Dr. Roz Biles and but for his unusual dynamism, I’d not have had the pleasure of meeting you or her.
And when did we all finally meet? Might have been late 2001 or early 2002 when at comScore.
She was indeed interesting and my thoughts go to you on the loss of your colleague.
Please add my name to those who feel her absence and I wish you the very best for this upcoming year. And please stay in touch.
Jamie
| ForAdaByPatT. |
vicK phoned me today with the news about Ada. I was devastated! Ada was one of the nicest, most sincere people I have ever known. She was also full of a sense of fun and was so loyal to all of her friends. Ada’s bravery in the face of all her challenges has provided me with an example of courage to handle many issues in my own life.
Hans, my thoughts and my prayers are with you and her family on the loss of such a great person.
| ForAdaByDavidM |
Ada loved to drive. On occasions she would pick me up at the airport and we would drive to the downtown. She prided herself in knowing every short cut and back road into the core.
Afterward, Ada mentioned on many occasions how much she missed driving. Initially, she would not accept that driving was impractical and impossbile for her. As she accepted her plight you could see the sadness in her eyes and feel it in her heart that something so important to her and something she, and we all, take so much for granted, would be missing from her life forever.
My first meetings with Ada were to discuss the project. Often the meeting would go on for a couple of hours and I would describe the requirements and changes. Of course Ada would need to know why this and why that. I found it odd that Ada seldom took notes. We’d be finished the meeting, and she would have a mostly blank piece of paper. But she understood what was needed, and the work always got done. The difference between the before and after Ada were shocking.
I know the last ten years have not been Ada’s best years. I hope she soon finds happiness and peace.
God bless
David
| ForAdaByDarrylM.RIS |
… my heart goes out to you and Ada’s family and friends. I regret that I won’t be able to make the funeral today but would certainly put Ada’s announcement/release in our press to advise the real estate world here in the states of her passing.
/.
| AboutAdaByGdr |
Ada was a rock, a touchstone. In a world where everything is happening at once, Ada was the calm and reasoned voice of consideration, an oasis.
During my time with DataFix, I think that I represented a special case as far as Ada was concerned. Many of my projects were “off the wall”, in that they were often either visionary or lunatic, depending on the time of day. Ada was wise to the world of techno-testosterone. She would never challenge whatever was be proposed, but somehow, over the course of a conversation, I would always end up re-thinking what was beginning to sound like a flakey project. When I asked for time to reconsider what was being proposed, she was always calm and gracious. That skill of hers was what I consider to be the best example of management that I have ever seen. That skill saved me untold aggravation, grief and embarrassment. Thank you Ada!
Having been traveling in Asia, for the last few years, my friends in Toronto have become all the more cherished. Amongst them, Ada was special; she was one of the few people who expressed a genuine and sincere interest in where I’d been and what I’d seen. She always offered a series of questions that often made me pause and carefully think about my answers. Her questions were never the small talk that passes so often for conversation. She will be sorely missed.
| AboutAdaByRst |
Another brief note and others are posted at the ‘neweduk.com’ funeral home site.
Condolences Re: Ada Podolski [Eira (Ada) Podolski (nee Myllykangas)]
I knew Ada for more than ten years as both a colleague and a friend. She was good to work with and pleasant to spend time with socially. She was very kind, gentle and helpful to me personally. When I would visit her office, she always made me feel welcome. As busy as she might be, she would take time to make me feel at home. She was admirable in many other ways as well.
We had many pleasant times at lunch or dinner with business associates and friends. We would often speak only of business, but any onlooker would surely describe us all as friends first.
My heart goes out to Ada’s family at this difficult time. Members of my own family passed away just this past year. It was, and still is, shocking and sorrowful in a profound way. It leaves behind a void that can not really be filled. I found that sympathy and good wishes were a surprising comfort to me. It is with that in mind that I write this note. I hope my sympathy and good wishes will give some small comfort to Ada’s family and close friends.
People in our circle of friends were quite fond of Ada. Any of us would be glad to offer what aid we can. Her family should know that help is just a wish away. They need only ask.
Ada’s passing is a great loss and I can’t help but think it was before her time. She had much more to give. Despite the loss, her effect will remain. Professionally, She left behind a nice body of finished work. Personally, she leaves friends such as myself with many good memories. I am sure she will continue to live on through her work and in the hearts and minds of her friends and family.
I will miss our friend Ada, but I am glad for the time we had. Still, it is a sad farewell.
I offer my most sincere and deepest sympathy for Ada’s family and close friends.
– Bob Trower (Rst)
— Below is the note that I wrote while Ada was still with us.
I guess I have known Ada for more than a decade from looking at Hans’ timeline. I knew her before and after her initial illness. As many people do, she changed dramatically due to her illness. I admired the ‘before Ada’. She was an excellent achiever and good to work with. I spent more time with the ‘after Ada’ and I was very fond of her personally. She became astonishingly kind, gentle and accommodating. When I would visit DataFix, she always made me feel welcome. She became admirable on many different levels.
