Bill Milliken

[Edward M. Kasprzak]

Bill Milliken's remarkable life reached its conclusion yesterday as he died peacefully at home. He was 101.

Please join in sending your thoughts and prayers to his wife Barbara, son Doug and the entire Milliken family--follow the link below:

http://www.beachtuynfh.com/boo...en-William/index.php (http://www.beachtuynfh.com/book-of-memories/1289157/Milliken-William/index.php)

No services are currently planned. Memorials may be made in Bill Milliken's memory to the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen, 610 South Decatur St., Watkins Glen, NY 14891-1613.

Hats off to Bill for all his accomplishments and contributions--both in his career and his personal life. It has been a special experience to work for him--Bill and his son Doug have taken great care of me for all these years at MRA. I'll miss you, Bill.

[Zac]

My condolences to Doug and the rest of the Milliken family. I think it is not an exaggeration to say that many people on this forum owe a huge debt to Bill for the pioneering work he did throughout his career.

[wil oberlies]

I am utterly speechless, Heaven has gained the greatest of a great generation.

Thank you for everything Bill, especially the example of living life well and fully.

Wil

[Chev07]

He certainly has inspired countless of the worlds brightest minds from around the world, and will certainly continue to do so with what he has left us. Rest in Peace, Bill Milliken.

[Claude Rouelle]

Bill Milliken will leave behind him useful lessons, understanding, analysis, methodologies, and passion that he shared with us through his books, especially "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics" that he wrote with his son Doug.

I only meet Bill a few times but I was extremely impressed by his passion, his experience and his objectivity. I know and respect his son Doug as a person and as an engineer. Doug is smart and kind. It is clear to me that he got some of these skills from his father. Doug lost a father. The automotive engineering world and the US and international race car community too.

My deepest sympathy to Doug, his family and fiends. My admiration and respect to Bill's full and wonderful live. If our time on earth is about making a difference Bill sure did many.

Sincerely

Claude

[Steve Fox]

Bill was one of those guys that comes along once every few generations. He certainly led a full life, and accomplished things the rest of us might only dream of. I immensely enjoyed reading of his life's adventures, and strive to follow my dreams to the extent that he did his.

Bill leaves big shoes to be filled by those who follow in his footsteps. If you are looking for a role model, Bill was one of those personalities who could think far outside the box, but was grounded in reality, and could take an honest look at himself in the mirror once in a while.

My condolences go out to Doug, Bill's wife, and the rest of the family. Bill led a full life, and you should take great satisfaction in that knowledge.

If you have missed reading Bill's book: Equations of Motion, go get your copy now, and start celebrating Bill's life as much as he did!

[PatClarke]

My condolences too go to the Milliken Family on their recent bereavement.

However, we should not feel sad. Bill lived a long and productive life, essentially two entire careers long. We should all be so lucky.
And if I should leave behind only 1% of the wit, wisdom and knowledge that Bill Milliken did, then I would be proud!

So let us celebrate a long and productive life, one that has touched us all in so many ways.

Rest in peace Bill and Thank You!

Pat

[monoposto]

Wow, very sad. RIP.....

[Big Bird]

I live in a world where information is easy to come by, and where computers do all the hard work for us. Bill Milliken came from a generation where information was not readily available, and things had to be learnt the hard way. So whenever I picked up RCVD or Chassis Design, I always felt a little humbled that this man had learnt so much in his life, and I felt like I knew so little.

I never met Bill Milliken, but I have always wanted to just shake his hand and say thanks. We are all better off for his time here.

My sincere condolensces to the Milliken family.

Geoff

[Jon Oneill]

I may still only be starting out my career as an engineer, but Bill Milliken remains one of the big motivations for why I love my job.

Until I picked up RVCD I thought I had a pretty good handle on this racing business. Now 8 years on, every time I open that book I'm reminded just how much more I have to learn.

Bill, thankyou for sharing your knowledge with generations of engineers, and may your influence continue for many generations more.

My deepest condolences go out to the Milliken family. The thoughts of millions are with you at this time.

[DougMilliken]

Thank you to the many people who have offered condolences and told stories.

Friends from Watkins Glen will host a tribute to Bill/Dad as part of their Grand Prix Festival, the details will be posted here:
http://grandprixfestival.com/legends.html
Friday Sept. 7, 2012, 3pm in Lafayette Park (at the north end of the village). This is also a big vintage racing weekend at Watkins Glen International (the track), and later that evening vintage race cars will make laps of the original street circuit.

We just posted a text version of Bill telling stories about Maurice Olley, see the bottom paragraph of:
http://www.millikenresearch.com/olley.html

-- Doug

[Chris Howard]

Sorry to hear of Bill's passing. I, like many students on this forum, am an aspiring motorsports engineer and the first book that was recommended to be by others in the field, and also colleagues of mine, was RCVD by Bill and Doug, and it is still a main reference for me as I continue to learn. I think that shows the level of accomplishment and achievement by Bill in that even though many years have passed since publishing, his work is still held in such high regard by people in his field. I did not get to meet Bill in real life, but from reading the stories that others have told about him and the kind of person he was, I very much wish I had. My sincere condolences to his friends and family.

A reminder about the tribute to Bill at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival is on tommorow. Please read the above post by DougMilliken.