Bruce M. Waldack

Our Stories & Memories

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5.28.08

I'm Walter from Los Angeles. I had the pleasure of being Bruce's "Limo Guy" when he had the house in Malibu. It was totally random how we met, but he liked me, so he asked for me to be his driver when he came to town. Little did I know what I was in for!!! Bruce was the most generous person I EVER met! I always said if I ever made a bunch of money, I would live like Bruce did. He was generous and fun and supportive and always made me feel like I was part of the family. He actually gave me a one week trip to Maui as a TIP!!! He bid for it at a fund raiser and just gave me the trip. I was shocked! it is one of those legendary stories, we in the limo business live for.

Walter

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5.28.08 (Submitted 2.10.08)

If not for my strong belief in an afterlife, I could have gone crazy after I learned of his passing.

Bruce & I shared in common our love for our children, parrots, music & marathon talks from one night into the next day..... He was the closest thing to a bonafide Angel that i've ever known, yet at the same time I often worried about his well being. Somehow I always knew that the *Light* that emanated from this man was far too bright for this world.....

If I live 100 more years, and travel to every corner of the earth, I know that I will never again know another human being like him. I pray that his boys can someday find peace about thier loss- & to always know that thier father will NEVER leave them, & he will live forever, through them.

Below is a photo of Bruce & Kid Rock on the way back from Vegas...How I like to remember him.... (Photo removed - Bob can email me if he wants it posted)

In Eternal Life & Love....

Saraya Hope King

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5.28.08 (submitted 10.31.07)

Bruce Waldack was certainly the strangest and at the same time the most genuine person I have ever met. I will remember our endless nights in Buenos Aires forever. Happiness was instantly spread out around him in all the places he wet on. We'll miss him endlessly.

I hope some of them will call me. They became my friends too. A kiss for Nina, I hope we'll meet soon. Another for James the firefighter, great amateur of women and wine.

Thank you Bruce for everything you did for me.

I'm so sorry I wasn't there these last weeks.

Love you

Henri

 

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1.08.08

Thank you for creating this site.  My deepest sympathy to Bruce's family and friends.  It is comforting to know Bruce lived a good life, found good friends and had people who cared for him.  I am deeply saddened to find out he is gone, much, much too young.  Watching and listening to a video posted by his friend Federico made me realize how little we change over the years; Bruce had the same voice he had as a teenager.  I met Bruce in 7th grade and last saw him in 1980; he would call out of the blue every few years, even surprising my elderly father once when he called my family home 15 years after I had left.  Maybe he liked to shock, or maybe he had a huge heart that wanted to know how everyone was doing.  Our last contact was when he emailed my husband in 2002 after googling him on the internet.  Now it seems ironic -- I don't know why I googled Bruce Waldack last night.  I saw in front of me a picture of Bruce and Tim playing together from way, way back.  I actually remember the blue zip up sweatshirt Bruce always wore (long before they were called hoodies), the jeans...all very familiar, even though it has been nearly 30 years.  I can still hear him singing "I Need to Know" by Tom Petty...has it really been 30 years?  Too long, too short...make the most of it. God bless.

9.12.07

Bruce,

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Submitted By: Rita Waldack

On June 23, a piece of my heart was removed and I am afraid it will always be missing.

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Submitted By: Bill Geibler

It’s always been hard for me to suss my feelings for Bruce Waldack, the man who whimsically launched/sold HostingTech magazine, putting me through a rollercoaster ride career move. As time has passed, I tend to remember only how fun and exciting it was to be in his presence. Like a classic antihero gunfighter or a Sopranos gangster, there is a palpable appeal to people who live by their own rules, even if you don’t officially approve of their lifestyle. I only knew the decadent yet generous post-DigitalNation Bruce (the era I called “Bruce-ster’s Millions”). He did everything to extremes. And if you were friends with him, you could live that way too, that is, for the brief period you could physically and mentally endure it. I think that’s one of the reasons his pool of friends was so vast. No one person could consistently keep up with him. We had to take shifts.

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Submitted By: John Shomaker

There’s a bunch of guys from college days – myself, Viersen, Bokert, Vaughan, Stefan, Apel, Mulconnery, Rona, and others - that have known Bruce now for 20+ years, each with our own stories.  I had the pleasure and displeasure of working with Bruce too in recent years, but the real memories are from longer ago.  Great times.

