Update on Istvan Toth

[Alessandro Solimando <al...@gmail.com>]

Dear All,
The Calcite PMC has received a message from Istvan’s manager regarding his
passing. We are sharing this update with the community to honor his memory:

Dear All,
> It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague and
> friend, Istvan Toth <https://people.apache.org/committer-index.html#stoty>,
> who died peacefully on Friday, 3rd April after a short illness. Istvan was
> a valued member of the Operational Database team at Cloudera for 6.5 years,
> serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and a member of the Apache
> Calcite-Avatica, HBase and Phoenix PMCs.
> He was known for his expertise, reliability, positive attitude, and the
> kindness he showed everyone around him. His contributions and warm presence
> will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Istvan's family during this
> difficult time.
> May he rest in peace.

We have decided to share this publicly to reach all who knew him and to
provide a space for everyone to share a thought or memory of Istvan.
--Alessandro

Re: Update on Istvan Toth

[Forward Xu <fo...@gmail.com>]

I’m extremely saddened to learn of Istvan’s passing.

He was a prolific contributor to Calcite and Avatica,
with many of his commits shaping recent releases.
He will be deeply missed.

May he rest in peace.

Best regards,
Forwardxu

Alessandro Solimando <al...@gmail.com> 于2026年4月15日周三 03:23写道：

> Those are great initiatives, Julian, +1 on all of them.
>
> His team shared that they are actively working on the ASF memorial page,
> they will let us know when ready, if someone feels like adding a thought to
> that page, I can put you in touch.
>
> Once the memorial page is available, we can link it the 'In memoriam'
> section.
>
> Dedicating to Istvan the next Avatica release seems like a good idea, let's
> make sure we keep that in mind when we start that process.
>
> Best regards,
> Alessandro
>
> On Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 20:19 Julian Hyde <jh...@apache.org> wrote:
>
> > I never met Istvan, but I heard his voice on mailing lists, his code
> > contributions, and his release management work, and I am saddened that
> > this voice has now gone. I am thankful for his contributions to our
> > community, and I send my condolences to his family, friends, and
> > colleagues.
> >
> > I would like to find an appropriate way to remember him. Some possible
> > ideas:
> >  * Dedicate the next Avatica release to Istvan, with a paragraph in
> > the release notes.
> >  * Someone from Calcite who knew Istvan could collaborate with people
> > from the other ASF communities Istvan was a member of -- HBase and
> > Phoenix, I believe -- to add to the ASF memorials page [1].
> >  * Add an 'In memoriam' section to the community page [2] similar to
> > the existing Emeritus section.
> >
> > What do you think?
> >
> > Julian
> >
> > [1] https://www.apache.org/memorials
> > [2] https://calcite.apache.org/community
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 1:30 AM Francis Chuang <francischuang@apache.org
> >
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > I am extremely saddened to learn about the passing of Istvan. He was a
> > > prolific contributor to Calcite Avatica and was always a pleasure to
> > > work with. In the last few Avatica releases, he was the contributor of
> > > the majority of commits and changes.
> > >
> > > May he rest in peace.
> > >
> > > Francis
> > >
> > > On 14/04/2026 5:34 pm, Stamatis Zampetakis wrote:
> > > > I was deeply saddened to hear about Istvan’s passing.
> > > >
> > > > Although we worked at the same company for several years, most of our
> > > > interactions were through ASF channels. He was always professional,
> > > > patient, and kind, and his passion for open source was clear in every
> > > > exchange. He consistently showed a willingness to help, no matter the
> > > > challenge.
> > > >
> > > > In recent years, he became one of the key driving forces behind the
> > > > Avatica project, and his contributions will have a lasting impact.
> > > >
> > > > He will be greatly missed.
> > > >
> > > > Best regards,
> > > > Stamatis Zampetakis
> > > >
> > > > On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM Alessandro Solimando
> > > > <al...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> Dear All,
> > > >> The Calcite PMC has received a message from Istvan’s manager
> > regarding his
> > > >> passing. We are sharing this update with the community to honor his
> > memory:
> > > >>
> > > >> Dear All,
> > > >>> It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of our
> colleague
> > and
> > > >>> friend, Istvan Toth <
> > https://people.apache.org/committer-index.html#stoty>,
> > > >>> who died peacefully on Friday, 3rd April after a short illness.
> > Istvan was
> > > >>> a valued member of the Operational Database team at Cloudera for
> 6.5
> > years,
> > > >>> serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and a member of the
> > Apache
> > > >>> Calcite-Avatica, HBase and Phoenix PMCs.
> > > >>> He was known for his expertise, reliability, positive attitude, and
> > the
> > > >>> kindness he showed everyone around him. His contributions and warm
> > presence
> > > >>> will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Istvan's family
> during
> > this
> > > >>> difficult time.
> > > >>> May he rest in peace.
> > > >>
> > > >> We have decided to share this publicly to reach all who knew him and
> > to
> > > >> provide a space for everyone to share a thought or memory of Istvan.
> > > >> --Alessandro
> > >
> >
>

Re: Update on Istvan Toth

[Alessandro Solimando <al...@gmail.com>]

Those are great initiatives, Julian, +1 on all of them.

