Thread to honor the memory of Darryl Meister- He left the world a better place.

**Craig** · 07-30-2014, 06:49 AM

I had a bout with my mortality last year and it makes you wonder how you will be remembered; this man in such a short time has left many lifetimes of memories for how he lived his life and shared with the world. We are only his on-line optical world; a man of that depth certainly has touched many lives and when they pass it is when we get to reflect on what they meant to us.

The past few years we have had some notable losses of life on this forum and the survivors soldier on as we are supposed to but we must make sure we take time to remember who we have lost and how they effected our lives. What are we doing to ensure the same effect when we eventually pass? I try to ask myself this question quite often; it is my obligation to leave the world a better place than I found it. I try to give freely of my time and energy but was in awe of how Darryl was able to only see the good in any thread; that is a part of him that I will try to honor by being more respectful of others thoughts and more careful in how I speak in a forum or in person when trying to explain my point of view.

I never met him and that seems odd to me since after reading hundreds of his posts ( many where to complicated for my short attention span),it felt like we where friends from the past who had not seen each other in a while but his giving lives on in all of us.

Let's start a thread to honor the optical guru and let his family know by posting how he has effected your life and let this be something he can read from heaven with a smile.

Rest In Peace and thanks for always giving of yourself with out any bias.

**MikeAurelius** · 07-30-2014, 07:53 AM

I have his calculators bookmarked on my browser. They have saved me many hours of skull sweat and many dollars in spoiled lenses.

I remember being cranky with him a couple of times, but he always was calm and never seemed out of sorts about anything. His magic with numbers and the physics of optics was fabulous.

**SharonB** · 07-30-2014, 08:01 AM

I first met Darryl back in '96 or '97 when he was working with AO/SOLA (and I think Steve Machol was also there at the time, along with Mark Mattison-Shupnik). I was with the NFOS, and he frequently gave CEC talks for them. Over the years he has helped me with many a thorny question, especially when I had to write an article on something that involved optical physics or the ins-and-outs of lens designs. Darryl never lost his cool over anything, and was always the steady oar in the water. We'll all miss him. Too sad and too soon.

**merrymaker** · 07-30-2014, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by MikeAurelius

I have his calculators bookmarked on my browser. They have saved me many hours of skull sweat and many dollars in spoiled lenses.

I remember being cranky with him a couple of times, but he always was calm and never seemed out of sorts about anything. His magic with numbers and the physics of optics was fabulous.

Are these calculators accessible by all? links would be appreciated

**drk** · 07-30-2014, 03:49 PM

http://www.opticampus.com/

**fjpod** · 07-30-2014, 04:01 PM

I never met Daryl except for a few conversations here on Optiboard. Besides his optical genius, he always behaved like a gentleman. He will be sorely missed.

**Vitaleyes** · 07-30-2014, 04:31 PM

I have lost a dear friend.
Darryl and I have been friends for 20+ years. We shared many interests as we are both sell taught opticians that have done very well for ourselves. Darryl and I worked for two very competitive companies. Darryl for Sola and I for Essilor. Even with that, were both always willing to share our technical knowledge with each other.
Darryl was always there for me when I was stumped and needed an optical expert. He was my go to person when I had an ophthalmic optics question.
I am very happy that I was able to attend his service this past weekend and support his family.
May you rest in peace Darryl. I will miss you.
Please continue to pray for Darryl’s son and daughter as well as the rest of his family, that they may find peace and comfort in this difficult time.

**JRS** · 07-30-2014, 04:54 PM

I too will sorely miss him Mike.
The first time I worked with him was at an optical lab that heavily supported Sola products. At that time I was the technical consultant/software engineer at an optical software company. Within the week together we solved all the reported issues. Life was good!
After that we always kept up with each other by email or phone, and of course both of us on where on many of the VCA committees. So we saw each other several times a year. Like many other here, I have folders full of Darryl's stuff. I refer to much of it weekly, although now it saddens me to see his name... and know he's gone.

**Den** · 08-04-2014, 04:04 PM

I don't know would it be suitable for me to write in this thread. So excuse me if it's not.
But I was terribly Sorry to read the title...
It was always something new to me in Darryl's posts. (truly saying, in posts of many other users, too.)

**gmc** · 08-05-2014, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by Den

I don't know would it be suitable for me to write in this thread. So excuse me if it's not.
But I was terribly Sorry to read the title...
It was always something new to me in Darryl's posts. (truly saying, in posts of many other users, too.)

Darryl's work reached people all over the world. Everyone in our field with a desire to learn was touched by him, whether they know it or not.

**ReneeJacobs** · 08-28-2014, 10:10 AM

Darryl Meister was generous with his education tools, and dedicated to improving the optical industry.

Years ago, I graduated from UC Berkeley and had - what I thought was - significant education in optics. Yet, I found myself poorly equipped to understand advances in Free Form technology, toward predicting which patients will benefit most and why. I searched hard for answers. Eventually I discovered that I could post questions on optiboard, and then volumes of people would reply with field experience, and then Darryl would show up with technical knowledge...explaining the optics.

Furthermore, I enjoyed watching Darryl's body of work grow on OptiCampus. He was creating and sharing education tools to advance the industry.

Darryl Meister made a world of difference in my life, and I always assumed we would cross paths one day. A year or so ago, I heard he was at a booth at Vision Expo. I stopped by to thank him in person, and arrived an hour after he left to catch a flight. I did not leave a note or a card - I was confident there would be future opportunities.

Very Sad to read of his passing.