A True Friend

Wally epitomized the meaning of a true friend, always willing to listen, counsel and help regardless of the length or the reason for the beginning of the relationship. Many of you know him for his business talents in building Cincom and Terradata to the pinnacles that they achieved. I would like to share with you some of the anecdotal memories I have;

Ambassordial: Convincing talented “wire heads” and superb marketers like Robin Adair and Bob Flynn to move from England and San Francisco to Cincinnati and having them regret their having to leave the city. Many long and lingering friendships evolve for Carole and me from meeting all of you which we shall forever treasure.

Resourceful: After traveling around the world for Cincom, he returned to Cincinnati on Friday which, of course, meant that he spent the evening at the Blind Lemon. After he left late with a charming young lady who lived north of the City, I received an 11:00 o’clock A.M. telephone call on Saturday morning with the first words being “thank God”. I responded, Wally? He said, yes and continued with last night I was driving and saw more lanes than a bowling alley and thought it best to check into a motel. Upon waking this morning, I had no idea where I was, I looked in a drawer and found a Gideon Bible which was of no immediate help and the match cover advertised 136 Holiday Inns around the world. I thought if I could dial you without an area code, I knew I was close.

Humble: Upon receiving the Securities and Exchange Commission “Red Herring” for Terradata’s Public Offering, I called Wally to congratulate him upon becoming a millionaire to which he responded, what do you mean? I told him I multiplied the disclosure of the number of shares that he held and the offering price and arrived at the figure of One Million Dollars. Wally replied, “oh, I never was good at counting zeros”.

Generous: The half time barbeques on the deck at Loudon that enabled everyone to return to the Blind Lemon to finish what we started.

Father: The thrill of his reunion with Greg and his sister and pushing Matt’s baby carriage up and down the hills of Mt. Adams.

Creative: Secretly substituting the tape of Deep Throat for the NFL game that followed a Bengals away game.

These were but a few that came to my mind but there were many many more that have real significance though less humor.

Now that he has gone to that “Big Bar” in the sky, he will be missed by Carole, me, my sons, Todd & Brian, as well as all of you but he will never be forgotten.
Carole & Bruce B. McIntosh