



none                                                        C. Partridge
Internet-Draft                                 Colorado State University
Intended status: Informational                           1 December 2025
Expires: 4 June 2026


                         IETF In Memoriam 2025
                      draft-partridge-ietf-obit-00

Abstract

   The primary purpose of this memo is to remember substantial
   contributors to the Internet Engineering Task Force who have passed
   away in the year 2025.  Some substantial contributors who died in
   prior years are also recognized.

   This memo is NOT a general memorial notice for the broader Internet
   community.  Rather it is centered on persons who made notable
   contributions to IETF.

   This memo is NOT the product of any IETF or IRTF working group.  It
   is published in the Independent RFC Stream consistent with guidelines
   in RFC4846.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
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   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 4 June 2026.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2025 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.






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   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  In Memoriam - 2025  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     2.1.  Bernard Aboba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     2.2.  Fred Baker  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.3.  Dave Taeht  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  In Memoriam - prior to 2025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.1.  Robert T.  Braden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     3.2.  Ned Freed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.3.  Evi Nemeth  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.4.  Joyce K.  Reynolds  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.5.  Jim Schaad  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  Guidelines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.1.  Inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.2.  Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     4.3.  NOTABLE IETFer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   6.  Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   7.  IANA Consideration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   8.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1.  Introduction

   This memo presents in-memoriam recognition for notable IETF
   contributors who died in 2025.  We also recognize notable
   contributors from earlier years who have not yet been recognized.

2.  In Memoriam - 2025

   The IETF community remembers the following notable IETF contributors
   who died in 2025

2.1.  Bernard Aboba

   Bernard Aboba 1 February 2025.  Over more than a quarter century as
   an IETF contributor, Bernard chaired the IETF SLIM, MARTINI, RADEXT,
   EAP and AAA Working Groups and authored over 50 RFCs.  He was a
   leader of the Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) efforts in IETF
   and W3C.  He also served as the Chair of the Internet Architecture
   Board from 2011 to 2013.



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   A long-time employee of Microsoft, Bernard is remembered as an
   exceptionally supportive and patient leader of technical efforts.

2.2.  Fred Baker

   Fred Baker died 18 June 2025.  Fred served as IETF Chair from 1996 to
   2001.  He co-authored or edited over 60 RFCs.  Perhaps his most
   notable RFC was [RFC1812], Requirements for IP version 4 Routers, an
   effort which took multiple years and required integrating the input
   of many communities within the IETF.  Fred also served on the
   Internet Architecture Board and the Board of Trustees of the Internet
   Society.

   Fred is widely remembered for his pragmatic and collaborative
   leadership.  Close friends also remember his commitment to living a
   moral life and being a good parent, spouse, and friend.

2.3.  Dave Taeht

   Dave Taeht died 1 April 2025.  A vigorous advocate for eliminating
   buffer bloat, Dave was a co-author of [RFC8290] and named contributor
   to several other RFCs including [RFC7567] and [RFC8289].

   Dave is remembered as a proponent of "running code".  He regularly
   was the person creating working and tested implementations of new
   ideas in queue management.

3.  In Memoriam - prior to 2025

   The IETF community remembers the following notable IETF contributors
   who died prior to 2025 but have not been recognized in a memorial
   note.

3.1.  Robert T.  Braden

   Robert T.  "Bob" Braden died 16 April 2018.  Bob's contributions to
   Internet standards stretched back to 1971, when he was the co-author
   of an early specification of the File Transfer Protocol.  He was the
   author or co-author of over 60 RFCs.  When the IETF was created, Bob
   became an active member, and chaired the influential Internet Host
   Requirements Working Group, which produced [RFC1122] and [RFC1123].
   Bob was also a long-time member of the Internet Architecture Board
   and chair of the End-to-End Research Group.  Upon the death of Jon
   Postel, Bob, along with Joyce Reynolds, served as the co-editor of
   the RFC series for several years.






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   Bob is remembered by colleagues for his deep interest in bringing
   talented young researchers into the Internet community and his high
   technical standards.  He had a great appreciation for insightful
   technical comments, which he often endorsed with a warm chuckle, even
   when they were directed at his own work.  He was survived by two sons
   and a granddaughter.

3.2.  Ned Freed

   Ned Freed died May 22, 2022.  Ned was an email pioneer, who broke
   into the Internet world as one of the people who got Internet email
   working on DEC VMS systems.  He co-led the effort to create the
   Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) which moved email
   messages from the world of ASCII text to rich multimedia documents.
   Ned also served as a member of the Internet Engineering Steering
   Group and a member of the Internect Architecture Board.  He was the
   author of over 50 RFCs.

   Colleagues remember Ned as a brilliant technologist, and a leader who
   smoothed over differences and built consensus.  A loving father and
   spouse, he was survived by a wife and son.