We met Bruce at Washington University in St. Louis after he transferred from U Mass (according to BMW).  Already the consumate entrepreneur, he stayed at Washington U. for just a year, then left to start computer businesses in DC.  Too many stories over the years, but a few include:

·       Streaking with five of us across campus, covered only in shaving cream (yet realized too late it was menthol and almost passed out from the fumes)

·       Building the pleasure palace room with Bryan Vaughan at the Sigma Chi house, decked out like a ‘70s bachelor pad to attract coeds

·       Renting penthouse suites for New Years parties at age 20, when the rest of us were on $30 per week budgets

·       Going on Gentleman’s Annual Sabbatical (GAS) trips with 6-8 of us to Jamaica, Acapulco, and the Bahamas

·       At Paradise Island, he and I won $7,000 after he hit 19 straight 20s or 21s at the blackjack table (we went back 3 times because he felt so hot)

·       Renting a convertible at 19 and driving to Florida’s gulf coast for the week;  stopped off at a pledge’s house in Tampa (who we soon blackballed) and he tried to hook up with his high school sister;  on the way home didn’t want to drive, so we dropped him off at the airport so he could fly home on his own

·       With four of us, stole six kegs from the University bar – we literally unscrewed the freezer door which was locked and stole the kegs in the middle of a packed bar

·       Rat hunting in DC

·       While at Thruport, purchased Malcomb Forbes’ green Lamborguini (among 15-20 other sports cars);  and spent huge dollars retrofitting an old Cadillac to look like a shark as a part of a large group that went to a Jimmy Buffett concert in Baltimore

·       Driving one of his first Italian sports cars 135 mph on I-395

·       Going to the RNC 2000 convention in Philly and acting like we really cared about the candidates

·       Created specially designed AOL business cards with the name “Haywood Jablome, Director, Finance” that he could pass out to women at bars;  drinking Crystale or Goldschlagger, just because it was the most expensive

·       Endless cocktails over the years;  endless bottles of Silver Oak and Stags Leap drank like kool-aid;  endless cases of cheap Miller beer;  endless champagne

·       Endless CDs stacked up like playing cards;  a lot of “girlie” music, clearly purchased to entice women

·       Endless casinos, penthouse suites, . . . .

Endless stories.

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Submitted By: John Simmons

It has been my distinct good fortune to know Bruce Waldack since Febuary 1989. I began a 15 year work/love association including Desktop Publishing, Computer Services Group , digitalNATION, and Thruport.   I am happy to have told Bruce many times how grateful I was to be able to be in the Waldack Family. For that is the atmosphere that made  His companies great. Truly a feel of belonging to more than an employment or a place of business was mission  . What Bruce did for me those many years is considerable an appreciated . His ability to attract and keep entertaining, articulate, hard working fun people was legendary. So much fun did we have in those years. So many great people did I have the fortune to meet and to work with. Some of my best days were spent making life a little better for the customers and clients of Bruce Waldack . I got to know a lot of Bruce's friends and I know how well he treated them and how much he is missed.  My sincerest condolences to all.

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Submitted By: Nina Anne Fenn

I kept in close contact with Bruce and am deeply saddened by his loss. I was supposed to see him this week. Bruce was a very unique and admirable person. I learned so much from him. My son and myself would not have traveled to where we traveled, learned what we learned , and had the life's experiences we had. I met Bill Clinton with him! The world will definitely not be the same place without you Bruce. May your spiritlive on through your 2 beautiful boys Colton andCooper, and through your friends and family. We willall miss you…. with love

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Submitted By: Mark Laseau

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Submitted By: Ana L. Silva Lopez (SupplyLine)

We are in deep shock.

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Submitted By: Will O'Neal

I had the pleasure of meeting Bruce back in 1990 when I interviewed for a job with one of his companies. I ended up working for him for much of the next 17 years, and over that time we became friends, enemies, roommates, and buddies.

I went to work for a couple of other companies, only to run into him a couple of years later at the Washington Waterfront, when he was cruising the Potomac in is 60' yacht. He offered me a job with Thruport on the spot. How could I turn that down? I worked for Thruport for 3 days shy of a year, when the funding for my project was cut, and went back to work for other small companies.

Now, five and a half years into running my own company, with 9 employees (some of whom worked for Bruce as well) I know what I do today would never have been possible without the lessons I learned from Bruce. I know I could have never been as successful as I am had I never met Bruce.

