If you have ever done any serious VBA programming in Excel, then it's almost a lock that at some point you found yourself at an impasse, did a search and found yourself visiting
www.cpearson.com where you found a well-documented and well-explained solution to the problem that had been vexing you.
Needless to say I was gobsmacked when Bill e-mailed me and asked me if I'd heard about Chip's accident. I was heartbroken when I followed the link to
Chip's obituary in the Kansas City Star and learned what had happened.
Even though I'd never met Chip's parents, I decided to call Stanley Pearson, Chip's father, (like Chip, I too call Kansas City home) and express condolences to his family on behalf of Excel users worldwide. I told them that Chip had helped hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of people all over the globe. While they knew Chip was a Microsoft Excel MVP, I don't think they had a real appreciation for just what a titan Chip was in the Excel world; which is why Mrs. Pearson had Chip's website taken down after his death. When I learned that Chip's site had been turned off, I called them again. I explained to Mrs. Pearson just how incredibly important Chip's website was in the eyes of hardcore Excel users worldwide. And I asked if I could pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top, get her and Stanley's blessing to see about getting Chip's site restored and back online. I am tickled pink to report that she said that yes, she and Mr. Pearson would be happy to restore it.
This week I have been working with Chip's hosting company and his domain registrar to get those accounts transferred over to Mrs. Pearson's control so she can get the site back up and running. I think we're almost there. So if you've tried his site and haven't gotten in, please keep trying. Hopefully we'll get it back online in the coming days.
And - as if every Mr. Excel board member didn't already have enough to thank Bill for - we have yet another reason to thank Mr. Jelen: for he offered to cover the expense of having Chip's hosting company hunt down all of Chip's files and restore them from backups! Bill is truly one of the best people I know.
Chip's site was always free for the world to use. But, if you used it, here's my request for a "donation" from you. In a few days' time I would like to e-mail a link to this thread to Mr. and Mrs. Pearson so they can see just how far-reaching their son's site was in helping people. So if you owe Chip Pearson a debt of gratitude, here's your chance to thank his folks for raising such a tremendous man.
Active Link to Chip's Archives:
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