So sorry to hear of your loss.

________________________________________________________

"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"

"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali

We were talking about Ken Kirchman just the other day. We did that every now and then. He had a permanent impact on both of our lives.

I never worked for Ken Kirchman. I met him many times. I was there in the midst of all these hard working people. It is inexplicable as to how much I learned from him, from R.Neal while working for him, from the many other people I met that worked for him or with him. There were so many fun, motivated, hard-working, intelligient techno geeks in one place -- who wouldn't have loved the atmosphere and the knowledge?

I remember R.Neal barricading his cubicle to get some work done. I remember programmers sleeping on the floor waiting on the next project to finish the job. I remember attending conferences and tradeshows, visiting banks where I would almost always encounter someone who had a Ken Kirchman story to tell.

He was one of the most determined, demanding men I have ever met. I remember Ken Kirchman fondly.
May he rest in peace.

I remember programmers sleeping on the floor waiting on the next project to finish the job.

And you bringing us pizza and beer...

Then there were the legendary annual company picnics at his private lake retreat.

Sorry to hear Randy and bizgrrl. Mrs. CBT is a bank consultant, doing internal audit, loan review, SOX, etc. She is very familiar with Kirchman programs. The bank she's at this week uses Kirchman. I passed along your post, which she is taking with her to the bank tomorrow.

Hi Randy (and bizgirl?),

Long time no see! Hope you and M are doing great. I'm working on contract currently in the 701 building and still in contact with a bunch of our old friends and work partners. Someone here found your write-up on Ken and passed it around to most everyone (isn't Google great?). Everyone agrees is was fantastically written (didn't know you had such talents beyond programming). I passed your write-up on to Steve W, as I'm sure he'll enjoy reading it along with memories we all had developing Midas/Kencom/Dimension. By the way, did you know about Ed W's passing away last year? If I should have known that you knew that, please remember I'm much older than you :-) Take care and say "hey" to M!

When I first moved away from Kentucky to Orlando and found a job at FSS, they were just in a big hiring phase, bringing in such people as Dave Reed, Rocky Stout, Buzz Sawyer and many others. Wow, the friendships that were made then and still endure over all of these years. And oh do we have some stories from those days! We learned so much - the rewards of hard work, how to enjoy the fruits of such work, etc. Work hard, play hard, fire Lane!

I remember my first company meeting where we first said the pledge of allegiance. I was quite surprised, having worked for the Federal Home Loan Bank in Cincy and never having done such at their meetings! When I told my father about it, he was proud that I worked for such a patriotic company.

Of course the company I've been with for many years was one of the many spawned by Kirchmanites and I will be forever thankful to Ken for having created such an economic engine for our community that runs strong today and for many years to come.
-Jim Cain

Jim, thanks for the memories.

I remember Dave Reed and Buzz. And Rocky Stout's name, but I'm not sure I ever met him. Didn't Rocky and Buzz go off and start a hospital software company, maybe named Compuserve or something like that (not to be confused with the online service Compuserve)? Wasn't Lemoine Allison also involved in that somehow?

I met Buzz a couple of times. He was already gone but notorious by the time I got there at FSS/KC. Don't recall if you and I ever met, but it wouldn't surprise me. (Too many beers since then.)

Hey Randy! Thanks for using this sad occasion to convene a reunion! Amazing what you can find through Google. Good to hear from Ron and Bob, and sad to learn about Ed. And to hear about Dave and Rocky, whom I worked with on an FSS project in 1981-82, with Mike Landsman, sitting next door to Buzz.

Amazing too how much our recollections reinforce each other. I learned more working there than anywhere else. Learned way more about bank operations there than I did when I worked at a bank.

Others have written of his quirky generosity. I remember good pay, unexpected bonuses, sabbaticals (I enjoyed 3!!), Magic games, picnics at Lake X, and admiring other people's company Cadillacs. And the Rolex, which I still wear every day. But I am most grateful for one thing. In 1995, my wife was ill with cancer, dying as it turned out. The company changed its medical insurance plan, but Ken took the initiative to grandfather me into the old plan, to be sure the huge (huge!) medical bills would be covered.

Rest in peace, Ken.

Hi everyone. Isn't it strange that weddings and funerals are life events which bring people together?

I worked for Ken for 21 years. The last few of which were reporting directly to him. There are far too many things that I have learned from him to even imagine trying to articulate them in writing.

Truly a one of a kind visionary that lived life to the fullest. Absolutely the most generous man that I have ever had the pleasure to know. His impact on this world is far more than can be imagined.

He will surely be missed. But keep in mind we will all see him again, at the right time, in the right place.

As we have all heard him say many times, "Better than the last time, but not as good as the next".

We will see him "next time" and it WILL be "better than the last time".

D North

Randy

What a well written memorial for Ken.
I believe that he inspired many of us to do better that we ever thought we could. We all worked very hard and then we played hard. He gave us the opportunity to travel around the country and around the world. At the end of the day, he was always Ken, the guy that never forgot his roots.

Rest in Peace Ken.

Russ Wade

Well, it looks like practically the entire KENCOM team has found this site!