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Submitted By: Jon Roberts

What can I say to describe the wonderful ways in which Bruce touched all of our lives. For me he completely changed my outlook on life. After giving myself to my employer 24/7 for over 10 + years he knew that I was missing out on the true adventure of life for which he had discovered and enlightened other people’s lives in various degrees. I met him completely accidentally just “ doing my job” and making sure he wasn’t going anywhere he shouldn’t…which we all know was exactly what he always did. Soon after that brief meeting his generous demeanor helped me out on many ways. In the early part of 2004 I lost my job and he called me and said come meet me in Paris . I said “I cannot afford to go to Paris because I need to find a new job “ He said “ I didn’t ask you if you could afford to come, what do you have better to do right now? “ I said “maybe for a couple of weeks, but how long will we be gone?” He said “it’s not how long you’ll be gone for, but when do you want to go back.” I left 3 days later and did not return until 4 weeks later. He was exceptional in his unconditional friendship unlike anyone I had ever met before. Even though we came from two totally different backgrounds our personalities were very similar in a lot of ways. His fearlessness was just one of the things that I admired about him from the very start. The confidence he instilled in me will stay with me the rest of my life. The rules were no reservations, no maps, and no plans. He and I searched out some of by far the most interesting places in Europe , South America , and Central America , no doubt some for the first time and some repeat times with other friends of his. I am only sorry that I didn’t write them down, but I am sure he’ll guide me when I go back.

The things I remember the most was the way he was able to attract the most interesting and diverse people at hotel bar and out on the street. We all enjoyed seeing his bar tricks no matter how many times we witnessed them, and for me his uncanny talent for guessing where people were from after just meeting them. He always seemed to know a little bit about everything, even though sometimes I really didn’t know what was fact or what was fiction. On the occasions that several of Bruce’s friends were in the same place at the same time, everybody’s company made for an unforgettable evening. Since we all were Bruce’s friends we came as strangers, but left as friends because we all had at least one thing in common…Bruce.

He was so much too so many people. I didn’t want to believe that my good friend had passed. In the last year we lost touch with each other, but on June 11th I tried calling him on a calling card that I had 13 minutes left on. He picked up and we talked 13 minutes before we got cut off. I thought of calling him back, but then I thought he really wasn’t a phone person and e-mailed him later that night. When I spoke to him I told him how honored I was to be his friend, and how I truly and sincerely appreciated his friendship. He said life is too short to wait and we should plan a trip soon. Well he left without us all this time, but eventually we all meet him once again for an unforgettable evening of stories, laughs, and experiences in another time and place.

My thoughts and prayers are with the entire family, especially his mom whom I’m sure misses that special part in her heart that every mother has for her son. To all of Bruce’s friends both far and near, some knew him a long time, and some a very short time, but we were all blessed that he touched our lives in a very profound way, a way that I will never forget.

I will see you my friend again.

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Submitted By: Stuart Thomas

Richard Edward Boy AKA Dick E Boy AKA Booter was my closest friend and my sons godfather.  We have 1,000 stories that we created by sharing amazing times in Virginia , California , Mexico and many other places.  We laughed at the same things we have for nearly 15 years as recently as the Monday before he passed.  I met Bruce after selling him the very first CD Recorder that would fit in a computer.  It literally was the very first one.  No serial # because it was a beta demo unit but Bruce liked the idea of making his own CDs.  It was defective of course and I was at Computer Services Group all the time with new software to make it work.  Those were amazing times with Dave and Al Waldack working there as well as Ghattas and Stucky and Deb Discenza.  My first year on the East Coast was 1993 and Bruce invited me to thanksgiving dinner with his parents and brother.  That was great since my family was in California .  The next year, his dad Al was sick and I did not go but Bruce surprised me with a plate of Turkey and all the trimmings.  That was one of my favorite memories of him pulling up in his car to surprise me with food.  We spent hours in his office just hanging out playing his CDs or the video game Doom.  We always shot each other to get the better weapons the other had.   We always quoted Dudley Moore in Arthur and Dice Clay from Ford Fairlane.  The later is a must watch and you will hear many of Bruces most used sayings. 