His team shared that they are actively working on the ASF memorial page,
they will let us know when ready, if someone feels like adding a thought to
that page, I can put you in touch.

Once the memorial page is available, we can link it the 'In memoriam'
section.

Dedicating to Istvan the next Avatica release seems like a good idea, let's
make sure we keep that in mind when we start that process.

Best regards,
Alessandro

On Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 20:19 Julian Hyde <jh...@apache.org> wrote:

> I never met Istvan, but I heard his voice on mailing lists, his code
> contributions, and his release management work, and I am saddened that
> this voice has now gone. I am thankful for his contributions to our
> community, and I send my condolences to his family, friends, and
> colleagues.
>
> I would like to find an appropriate way to remember him. Some possible
> ideas:
>  * Dedicate the next Avatica release to Istvan, with a paragraph in
> the release notes.
>  * Someone from Calcite who knew Istvan could collaborate with people
> from the other ASF communities Istvan was a member of -- HBase and
> Phoenix, I believe -- to add to the ASF memorials page [1].
>  * Add an 'In memoriam' section to the community page [2] similar to
> the existing Emeritus section.
>
> What do you think?
>
> Julian
>
> [1] https://www.apache.org/memorials
> [2] https://calcite.apache.org/community
>
> On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 1:30 AM Francis Chuang <fr...@apache.org>
> wrote:
> >
> > I am extremely saddened to learn about the passing of Istvan. He was a
> > prolific contributor to Calcite Avatica and was always a pleasure to
> > work with. In the last few Avatica releases, he was the contributor of
> > the majority of commits and changes.
> >
> > May he rest in peace.
> >
> > Francis
> >
> > On 14/04/2026 5:34 pm, Stamatis Zampetakis wrote:
> > > I was deeply saddened to hear about Istvan’s passing.
> > >
> > > Although we worked at the same company for several years, most of our
> > > interactions were through ASF channels. He was always professional,
> > > patient, and kind, and his passion for open source was clear in every
> > > exchange. He consistently showed a willingness to help, no matter the
> > > challenge.
> > >
> > > In recent years, he became one of the key driving forces behind the
> > > Avatica project, and his contributions will have a lasting impact.
> > >
> > > He will be greatly missed.
> > >
> > > Best regards,
> > > Stamatis Zampetakis
> > >
> > > On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM Alessandro Solimando
> > > <al...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> Dear All,
> > >> The Calcite PMC has received a message from Istvan’s manager
> regarding his
> > >> passing. We are sharing this update with the community to honor his
> memory:
> > >>
> > >> Dear All,
> > >>> It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague
> and
> > >>> friend, Istvan Toth <
> https://people.apache.org/committer-index.html#stoty>,
> > >>> who died peacefully on Friday, 3rd April after a short illness.
> Istvan was
> > >>> a valued member of the Operational Database team at Cloudera for 6.5
> years,
> > >>> serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and a member of the
> Apache
> > >>> Calcite-Avatica, HBase and Phoenix PMCs.
> > >>> He was known for his expertise, reliability, positive attitude, and
> the
> > >>> kindness he showed everyone around him. His contributions and warm
> presence
> > >>> will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Istvan's family during
> this
> > >>> difficult time.
> > >>> May he rest in peace.
> > >>
> > >> We have decided to share this publicly to reach all who knew him and
> to
> > >> provide a space for everyone to share a thought or memory of Istvan.
> > >> --Alessandro
> >
>

Re: Update on Istvan Toth

[Julian Hyde <jh...@apache.org>]

I never met Istvan, but I heard his voice on mailing lists, his code
contributions, and his release management work, and I am saddened that
this voice has now gone. I am thankful for his contributions to our
community, and I send my condolences to his family, friends, and
colleagues.

I would like to find an appropriate way to remember him. Some possible ideas:
 * Dedicate the next Avatica release to Istvan, with a paragraph in
the release notes.
 * Someone from Calcite who knew Istvan could collaborate with people
from the other ASF communities Istvan was a member of -- HBase and
Phoenix, I believe -- to add to the ASF memorials page [1].
 * Add an 'In memoriam' section to the community page [2] similar to
the existing Emeritus section.

What do you think?

