On July 14th 2009, Charles McCluski, owner of Westfield Scientific Computing, internet Linux and OS/2 guru, cooking fanatic, avid Sam Adams Cream Stout lover and most of all a dear friend, passed away.

Without ever complaining and while keeping up his joyful spirit and love for long and deep conversations on life, the universe and everything, he battled a stomach cancer that caused him a tremendous lot of pain. Only a few people knew this, and no one really knew how bad a condition he was in until he suddenly went silent. Only 59 years old and a lot, lot younger in spirit still, he had lost the fight.

We miss you, Charles - we miss your dry wit, your extraordinary beef stews, your cheeky joking about "the girlies" and the "gronk" that could mean just about anything, but we always knew what.

Rest in peace.

To keep his memory alive, I've taken the liberty to keep a mirror of his obituary around. He may be forgotten in Westfield, but he won't be forgotten by us.

July 26, 2009
I remember Charles "Longstaff" McCluski as being fully dedicated in everything he did. We had some discussions (some might say debates) about many things, be it technologies or simply... life itself, and he always had very interesting points. We'll be missing you.
Wherever you are, take care "old branch" and... "See ya later".
Michel Goyette, Québec

July 18, 2009
I met Charles in 1998 in #os/2warp on the IRC... and we've stayed in touch since. It's a huge blow to find out he has passed away... he was a kind and caring man. I'll always remember our trip into Manhattan while I was in New York on business. :)
Goodbye, my friend... we'll meet again some day.
Chris Cureau, Covington, Louisiana

July 17, 2009
Charles was an amazing man. Always kind, always looking for the bright side of life, and helping other see it too. I too met him on the Internet through IRC (Internet Relay Chat). We had many deep discussion about life, and I also appreciated his honest opinions.
This is a great loss, to many who knew him.
May the Lord Bless and Keep you Charles. You will always be my friend.
Eric Werny, St. George, Utah

July 17, 2009
Nearly two decades ago, I ventured onto this new thing called the Internet and ended up in one of it's corners which was an IRC channel. There I met Charles, or Longstaff to many of his friends.
Over the years he was a mentor and good friend that always was willing to talk. I am very saddened to hear of his passing. Never once did I ever hear him say a unkind word to anyone. He was always accepting and genuinely interested in everyone. Truly, I don't think that I would be the engineer that I am today without the privilege of knowing him and being able to gain from his wisdom. Charles, you will be truly missed. I believe in a life beyond this one, so we'll have to chat again after what amounts to a ethereal netsplit, rejoins.
Matthew "ShadwWulf" Werny, North Ogden, Utah

July 17, 2009
Longstaff was friendly and very smart. When hs saw a major wrong going on he was first to help do something about it. He help me get #os/2warp going. He was my very close friend and adversary, I going to miss him very very much. A major loss to the os/2 and linux communities.
May God rest his spirit in heaven with his family.
Steven Taylor, Parkersburg, West Virginia

July 17, 2009
Almost seven years ago, I encountered him for the first time. I was impressed by his kindness and always enjoyed the talk I had with him. I usually asked him about New York City where he used to work for a long time. There was no doubt that I would come visit him if I ever got to visit NYC.
I am very sad not to be able to do so anymore.
Axel Meiss, Hamburg

July 17, 2009
Goodbye Charles, it's hard to really find the words to express how I feel right now, only finding out about your passing this morning. You were always there over the years to talk to me, you helped me through some hard times, and we also had a lot of laughs and good times together.
Things will never be the same without you "Longstaff".
I miss you terribly my friend.
Jeremy Workman, Deltona, Florida

July 17, 2009
While I never had the pleasure to meet with Charles in person, I have been corresponding with him for many years. His calm, respectful conversation on the most various topics, his many years of knowledge and expertise in information technology and the sudden wit with which he could bring laughter in the most dry matter are things I will always remember fondly.
Since before meeting him, I have made crazy plans about the road trip across the USA I wanted to do one day. The one thing there that was always beyond questioning was that I would be passing through Westfield, NJ to visit Charles, the house he never stopped working on, and to check out those extraordinary delicious-sounding cooking recipes he came up with all the time. I don't think I'll ever be able to visit the USA without the idea something's missing, without that sad feeling of having missed a chance to meet up with that distant friend in the town he loved so much.
I'll miss you, Charles. Bigtime.
Lennert Van Alboom, Belgium