[Chapter-delegates] Dave Farber is gone

[Dr. Nazar Nicholas 'PhD]

Our condolences 💐

Tanzania Chapter

On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 7:04 PM Dave Burstein via Chapter-delegates <
chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

> Dave, the "grandfather of the Internet" has left us. He was a board member
> at ISOC and supportive of the NY chapter when he lived here.
>
> Remembrances welcome. ?Vint
>
> I am devastated.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: <manny.farber at gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 10:33 AM
> Subject: [IP] Announcement: David Farber has passed away
> To: ip <ip at ip.topicbox.com>
>
>
> I am heartbroken to report that my father, Dr. David J. Farber, passed
> away suddenly at his home in Tokyo, Japan. He left us on Saturday, Feb. 7,
> 2026, at the age of 91.
>
> To me he was of course simply “Dad,” and has been my bedrock for my entire
> life. We spoke almost daily by video throughout his time in Japan (the last
> eight years), and shared special times on numerous visits. I will miss him
> immeasurably.
>
> The wake and funeral will take place Thursday and Friday in Tokyo. Here is
> the webinar link:
>
> *https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OOeny8m3R7uvxA0Q9NLlog*
> <https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OOeny8m3R7uvxA0Q9NLlog>  The
> wake ceremonies will begin Thursday, Feb. 12, at 4:15 AM Eastern US (NY)
> time.
>
> Below you will find more details about my father’s remarkable life and
> career, forwarding from an earlier mailing to the IP Asia group, and
> including details about the rest of the family.
>
> This is the first IP mailing not written or forwarded by my father,
> however I hope to work with others to write several postings about my
> father’s story, in a (techno-)historical context.  For now, here’s a
> fantastic four-part history/interview from Keio University’s Cyber
> Civilization Research Center (which my father co-directed):
> *https://www.ccrc.keio.ac.jp/interview-davefarber-life/*
> <https://www.ccrc.keio.ac.jp/interview-davefarber-life/>
>
> If anyone would like to share their memories of my father, my e-mail is
> *manny.farber at gmail.com* <manny.farber at gmail.com>.
>
> He will be missed terribly.
>
> Manny
>
>
> IP Asia Announcement
>
> We are heartbroken to report that our colleague -- our mentor, friend, and
> conscience -- David J. Farber passed away suddenly at his home in Roppongi,
> Tokyo. He left us on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the too-young age of 91.
>
> To his son Manny, he was simply “Dad”, his bedrock whom he will miss
> immeasurably. They spoke almost daily by video throughout his time in
> Japan, and shared special times on numerous visits. He is survived by son
> Manny Farber and daughter-in-law Mei Xu, daughter-in-law Carol Hagan and
> grandsons Nate Farber and Sam Farber. He was preceded in death by his wife
> Gloria (G.G.) and son Joe Farber.
>
> Dave’s career began with his education at Stevens Institute of Technology,
> which he loved deeply and served as a Trustee. He joined the legendary Bell
> Labs during its heyday, and worked at the Rand Corporation. Along the way,
> among countless other activities, he served as Chief Technologist of the
> U.S. Federal Communications Commission; became a proficient
> (instrument-rated) pilot; and was an active board member of the Electronic
> Frontier Foundation, a digital civil-liberties organization.
>
> His professional accomplishments and impact are almost endless, but often
> captured by one moniker: “grandfather of the Internet,” acknowledging the
> foundational contributions made by his many students at the University of
> California, Irvine; the University of Delaware; the University of
> Pennsylvania; and Carnegie Mellon University.
>
> In 2018, at the age of 83, Dave moved to Japan to become Distinguished
> Professor at Keio University and Co-Director of the Keio Cyber Civilization
> Research Center (CCRC). He loved teaching, and taught his final class on
> January 22, 2026.
>
> At CCRC, one of his most enjoyable activities was co-hosting the IP-Asia
> online gathering, which has met every Monday for more than five years and
> has addressed many aspects of the impact of technology on civilization.
> Dave thrived in Japan in every way.
>
> We, the IP-Asia community, will gather for an online remembrance of Dave
> at the usual time and place, 2100 JST on Monday, February 9, 2026.
>
> It’s impossible to summarize a life and career as rich and long as Dave’s
> in our few words here. And each of us, even those who knew him for decades,
> represent just one facet of his life.  But because we are here at its end,
> we have the sad duty of sharing this news. Further information and a more
> formal obituary are forthcoming.
>
> With condolences to Manny and the rest of the family,
>
> Jiro Kokuryo
>
> Cherry Wong
>
> Kaori Suzuki
>
> Rodney Van Meter
>
> Dan Gillmor
>
> *ip <https://ip.topicbox.com/latest>* / ip / see discussions
> <https://ip.topicbox.com/groups/ip> + participants
> <https://ip.topicbox.com/groups/ip/members> + delivery options
> <https://ip.topicbox.com/groups/ip/subscription> Permalink
> <https://ip.topicbox.com/groups/ip/T69dbdf7279e043a6-Mf8280693728948b48c2aa607>
>
> _______________________________________________
> As a Chapter Leader, you are automatically added to the Internet Society’s
> Chapter Leaders Community Group and the Chapter Delegates e-list, which is
> regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):
> https://community.internetsociety.org.
> The Internet Society has a legitimate interest to communicate with its
> chapter leaders, you will therefore remain subscribed for the duration of
> your term and will be unsubscribed automatically when your term ends.
> Please note that the archive of this list is publicly accessible and may
> be viewed by anyone. By submitting information to this list and
> contributing to the communications, you acknowledge that the contents will
> be publicly visible.
> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct:
> https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/
> -
> Unsubscribe:
> https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/9b6ef0621638436ab0a9b23cb0668b0b?The%20list%20to%20be%20unsubscribed%20from=Chapter-delegates
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://elists.isoc.org/pipermail/chapter-delegates/attachments/20260213/7990ef17/attachment.htm>