 

Bruce had a huge heart and he was the best at pulling off a prank.  I must have made 200 bets with Bruce over time and I won more than I lost but they were always trivia related or sitting at a bar shooring wet napkins into trash cans.  Our very first bet, Bruce looked down the bar and asked how much if he took a hook shot and made it in the trash can.  I bet him 3/1 odds on a $20.  Bruce simply did a hook shot into the trash can directly behind the bar near us and said “Pay Up”  From that day on, we made that bet and we each asked multiple questions to ensure that it was the trash can we thought we were referring to.  He was fast to stick out his hand and say “Bet Me” and just as fast to collect or pay out.    He once bought me clear tequila shots and admitted to me later that he was doing water shots instead of Tequila.  He had bribed the bartended to go along with the prank.  The next time he bought me shots, I took his glass and smelled it.  It smelled like Tequila.  He later admitted to me that it was again water with tequila rubbed around the top of the glass because he knew I would smell his shot glass.  I once signed up for a credit card as Dr. Stuart Thomas.  Bruce got a very high end credit card and scrolled down and chose HRM as his title.  His Royal Majesty Bruce Waldack. .  He got away with it because of the hotels he stayed at and he loved to call and laugh about that one after checking in. 

 

Now that he is gone, I will share a story he was very proud of and one that we kept between each other.  This shows what a huge heart Bruce had and how unselfish he was.  When Dudley Moore was dying, Bruce heard Dudley was struggling financially from all the medical bills and had me arrange to send Dudley a check on his behalf for $50,000 no strings attached just to thank him for all the hours of laughter the movie Arthur gave him.  He never told that story because he did it just to help someone out.  He helped so many people out and never asked for anything in return.  I will miss Bruce more than anyone will ever know and I will never again be able to simply pick up the phone and say remember this or that story.  Additionally, I will never be on the other end of the line when Bruce called me to confirm some amazing but true fact about him to someone who did not believe him or had just met him.  Our favorite sayings were “Isn’t fun the best thing to have”  and “Tonight is New Years Eve,  Third time this week”   Believe me.  I never had as much fun as I did with Bruce and all the amazing friends he surrounded himself with.  I am very fortunate to have sent Bruce 2 long emails telling him how much I loved him and how much his friendship meant to me.  The last thing he said last week was very pointed.  “I love you and I miss you.”  I told him the same and I will miss my friend very much. 

Comment: Ahh caught by the classic BMW trash can trick!

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Submitted By: April Kennedy

It is with my deepest sympathy that I write this to share with his mother, brother, sister and sons.  None of us can believe he is really gone. The world has lost a wonderful son, brother, father and friend. The family does not deserve this terrible shock and loss. Last week Bruce’s big heart insisted that since me and his mom both beat cancer he wanted us to get to know each other. His mother shares some of the same mannerisms that I loved about Bruce. I had already missed him before he was gone, and as I sat with his wonderful mother I was reminded of him even more as I saw the similarities. Bruce had told me that “since you don’t have a mom, I want you share mine.”  As his mother and I were together the other night he called to talk to us. It was a time shared that was filled with the common bond of love for her son. We talked about how Bruce had been calling the both of us almost every day the past few weeks. The day before his passing he said “I love you and miss you”………and I know I am fortunate to have told him the very same. The last conversation that we ever had will never be enough, I will miss him forever. He had a tough time dealing with mine and his mother’s cancer, as well as the many other struggles and illnesses that he and his family has endured. He may have had some regrets, but I don’t know many people who can get through their life not having any regrets.

When we met oh so many years ago it was like something out of a fairytale. Over the years I became accustomed not to tell most people about how we met. Most people could not comprehend the way he came into my life, and how unbelievably “Bruce” it really was. He was a whirlwind of a man, who came into my life like he was on a white horse, except of course Bruce was on a Gulfstream (I think that’s what it was called). I really thought that he would be in my life forever. His friendship meant more to me than anything the past few years. I used to tell him, I am almost a doctor. I don’t need you to take care of me, or any man for that matter. But with Bruce I wanted him in my life, forever, as my friend.
Even though we spoke almost daily for the past few months I had no idea that our last “marathon” conversation would be the last time. I hate that he is gone, but will try and be thankful he went in his sleep. I am so sorry that his mother, brother, sister and boys lost him so young. It is so utterly unnatural for a mother to lose a child, especially his mother, who has beat cancer. It is heartbreaking that his loss will affect so many lives that he touched. Especially his beautiful boy’s, because they won’t hear the funny stories, like every time they saw a plane they would ask “daddy’s plane?”  I hate that he won’t be able to tell them daddy stories.  Those who knew him know he told great stories.

