Bruce Wayne Bastian

Oh Dear Bruce.

You changed my life. Your professional support meant the world to me, but the text messages about parenting are some of my greatest treasures. Thank you. Flights of angels...

It has been 50+ years and occasionally I still hear ringing in my ears- Grant Elkington, on the practice parking lot or in the stadium- shouting "Bastian...." as we were learning a new routine in the Incomperable Cougar Marching Band.

I would like to express my condolences to Clint and Bruce's family. I was in the Cougar Marching Band during my freshman year at BYU 1970-1971. Bruce was the Director. It was some of my best memories of BYU. 

I have followed his philanthropy and support of the LGBT community and the performing arts in Utah for the past 50 years. Utah is a better place because of him.  

Condolences to the Bastian family.  Former WordPerfect employee and I had the chance to meet Bruce (and Alan) and shake his hand.  Having read Bruce's obituary, I'm certain we'd have gotten along just swimmingly, especially when it comes to getting together with loved ones and making sure everyone was fed well.  Godspeed Bruce. 

(Distant cousin through Sherman / Makin grandparents) 

As an instructor and equipment engineer at BYU and associate with Professor Alan Ashton in a computer assisted Music Education program at the University of Utah first and then at BYU, I eventually came into contact with Bruce through Alan who induced Bruce to do musical marching band software as an introduction to getting an advanced degree at BYU. I assisted at getting the facilities operational and introducing them to Bruce. It was very rewarding to see the working program on the then rare computer equipment before the IBM PC in the late 1970s. Alan and Students and I had an operating multiple voice music synthesizer functioning that could perform any standard score and many students had used it to perform some of their favorite music correctly. I don't remember if the marching band program had considered incorporating sounds with the formations happening on the screen. But the equipment could have done that with additional work. Sometime later after going back to The UofU I called Bruce when watching some program about marching bands. I now realize that he was heavily involved in programming for the IBM PC and the expansion of customer support. The Wikipedia article on Bruce and one on Alan mistakenly has them developing the word processor on a DEC PDP-11/40 which was actually one of the three processors for his marching band project. The initial Orem  word processor was programmed for a DATA GENERAL ECLIPSE. Having experienced the early world of personal computing, both Bruce and Alan knew that the price point of the IBM-PC was the next major market for word processing. They also knew that people needed education and support to get their documents prepared and printed. I enjoyed occasionally seeing Bruce and did at a reception for his wife's passing and were both quite sad. I was not aware of his illnesses and very surprised at his passing. I have been aware of his contributions to the arts and many of his interests and as long involved with music at the University of Utah been often in spaces supported by Bruce and Alan. Of course the many people who were benefited with employment at WP cannot be forgotten. 
"Soon shall the dawn herald the coming of the sun on its golden path!" Milton, Shakespeare etc.