In my little world, the bloggers are the rock stars. I love to see people who have a huge passion for something. Gary had a passion for Apple Stores. I’ve read his blog for 13 years and in March, he stopped writing and gave up his role as the expert on everything Apple Retail.
He has passed away at 67 from Brain Cancer.
The Washington Post has a very well written obituary for Gary. Michael captured everything very well quoting Gary’s thoughts and his impact on Apple and its fans. Outsiders might say to me that there’s nothing special to write about Apple Stores for a decade but Gary did and he did it well. I only met him once or twice but he was a kind man and very generous. We shared our love of Apple and this community. I still wait in line for Apple releases and will continue to as I’m sure Gary would have as well.
There aren’t many people who remember a world before Apple Stores. The Apple community has lost one of the greats today.
Here’s my post in April linking to Gary hanging up his role as EIC at IFO Apple Store.
Jason Snell had this to say today:
ifoAppleStore was an invaluable resource for me as a tech writer: Gary knew everything there was to know about the stores, and there was nobody else who was even close to his level of attention and detail—he was the unquestionable expert. I was saddened when the site shut down earlier this year, but I’m sadder still to learn the reason behind it.