It is with great sadness that Astrolabe announces the death of our devoted and beloved co-worker and friend, Bill Sweeney. Bill worked at Astrolabe from 1984 to 2001 as our Coordinator of Technical Support, where he displayed the patience and fortitude of an air traffic controller. He alpha- and beta-tested each Astrolabe software product before its release. He also wrote most of the software manuals for Astrolabe programs released during the 1980s and early 1990s. In the late 1980s he was coordinator for the foreign language versions of Astrolabe's report writer software.

Besides crash-testing software, Bill loved to drive motorcycles, fly airplanes and was an avid JFK buff. He loved music and film and played in a band during his college years. Bill was fluent in both Spanish and German and, prior to coming to Astrolabe, he was a high school Spanish teacher. In recent years, he became a THX Certified Home Acoustics Specialist and installed, under the aegis of Lucasfilm, Ltd./THX, high-end home theatres and sound systems. He also owned Bayberry Books in Hyannis for many years and was a projectionist at local Cape Cod theatres.

Bill held the National Council for Geocosmic Resarch's Level 3 certificate, having made a record high score on the examination, and is a past president of its Cape Cod Chapter. He was a wonderful astrologer, who had a deep understanding of a myriad of astrological techniques. He had a loyal and devoted following of Astrolabe customers whom relied on Bill to keep their computers and programs going. He retired from Astrolabe in 2001 to spend more time with his family and to pursue his other interests. He leaves behind his best friend and companion of 25 years, Marlene Tribandis, 3 sons, 3 stepsons and 3 grandchildren.

Madalyn Hillis-Dineen, Director of Marketing
Astrolabe, Inc.

TRIBUTES TO BILL

Sorry to learn of this news especially him passing at such a relatively young age. I had never met him (unfortunately) though we had spoke on the phone several times and he was always very nice and helpful.. No doubt he is at peace and experiencing the unconditional love of GOD.

Mike Levesque

Bill was always a great help, with a great ironic humour to reassure you through the challenge of software support. I have missed him a lot since he left. Please convey my sympathy, love and affection to his family.

Roy Gillett I am so very sorry to hear about Bill's passing. I am somewhat shocked, because though I never met him in person, he seemed like a fairly young man. He was a wonderfully patient, kind, and knowledgeable person and resource. How sad he only had one year after retirement to be with his family. My sympathies are with all of you. I spoke to him many times over the years with my various tech problems. He always walked me through things, calmly, patiently, and teaching me all along the way. So sorry for all of you and your loss.

Georgia Stathis

Thank you for sending me the news. I'm sure we will be missing him. As a dealer, I had several opportunities to talk with Bill and work out some technical difficulties with him. He was always helpful, knowledgeable and patient.

Steve Poplin

I am sorry to hear of Bill's passing. Please express my condolences to his family. I enjoyed working with him and listening to his advice. I will greatly miss his a propos comments and gentle humor.

David Huff

I was so sorry to hear of Bill Sweeney's passing. I did not know he had so many talents. It seems we really "see" people with tributes such as these via their closest friends. You are in my thoughts today.

Barbara Schermer

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Although he had ceased working for Astrolabe a year ago, it still must be hard to fill in the gap of his absence. He is an example that we can aspire to emulate, both in terms of his generosity and the richness of his life.

Terry Lamb

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CREDITS: Biographical information and photo from Astrolabe, Inc.