Looks like everything I could have said has already been said. Let me just add that working for Ken (and with so many of you out there) was definitely an amazing time in my life and I am certain I will never again work with such an outstanding group of people, and Ken is the reason we all got that opportunity.

Has anyone heard any updates on when and where a service will be held?

By the way, I am currently sitting in the living room of another "old comrade" - Mr R. Cameron. He lives in St. Pete, FL and has the enviable job of working from home.

Jeff S called me to pass on the news and how to find the messages. I have not thought of Ken in a long time but I should have. It's over 10 years since I "retired" and the fact I could do so was because of Ken (and Hal S geting me back for Dimension). I also have and use a Rolex, drove a Cady for 2 years, had 2 sabbaticals, rode a corp jet, and got paid a lot. Only at KC could I have had such great things happen in my life, and as you all said, met a super group of programers. Twelve years of very hard work and wonderful times. Sad that it's Ken's passing that gets us talking again.

Ed and Jeff, great to hear from you guys. That's almost everybody. Had heard a while back that Howard was no longer there, but I'm not clear on the cirumstances. We ran in to Pizzano a couple of times over the years. Same with Bob P., saw him at a trade show a while back. And J. Bagdon.

Jeff, say hi to RAC for us.

Have not heard anything about services, arrangements, etc. There hasn't even been an obit in the Orlando paper that I could find. Strange...

Related to services for Ken, I understand from Rachel that they are targeting the 27th and that it will be at Lake X. She indicated that it had not been determined yet how public the service would be.

I also heard from a friend in Maitland that Ken was cremated and his ashes will be spread at Lake X. Their daughter goes to school with Victoria, Deanna's neice, who has been living and being raised by Ken and Deanna.

I also suspect, knowing Ken, that the lack of obituary or public reference might have been his wish to keep things very private. For all the great things he did to serve the community and the country, he never seemed to want or desire any public recognition. It is too bad, since his contributions have been so generous and many people may not recognize just how great they were.

These threads sure bring back many memories of all the good times we had working together. It is so nice to see everyone remembers Ken in much the same way and that everyone seems to be doing well. I particularly like Dennis's comment on 'Better than the last time, not as good as the next'. Very Ken, and very appropriate.

Bob D.

his ashes will be spread at Lake X.

That sounds about right. Perfect, in fact. Thanks for the update.

These threads sure bring back many memories of all the good times we had working together.

Not to get all maudlin, but isn't it interesting how all these people found each other upon learning the news. It was obviously a special time and place for a lot of special people.

Pam Phillips also passed the news to me at Phoenix. Ken was such a "larger than life" individual that it seems very strange that he is gone. It was nostalgic to read the list of comments and remember people I haven't seen for so long. Although Ken was certainly unique, he was never anything but wonderful to me and I agree with all of you that I learned a lot working for him (two years reporting directly to him). I always say I "grew up" in business at KC because I was only 23 when I started.

Lake "X" seems a fitting resting place for him since that is where his heart was even when his mind was at work.

I am glad to hear that everyone seems to be doing well!

Jayne Powell

UPDATE: Art Gillis weighs in:

(link...)

UPDATE: Orlando Sentinel obituary and guest book

It's great hearing from all the old timers. I really can't believe Ken is gone. He was also a great influence in my life. I worked for Ken for 8 years off and on and have many good and bad memories of the man. It's very sad knowing he is gone. RIP Ken.

D Reed

Randy great job getting all of these people on one place and all I heard these past years that you were good for nothing. Please say hello to Michelle if not for her accounting skills I would still be trying to get my books straight.
Ken had the power to get together world class talent in life and as we see also in death.
Good to hear from Bob D. Russ W. Jeff S. Reid, Ron, Jim C. Mike K. Dennis N. Pam P. Bob Parr, Jayne P, Dave R and the retiree Ed B and Howard P.
Amazing as it seems I am still working here and enjoying every minute of it. Life and Ken were both good to me and I am glad that I met him for Lunch about 1 year ago and we sat and discussed various issues, he was also able to guide me in some decisions that I had to make and as usual his recommendations were right on target me and my family owe him a wealth of debt. He will be greatly missed.
KEN REST IN PEACE
This was passed out by Rachel for those that do not know or want to attend
“The Memorial Service to celebrate the life of Mr. Ken Kirchman is planned for Tuesday, March 27th, 11:00 a.m. at Lake "X".
Deanna has requested that I invite those of you who were employed by Kirchman Corporation at any point and shared a relationship with Ken.”

JCP and Aspy, great to hear from y'all. And Dave R., too. Sorry it isn't under happier circumstances.

Aspy, thanks for passing along the info re. the service. (And I'm glad to see you are still the same smart... uh, smart guy you always were.)

(And for readers not familiar with all this, the TPS Pizzano refers to has nothing to do with cover sheets or Office Space, although Crane's Roost was a pretty great office space, and so was Maitland. But I guess we were having too much fun and Ken had to move us all back over to 701 where he could keep an eye on us. I recall that whenever he would show up at any of these venues, the word would spread... "Captain's on the bridge".)

