Today is a very sad day for me. Sam Tennis, my programmer and writing partner, died today of sepsis. He was diagnosed with cancer eight months ago but finally succumbed to sepsis of the gallbladder.
Sam was the originator of EasyLanguage. He was the lead programmer at Omega Research (which became TradeStation) who created it all. And, of course, he was a masterful EasyLanguage programmer.
Sam was more than brilliant to me—he was my best friend. We met together on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays for three hours each, for nearly three years while writing The Definitive Guide to TradeStation’s EasyLanguage & OOEL Programming. It became a 1,300-page, two-volume opus.
We shared writing, we shared jokes, we programmed together, we shared life stories, and we shared love.
Sam lived in south Florida and I in Southern California, so our meetings were all by Zoom. We shared a love of programming, a love of TradeStation, and a love of family. I’ve known Sam for more than 39 years, though I hadn’t seen him in person since 1988. In November, we both went to TradeStation’s “Crossroads Summit,” which was a magnificent gathering. It was so great to spend time with my old friend, have dinners, share drinks, and listen to lectures. We didn’t know Sam was sick yet.
Sam will be missed by many, not only for his kindness and generosity but for his brilliant mind. I could give him a description of what I wanted, and he grasped it instantly and had it programmed before we were off our phone call. And not just a great programmer—he was also a great diagnostician.
I called Murray Ruggiero (also deceased) one night at midnight to help me with some code that I couldn’t get to compile. Unbeknownst to me, Murray called Sam to ask for his help with my problem. In about 30 minutes, Murray called me back and said, “What’s wrong with your eyes? Can’t you tell a 1 from a lowercase L?” Sam had solved it.
Sam will be missed by many. I will forever miss him. The world has lost a great man.