When I wasn’t home to answer his calls, he would say “you frustrate the hell out of me” and then he would laugh! (If you knew his laugh you can hear it now) But, I could tell he didn’t feel well and he sounded a bit homesick. He might have had some regrets in life, but his sons were his proudest achievement. I don’t know many people who can say they have lived their life without changing some things. He couldn’t deal with seeing me (or his mom) bald from chemotherapy, hell, I couldn’t deal with it either. It will be a long while until I stop jumping (maybe it’s hoping) that every time my phone rings I think it will him saying “you frustrate the hell out of me (laughter).” Having Bruce in my life was a gift and my life will never be the same. God Speed.

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Submitted By: Federico Ini aka as “Feddy” (by Bruce)

I´ve known Bruce for almost 3 years. It was by chance that Manu (one of my closest friends) and I landed on one of his first barbecues when almost everyone had left (2:40 am). When I started talking to this guy we instantly clicked. We chatted about technology and computers, but also the anecdotes of his life started coming. When he got tired of talking, he just said “Google me”.

From that time onwards, with time we became close friends. I could see and get to know much about Bruce in his stay in Argentina, what made him happy, homesick, sad, disappointed, etc. As a good comedian words from Bruce mouth were both expressions and catch phrases:

“Don´t ever bet me” (bragging about his paper balls throwing skills)

“I wouln´t do it… some one else would”  (no explanation needed)

“You pussy” (whenever you woulnd´t drink something)

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr” (applied to hot chicks passing by)

“I can´t believe how rich I am” (no explanation necessary)

“Nigga please”

The list goes on….

There are a lot of stories to tell.  As Tim Madeley says, I hope in the future to sat down with his twins to tell stories about his dad.  There are a lot.

To see pictures of him as a teen playing in a band… and to get to read what his friends are writing is both a pleasure and a way to fill with images and text the spaces Bruce´s story created in my mind from his life before getting here. I´m glad to see that in his life he touched so many people.

I´m glad this site is up and running.

BM, we miss you.

Comment: Classic Brucisms.... They will be added to the Brucisms page!

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Submitted By: Julie Moreno aka " Lil' Napoleon "

For someone who loved to hear himself talk….he was an amazing listener.  He not only heard your words, but he often heard your soul speak.  He encouraged those he cared about to be true to themselves and to live each moment to its fullest potential.  He was a fountain of historical information; “Did you know Versailles was used as a model for the design of DC…” “Did you know Ernest Hemingway gave his Nobel Prize to the University of Havana …” “Did you know that the original London Bridge resides in Arizona ….”  The trivia bits were endless, and while some were just too obscure to be true, 9 times out of 10 he was, in fact, correct.  But Bruce wasn’t one to just sit on the sidelines and read about history, he created his own history through unbelievable journeys that he shared with many loved ones.  My heartfelt sympathies go out to Bruce’s Mother, Father, brother, sister, and sons and I thank you for giving and sharing such a special person with all of us.

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Submitted By: Tim Madeley

From the time I heard that Bruce had passed, I have alternated between stunned grief and fond reflection of the many memories I had of our times together over the past thirty years.  As I am sure is the case with many of his friends and colleagues, Bruce was a larger than life presence for me.  Although many of the stories I have of Bruce involve petty crimes and indiscretions, I can share the following fairly recent story.

When I went to Uruguay to visit Bruce last year, he was upset that I was only staying for four days and pressured me to change my flight to stay longer from the day I arrived.  I kept telling him that I had to get back to work.  By the last day, he told me that I did not understand the extent of his influence and that he would call the airline and have the flight delayed.  I laughed and went to the airport.

After the flight was delayed 30 minutes and then an hour, an announcement was made in Spanish that caused everyone in the waiting area to rush the counter.  The only word I could understand was “manana” – the flight was being delayed for twenty four hours.  Of course, I’m sure the delay had nothing to do with Bruce but the funny thing is that I had to wonder.

I will miss his stories and his advice and his friendship more than I have words to express.  My heart breaks for his Mom, his brother and sister, and his boys.  I hope to meet Colt and Cooper as adults some day and spend a long time telling them stories about their Dad.

Comment: Tim, this story made me laugh as I have heard a different version of it!!

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Submitted By: Anthony "Tony" E. Gallo

The Waldack Family:

Submitted By: Jason Korzen

Others might debate his faults, but I prefer to remember an extremely funny and generous man.  As our leader at digitalNATION, I recall Bruce taking what was basically a group of kids, giving us incredible amounts of responsibility and trying to help each of us grow and reach our potential. That job was one of the best experiences of my life, both professionally and personally, and I will always remain extremely grateful to Bruce for the opportunity. 

I wish his family and friends my heartfelt sympathy.

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