Thank you all, so much. Mom and I are keeping up with the thread and we really appreciate all of your kind words and love.
This plain ol’ sucks. That’s about all I can say. There aren’t any words for this.
My dad will be missed and loved by so many, and that gives us a lot of comfort.
Thank you very much.
Praying you and your family in this tough time! 
I am one of the lucky ones who has been honored to meet the Kamen family over the years. Bart was an inspiration to many including Dean himself who constantly would say how great Bart was. My condolences to the family. I was in total shock when I heard this. Libby and family, I lost my father a few years ago, I can only tell you it gets easier with time. I will always remember Dr. Kamen.
From all of us at 3314, the Mechanical Mustangs, our thoughts and prayers are with Ruth, Libby, and the family. I was able to sit with Mr. & Mrs. Kamen last year at the Hatsboro-Horsham event while 1923 was in the elimination matches; he spoke about watching Libby on the field the years before. My alumni from 555 would always come out of chairman’s judging and be so excited to have had 10 minutes to speak with him. Many of those students are now working as engineers, programmers, scientists, or in their first years of medical school. He had such an amazing impact on our communities and families. We celebrate his life and are thankful for the gift of life he gave to so many.
Thanks, Bart. I enjoyed our time together.
I met Dr. Kamen briefly in passing outside of the VIP tent at the afterparty in ATL in 2005 (or '06?). He was laboriously making his way through a patch of tables on a Segway, and he was moving chairs out of the way (while standing on the Segway) as he went. We offered to help move the chairs, but we never bothered to ask why he was working his way through the patch of tables to begin with… He just seemed like an insanely great guy.
Condolences to all of you who knew him well. It seems like the world lost something great today.
I have never known what to say to people at a time like this but I just re-listened to a very moving non-political speech Joe Biden gave to the TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors of active military personnel killed in action) organization. Having been through the loss of family members himself, he promised that the time would eventually come when the person’s memory would “bring a smile to your face before it brought a tear to your eye”.
Here is the link in case anyone wants to watch:
Although I never met Bart; I can tell by the words of those who he has touched that he was a great man. My condolences go out to Libby and the rest of the Kamen family. Rest In Peace Bart.
Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to meet Dr. Bart Kamen. From what others’ endearing stories, he seems to have been an incredible man, father, researcher and even FIRST Judge. I am grateful for the service he has done both for the FRC community as well as the world by furthering cancer research. I guess the Kamen family just has a way of touching people.
My deepest condolences go out to Libby, Dean and the rest of the Kamen family as well as those who knew him well.
See you starside, Bart.
Wow. I tried to type something several times, and feel none of my words truly describe Dr. Kamen. What I can say is, although I had brief conversations with Dr. Kamen, he was one of the first people whom I met, in person, in the FIRST world that gave me some of my first inspiration.
My heart goes out to his family.
FRC Team 1501 T.H.R.U.S.T. sends it’s deepest condolences to what seems like an incredible man, father and brother.
Rest in Peace. You will be missed.
I was one of the lucky ones who got to know Dr. Kamen casually through FIRST, as well as his wife and Libby. I loved watching him encourage the kids and cheer them on during game play at competitions. His conversations were always fascinating, and I relished the time I was able to spend with him. Dr. Kamen inspired me in so many ways. I will miss talking with my role model, but will never forget what he taught through his words and deeds.
Libby, I hope that you and your mom will make it through this difficult time by relying on the wonderful daily memories you have of your dad, and knowing that he made a difference to so many kids - especially the ones who are alive today because of him.
I first met the Kamen family at the 2006 Montclair Mayhem post-season event. My son Pace was in 8th grade, and he and a friend partnered with Libby Kamen and a friend to use an old Raider Robotix robot as pre-rookies getting introduced to this program, well before teams 1807 and 1923 existed. Dr. and Mrs. Kamen explained to my wife and I just what this program was all about, and we felt welcome right from the outset that this was going to be something great. I subsequently was inspired by Dr. Kamen during many of the introductory speeches he gave at FIRST kickoff events at Montgomery.
He will be missed…
On behalf of the Grease Monkeys and myself, I like to send or deepest condolence to the kamen family for thier lost, he is in a much better place, watching over his family and the entire FRC community
Dr. Kamen was such an inspiration to us all. I and the RoboBees send our deepest condolences to Libby and her family at this time of grief. He and his influence will be missed. We will be keeping the entire Kamen family in our thoughts and prayers.
I only had the opportunity to meet him once, when he judged us for Chairman’s at CMP in 2011, but Dr. Kamen made you feel like you’d known him forever. I’ll never forget his calm, friendly attitude, and how he helped my high school team continue to be inspired in what we do. RIP Bart Kamen
I am very sorry for your loss… I didn’t know your father, but I heard enough stories to be sorry about it.
I hope you and your family can find comfort at this dark time.
God bless his soul.
Here is a link to the obituary. What an amazing man. I feel fortunate to have known him.
http://obits.nj.com/obituaries/starledger/obituary.aspx?pid=160166573#fbLoggedOut
I honestly choked back tears when I heard the news. What an amazing, inspirational man.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet him, even if it was only briefly at CMP 2011. I was staying with Libby, but arrived in the city before her, so I had to meet with him to get my room key. He was very kind, asking me about where I was from, asking how the ride down was, asking a bit about my team, and making sure I was excited for the event. I was completely alone in the city at that point, and that small exchange really calmed my nerves and made me feel less alone. I saw him a couple more times throughout the weekend, and he always greeted me and asked how I was doing. I wish I had had more opportunities to talk with him; what a fascinating and friendly man!
Rest in Peace, Dr. Kamen.