3.3.  Evi Nemeth

   Evi Nemeth was lost at sea in June 2013.  A regular IETF attendee,
   Evi is remembered at IETF for producing a range of IETF-themed
   T-shirts, which she sold to support student activies at the
   University of Colorado Boulder.  Evi also played na important role in
   the development of Unix system administration, security research and
   Internet measurement.

   Evi was an avid sailor in her later years, entertaining friends with
   vibrant accounts of her voyages.

3.4.  Joyce K.  Reynolds

   Joyce Reynolds died 28 December 2015.  An early leader in the IETF,
   Joyce was a member of the IESG from 1990 to 1998.  She also was a
   senior member of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) from
   1983 to 2001, and, with Bob Braden, a co-editor of the RFC series.
   She wrote or co-wrote over 60 RFCs.

   Joyce is often remembered as the no-nonsense colleague who
   collaborated with Jon Postel to get the IANA started and then kept it
   functioning for nearly two decades.  Within the IETF community she is
   also remembered for her welcoming leadership style combined with a
   talent for nudging working groups to make an impact.




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3.5.  Jim Schaad

   Jim Schaad died 3 October 2020.  A security expert, he was a long-
   time participant in the IETF, writing over 30 RFCs on topics such as
   secure MIME and X.509 certificates.

   A long-time employee of Microsoft, after his retirement Jim became a
   winemaker.  His winery, August Cellars, also served as an incubator
   for small wineries.

4.  Guidelines

   The following guidelines were used in producing this memo.

4.1.  Inclusion

   To be included in this memorial note, a person needed to have met one
   of the following criteria:

   *  served in an IETF leadership capacity, such as membership in the
      IESG or chairing a Working Group;

   *  authored an IETF Stream Request for Comments (RFC), or before the
      IETF stream existed, authored an RFC produced under the auspices
      of the IETF; or

   *  attended the majority of IETF meetings over at least a decade.

   These criteria were chosen to ensure that people listed were ones who
   had an impact on the work of IETF.

   The editor of this memo, at their discretion and with guidance from
   the IETF community, may have included other persons whose
   contributions to the IETF were deemed to be substantial but do not
   meet the above criteria.

   This is an IETF-centered memorial note.  Lack of inclusion in this
   memo is NOT intended to reflect poorly on any person's contribution
   to the Internet, especially as many valuable contributors worked
   outside the auspices of the IETF or made their contributions before
   the IETF came into being.

4.2.  Format

   This memo seeks to treat each remembered colleague in roughly the
   same two paragraph format.  The first paragraph summarizes their
   contributions to IETF.  The (optional) second paragraph seeks to
   provide a small personal sense of the colleague being remembered.



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   The following subsection offers an informal template.

4.3.  NOTABLE IETFer

   Notable IETFer, former chair of the Unsafe at Any Data Rate WG and a
   participant in the IETF starting in 1991, died in 2025.  Beyond their
   contribution as WG chair, they are membered for making important
   contributions to the SNMP MIB Mutilation WG and co-authoring RFC
   3.14159, which introduced the PPP Randomly Misdirect Option.

   IETF participants remember Notable's skill at wrangling difficult and
   intertwined MAY/MUST text into clear, hierarchical prose.  Outside of
   their IETF activities, Notable was known for having twice won the
   International Sanskrit spelling bee.  Notable was predeceased by
   Fuzzball, their spouse of 40 years, and is survived by two children.

5.  Security Considerations

   None.

6.  Acknowledgements

7.  IANA Consideration

   This document has no IANA actions.

8.  Informative References

   [RFC1122]  Braden, R., Ed., "Requirements for Internet Hosts -
              Communication Layers", STD 3, RFC 1122,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC1122, October 1989,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1122>.

   [RFC1123]  Braden, R., Ed., "Requirements for Internet Hosts -
              Application and Support", STD 3, RFC 1123,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC1123, October 1989,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1123>.

   [RFC1812]  Baker, F., Ed., "Requirements for IP Version 4 Routers",
              RFC 1812, DOI 10.17487/RFC1812, June 1995,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1812>.

   [RFC7567]  Baker, F., Ed. and G. Fairhurst, Ed., "IETF
              Recommendations Regarding Active Queue Management",
              BCP 197, RFC 7567, DOI 10.17487/RFC7567, July 2015,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7567>.





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   [RFC8289]  Nichols, K., Jacobson, V., McGregor, A., Ed., and J.
              Iyengar, Ed., "Controlled Delay Active Queue Management",
              RFC 8289, DOI 10.17487/RFC8289, January 2018,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8289>.

   [RFC8290]  Hoeiland-Joergensen, T., McKenney, P., Taht, D., Gettys,
              J., and E. Dumazet, "The Flow Queue CoDel Packet Scheduler
              and Active Queue Management Algorithm", RFC 8290,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8290, January 2018,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8290>.

Author's Address

   Craig Partridge
   Colorado State University
   Department of Computer Science
   Fort Collins, Colorado,  80528
   United States of America
   Email: craig.partridge@colostate.edu
































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