Julian

[1] https://www.apache.org/memorials
[2] https://calcite.apache.org/community

On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 1:30 AM Francis Chuang <fr...@apache.org> wrote:
>
> I am extremely saddened to learn about the passing of Istvan. He was a
> prolific contributor to Calcite Avatica and was always a pleasure to
> work with. In the last few Avatica releases, he was the contributor of
> the majority of commits and changes.
>
> May he rest in peace.
>
> Francis
>
> On 14/04/2026 5:34 pm, Stamatis Zampetakis wrote:
> > I was deeply saddened to hear about Istvan’s passing.
> >
> > Although we worked at the same company for several years, most of our
> > interactions were through ASF channels. He was always professional,
> > patient, and kind, and his passion for open source was clear in every
> > exchange. He consistently showed a willingness to help, no matter the
> > challenge.
> >
> > In recent years, he became one of the key driving forces behind the
> > Avatica project, and his contributions will have a lasting impact.
> >
> > He will be greatly missed.
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Stamatis Zampetakis
> >
> > On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM Alessandro Solimando
> > <al...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Dear All,
> >> The Calcite PMC has received a message from Istvan’s manager regarding his
> >> passing. We are sharing this update with the community to honor his memory:
> >>
> >> Dear All,
> >>> It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague and
> >>> friend, Istvan Toth <https://people.apache.org/committer-index.html#stoty>,
> >>> who died peacefully on Friday, 3rd April after a short illness. Istvan was
> >>> a valued member of the Operational Database team at Cloudera for 6.5 years,
> >>> serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and a member of the Apache
> >>> Calcite-Avatica, HBase and Phoenix PMCs.
> >>> He was known for his expertise, reliability, positive attitude, and the
> >>> kindness he showed everyone around him. His contributions and warm presence
> >>> will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Istvan's family during this
> >>> difficult time.
> >>> May he rest in peace.
> >>
> >> We have decided to share this publicly to reach all who knew him and to
> >> provide a space for everyone to share a thought or memory of Istvan.
> >> --Alessandro
>

Re: Update on Istvan Toth

[Francis Chuang <fr...@apache.org>]

I am extremely saddened to learn about the passing of Istvan. He was a
prolific contributor to Calcite Avatica and was always a pleasure to
work with. In the last few Avatica releases, he was the contributor of
the majority of commits and changes.

May he rest in peace.

Francis

On 14/04/2026 5:34 pm, Stamatis Zampetakis wrote:
> I was deeply saddened to hear about Istvan’s passing.
> 
> Although we worked at the same company for several years, most of our
> interactions were through ASF channels. He was always professional,
> patient, and kind, and his passion for open source was clear in every
> exchange. He consistently showed a willingness to help, no matter the
> challenge.
> 
> In recent years, he became one of the key driving forces behind the
> Avatica project, and his contributions will have a lasting impact.
> 
> He will be greatly missed.
> 
> Best regards,
> Stamatis Zampetakis
> 
> On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM Alessandro Solimando
> <al...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Dear All,
>> The Calcite PMC has received a message from Istvan’s manager regarding his
>> passing. We are sharing this update with the community to honor his memory:
>>
>> Dear All,
>>> It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague and
>>> friend, Istvan Toth <https://people.apache.org/committer-index.html#stoty>,
>>> who died peacefully on Friday, 3rd April after a short illness. Istvan was
>>> a valued member of the Operational Database team at Cloudera for 6.5 years,
>>> serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and a member of the Apache
>>> Calcite-Avatica, HBase and Phoenix PMCs.
>>> He was known for his expertise, reliability, positive attitude, and the
>>> kindness he showed everyone around him. His contributions and warm presence
>>> will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Istvan's family during this
>>> difficult time.
>>> May he rest in peace.
>>
>> We have decided to share this publicly to reach all who knew him and to
>> provide a space for everyone to share a thought or memory of Istvan.
>> --Alessandro

Re: Update on Istvan Toth

[Stamatis Zampetakis <za...@gmail.com>]

I was deeply saddened to hear about Istvan’s passing.

Although we worked at the same company for several years, most of our
interactions were through ASF channels. He was always professional,
patient, and kind, and his passion for open source was clear in every
exchange. He consistently showed a willingness to help, no matter the
challenge.

In recent years, he became one of the key driving forces behind the
Avatica project, and his contributions will have a lasting impact.

He will be greatly missed.

Best regards,
Stamatis Zampetakis

On Mon, Apr 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM Alessandro Solimando
<al...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear All,
> The Calcite PMC has received a message from Istvan’s manager regarding his
> passing. We are sharing this update with the community to honor his memory:
>
> Dear All,
> > It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague and
> > friend, Istvan Toth <https://people.apache.org/committer-index.html#stoty>,
> > who died peacefully on Friday, 3rd April after a short illness. Istvan was
> > a valued member of the Operational Database team at Cloudera for 6.5 years,
> > serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and a member of the Apache
> > Calcite-Avatica, HBase and Phoenix PMCs.
> > He was known for his expertise, reliability, positive attitude, and the
> > kindness he showed everyone around him. His contributions and warm presence
> > will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with Istvan's family during this
> > difficult time.
> > May he rest in peace.
>
> We have decided to share this publicly to reach all who knew him and to
> provide a space for everyone to share a thought or memory of Istvan.
> --Alessandro