I was asked not to tell this story.
Before I begin, I want you to know two things about this story:
- It is about my friend Bill, who died
- It is not a sad story
I know that second point sounds strange after you read the first point, but stay with me.
Bill Fink and I worked together for years. We were both Technical Evangelists at Microsoft. Bill was ideally suited for this job because he loved playing with gadgets, learning how to do cool things with new technology, and sharing that knowledge with others.
He and I worked together many times, and we became close. We discovered that we had both previously worked for the same small consulting company a few years earlier.
In the summer of 2015, Bill was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is notoriously aggressive and difficult to detect, which contributes to the low survival rate among those diagnosed. Bill was not diagnosed early. He immediately took a leave of absence from his job.
Our teammates lived in every part of the country, while Bill lived in Bellville, IL, outside St. Louis, MO. Even though I lived 300 miles away in Chicago, I was his closest teammate. So I drove down to visit him every few weeks. His energy was low, and he couldn't talk for long, but I think he appreciated someone coming to see him. After each visit, I sent an email to the rest of the team to let them know how Bill was doing and to keep him in their thoughts.
One day, our friend Jason approached me with an idea. He had been working with the team that makes the Microsoft HoloLens. This augmented reality device projects holograms into the wearer's eyes, interacting with the real world and elements of a virtual world. This device was not yet available for sale. But Jason's contacts on the product team had access to a prototype, which they were willing to bring to Bellville. Bill loved playing with new technology, and this tech wasn't even at the "new" stage yet.
Jason asked me to help because he knew I had kept regular contact with Bill.
So we set our plan in motion.
When I told our team what we were doing, my manager gathered a gift box for Bill. It included shirts, jackets, hats, towels, and other items, branded with our team's logo.
Jason flew from his home in Texas to Chicago, where I live, and where our local Evangelism team was hosting a public event. After the event, Jason and I drove down to St. Louis and checked into a hotel. The next morning, we met two members of the HoloLens product team. After breakfast, the four of us drove to Bill's house. His wife knew we were coming, but Bill did not. Jason and I knocked on the door and told Bill we were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by. He invited us in. I sat down and opened the gift box, handing each item to Bill, one at a time. When the box was empty, I turned it over and shook it, saying, "I could have sworn we had something else... Oh yeah! I remember!" At this point, I opened the front door and called to the men from the product group to come in.
For the next two hours, they demonstrated the HoloLens, showed off unreleased software, and let each of us try it out. Bill went through each program. Bill enjoyed it so much that he called his son and told him to drive over, so he could enjoy it.
Most of the time, when I visited Bill, I could only stay 30-45 minutes. He would be too exhausted to host a visitor after that. On this trip, we stayed at his house for well over two hours. He was far more energized than I had seen him since his illness began.
Driving back to Chicago, Jason and I were elated. Jason had planned the perfect gift for Bill, and he had allowed me to be a part of it.
I only saw Bill once more after this. He passed away ten years ago yesterday.
But the story does not end there. A few weeks later, I received a call from an assistant to a Microsoft Executive Vice President. The EVP had heard about our story and wanted to share it with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during a Senior Leadership meeting scheduled for later that day. She asked if I had any photos to share. I did, and I sent them to her, and Satya heard Bill's story. She asked me not to share this story, fearing it would come across as a publicity stunt. But I think enough time has passed, and Bill’s story deserves to be told.
I will always be grateful to Jason for including me in his idea. I will be forever thankful to Bill for helping me appreciate life. These are the reasons I do not consider this a sad story, despite the death of my friend.
I have worked for Microsoft for over twelve years, and this remains the best thing I have done during that time.
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