Dear Norm,
Please accept my condolences for your loss. I know this is a difficult
time for Dick's family, and I know it is just as sad and difficult time
for you. My thoughts and prayers are with both you and his family.

Take care of yourself during this tuff time.

Dr. Terri Hedgpeth 

-----Original Message-----
From: Equal Access to Software & Information
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Prof Norm Coombs
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 7:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Dick Banks: EASI loses a valued friend and great colleague

Hello EASI friends and colleagues:

Please forgive the duplicate postings, but I know you all will want to
know 
that Dick died yesterday.  This leaves a giant hole in the life of EASI
and 
in my life as well.  Dick is my best friend.

Dick was diagnosed with cancer in early April, if I recall.  Even since 
then he had many good days when he was back on the Internet.  These were

among his happiest days the last 3 months as working and helping others 
were the things that filled his life with joy.

Dick could learn new software like no one I know.  He loved to take its 
technical confusions and often opaque manuals and make those technology 
items easy for people to understand.  He also had a contagious optimism
and 
sense of humor.  He was a man of integrity and never was satisfied to do
a 
mediocre job.

God has blessed me to have Dick as a best friend and working buddy.

I ask you all to remember his family at this time.

You can read about Dick's bout with Cancer at the Care Page from the
Mayo 
Clinic at:
http://www.carepages.com/mayoclinic
You will need to register.  After which search for his page.  The name
of 
the page is DicksJourney and note that is one word with no punctuation
and 
does have a capital D and a capital J

If you want to contact Dick's wife, Carol, the address is:
310 Micheels Ln APT 1
Menomonie, WI 54751

You can also leave a message on the Care Page message Board.

Norm Coombs
[log in to unmask]
I want to thank you all for your support of Dick's and my work.