We had more than a few delightful outings for lunch or dinner as a small group. We would often speak only of business. However, any onlooker would surely describe us as friends.
To the extent that a programmer has a heart, mine goes out to Ada and her loved ones. I have seen my share of sadness in the past few years and I found it a comfort that others offered their best wishes. I offer mine and I hope this gives some small comfort now.
The following is a little crass or at least blunt. Feel free to remove it if you find it offends: Not everyone deserves our praise. Ada was one that did. I hope that Ada knows that she is loved and admired. Come what may of this difficult time, her activities personally and professionally will have a lasting impact. She has more than paid her dues. If she must lay down her tools, she leaves behind a nice body of finished work. I would not say that for everyone, as those who know me will attest. However, I will say it for her. She has done well and very much deserves our prayers.
– Rst
| forAdaByErrolS |
…
This is terribly sad news. Simply heartbreaking. There are so many things I could say about Ada – that she was gifted, generous, warm, irreverent, and inspirational – but right now no words seem sufficient.
Unfortunately I will be unable to make it to Toronto tomorrow to attend the funeral, but my heart and my thoughts will be with you and with Ada’s family.
I kept a bit of an archive from the old RLP / InfoHome 2000 days and have some great photos of Ada and the project, which I will share with you.
With much sadness, Errol
…
My heart is breaking today and there are many, many people in Vancouver who feel the same way as me. I mentioned the sad news to a number of people, including David Fisher who works here in the building (you met him at one of the RIS dinners recently) and like me they were saddened and shocked. I’ve also received phone calls from old friends / acquaintances such as Brian Ellis who had heard the news and weren’t sure whether I had also heard.
…
| InfoHome byErrols |
InfoHome 2000 was the result of an innovative project to redesign residential real estate database systems (aka MLSs) from the ground up. Key goals of the project included: (a) creating a user interface which was friendly and intuitive; (b) providing direct consumer access to real estate information (before the WWW); and (c) providing rich, deep data.
The software was initially launched in Ottawa in 1992 and was installed in 18 Royal LePage offices. The system downloaded the full MLS database from the Ottawa MLS and augmented this information with multiple color photos and maps (as part of this project, every home in Ottawa was photographed creating a visual database of the entire city). Royal LePage also created a retail store where consumers could use touch-screen kiosks to independently search for properties. The store also featured a large video-wall which combined graphics animation and real-time photos of properties for sale.
Plans to deploy the software nationwide were stalled as the real estate market experienced a downturn in Central Canada. The developers of the software, MPR Teltech (based in a Vancouver suburb) rebranded InfoHome 2000 as “T-III” and offered it for sale to brokers and MLSs throughout North America. The first U.S. purchaser of the software was Sibcy Cline REALTORS, a large regional broker in Cincinnati. The first MLS to install the software was the Maui Board of REALTORS in Hawaii. By 1995 the software had been selected for use by MRIS, the largest MLS in the world (serving the Baltimore-Washington Metro area). The T-III business was purchased by GTE Corp in 1997. While part of the GTE family, the software was rebranded as “System 4” and was deployed at a number of MLSs including sites at Tampa FL, Orlando FL, and Los Angeles CA. GTE sold the business to Interealty of Vienna, VA. in 1999. The Vancouver software development team went on to create MLXChange which is currently in use throughout the U.S. and Canada. Interealty and the MLXChange Software was sold to First American in late 2005.
– Errol Samuelson
| AdaByIanB |
Back at the begining of the modern age of Real Estate - Ada had a vision for a multi-media real estate system. The outcome of that vision is well described in Errol’s page, so I won’t repeat it. What does need to be acknowledged is that Ada’s vision catalyzed the transition from a paper catalogue based process to a modern IT base and it remains as on of the foundations upon which the latest Internet Realty systems are based. I had the priviledge of knowing Ada during this highly creative period and she was impressive.
Business has a reputation of being a cold and uncaring environment. Such was not the case where Ada was involved. I knew and worked with Ada over a decade and she stands as a beacon of warmth and caring. Throughout her personal challenges, her approach to dealing with others did not waiver.
One ocassion that stands out in my memory was when she and Hans came to the NAR immediately following her return to work after her surgery. She was still struggling with her speech and tired easily. We sat together on the booth, mostly in silence, watching the latest version of her vision dancing on the huge projection screen. I think it gave her a sense that her life - like her product - would get better.
| StalkingAda |
…
My heart goes out to … her beloved boys.
.
.
.
If you need anything Hans I’m here for you.
– JulietS
Editorial comment …
Ada has told this story many times, and like most good ones that are worth repeating, it got a little better each time she refined it. One noticable discrepancy between the version as told by Ada and Juliet’s preceding tale, is the omission of this vignette …
Now, if this is disputed, we’ll either have to get the store’s security camera tapes or get a ruling from Ada’s favorite panel of judges who hold court on BiagiosPatio.