Randy, thanks for starting this and giving us an opportunity to catch up with what is going on with everyone. That was a nice tribute that you wrote.

We all have our Ken stories. I first met him in 1978 when I was a customer. I remember Ken driving me over to Cranes Roost in the Rolls back in 1982 to meet you guys.

I left TKC back in early 1993 and been doing contract work ever since. Actually, starting Jan 2005, I have been back at TKC doing some work. Great to hear from everyone. Too bad it is under these circumstances.

Rest in peace Ken. You left this world too soon.

David, another voice from the past. Good to hear from you.

I remember one Ken story that involves you. When we were designing standards for the international systems and multi-currency, we found that currencies for some countries required huge numbers because of their value as compared to the dollar.

But, there was some limit on the size of a decimal number in COBOL and the 370 decimal instruction set that wouldn't allow enough decimal places for daily accruals out to our standard of four or eight decimals or whatever it was.

So we proposed to use binary floating point numbers for interest accruals.

Ken, being the mathematician and perfectionist that he was, got wind of this (more proof that he knew everything that was going on all the time) and was adamant that this just would not do because, by definition, conversion of binary floating point back to decimal cannot be precise.

Technically, he was of course correct. But based on IBM manuals about the floating point instruction set we figured that it would be precise out to about eighteen decimals (or whatever it was, don't recall), well beyond any precision needed and that this was "close enough."

Of course, that made him even more, uh, adamant. Close enough wasn't good enough, especially in banking.

Anyway, I remember that you wrote a test program that exercised every interest accrual in the deposit systems using packed decimal v. floating point, and proved that floating point produced exactly the same results out to the limit of the 370 decimal instruction set. I don't recall the results for really huge numbers beyond that, but I seem to recall that nobody had a calculator that could verify it.

I don't remember the final outcome of that debate or if that convinced Ken. I doubt it.

Randy - as many have said, thanks for bringing so many folks from the past together even at this sad time. I can truly say - my experiences at TKC were turning points in my life and for that I'm eternally grateful. The environment was electric and always fast moving. I probably learned more about banking during my stint in Orlando than any other time in my career. I even had the priviledge of working directly for KK for a time - what a ride that was! Even after moving back to TN - when visiting Orlando I would stop by for lunch - he was always gracious and accomodating (LaScala was wonderful). His memory lives on for so many of us - indeed we have lost a true pioneer and visonary in our business.

hq

Wow. I remember you guys dreading the annual Lake "X" extravaganza. I guess you've found this new internet thing and are "positioning" yourselves.

In retrospect, I do admire Ken. He gave me great opportunity. It's the brown nosers that screwed things up.

The picnics were great for people with kids. And there was free beer so there was that. Attendance as a requirement of employment didn't sit well with some. There were lots of things people didn't like about working there. Which is why I quit at least three times, was convinced to stay or in one case came back (like many others) until it stuck after the fourth time. The occasion of someone's passing, though, is not the time to dwell on such things. Better to remember the positives about the person and be thankful to them for the opportunity. I understand there are a lot of bitter people, though.

Not sure if any of you remember me from the from desk, but I remember all of you. Ken was and still is a great memory.

I worked at FSS from 1977 to 1980. Yeah, that was a long time ago. During that time we went from punch cards to 3270 terminals for coding. Everybody (except the keypunch ladies) had a private office--it was customary on Monday morning to see if your name was still on your office door--that's how you found out whether you had been fired over the weekend. It was a famous revolving door.

My favorite memory of Ken was this: the company had gone through a growth spurt in the late 70s and filled up the office building on SR 436 in Altamonte Springs. Parking was brutal--there was literally no place to park all the employees. People were forever griping about having to park far away and find a way to get into the office.

One day we come into work to find 3 precious parking spaces have been combined into one so that Ken can park his new Rolls Corniche under a canopy right in view of the front door. He took three spots and made one sideways one so the car could be admired by all the pissed-off employees who just saw a net of -2 precious spaces.

One thing about Ken: he really didn't give a hoot what other people thought. For better or worse he was his own man.

A little late to the party but wanted to add my sentiments about Ken Kirchman. I was at TKC from 1987-92.

Ken is without a doubt, one of the most complex persons I have ever known, truly brilliant in his on unique way. I feel it would be an understatement to say that he was one of the key innovators of core banking software. Another Kirchman legacy are the talented people he brought to the area who became the nucleus for establishing Orlando as a major center for financial software.

Like anyone else who worked for him, I have my own set of stories. Some may not be flattering but on balance, Ken was an enormously generous man who truly wanted to see people succeed. My two sons still have glowing memories of the annual Lake X employee family event. He never quit trying to find ways to improve or move the company, his employees and clients forward.

I can say without hesitation, some of the greatest and most exhilarating events of my career occurred while working for Ken. Also, some of the most gut wrenching. I am reminded of the famous Dickens' quote from A Tale of Two Cities. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...". You could easily go from those two extremes in less than 10 minutes working for Ken.

I learned a lot from Ken and know that I am both a better person and businessman for the experience. He left his mark on many lives.