Web Update: Friends, family gather to remember Zeller GS

Every seat in the Garden Room of Prospect House was occupied Saturday afternoon as friends, family and members of the University community gathered to remember Bill Zeller GS, who passed away Jan. 5.

During a memorial service filled with more laughter than tears, friends and colleagues shared anecdotes that highlighted Zeller’s brilliance in computer science as well as his loyalty to friends and penchant for practical jokes.

Zeller, a fifth-year graduate student in the computer science department from Middletown, Conn., died at University Medical Center at Princeton as a result of injuries from a suicide attempt Jan. 2.

In a 4,000-word note that he published online shortly before attempting to take his own life, Zeller wrote that he could no longer cope with the trauma of childhood sexual abuse that continued to haunt him throughout his life.

During the service, led by Dean of Religious Life Alison Boden, spoken remembrances alternated with musical selections chosen for their significance to Zeller.

Speakers at the service characterized Zeller as a funny, generous individual who always strove to bring happiness to the people around him.

“When I think of Bill, the characteristic emotion that he brought out in people really was joy,” said David Robinson ’04, who worked with Zeller at the Center for Information Technology Policy.

Harlan Yu GS, one of Zeller’s roommates for the past two years, spoke about his eagerness to invite friends to their apartment for events like Thanksgiving. “He was a tremendous host,” Yu said.

Zeller’s other roommate, Tim Lee GS, recalled how Zeller “wanted to make people feel at home.” Zeller had recently taken up cooking as a hobby, even sending care packages with food to his friends outside of Princeton.

Others shared similarly lighthearted moments throughout the service. Jennifer King ’11, who befriended Zeller after he advised her at a campus summer research program in 2007, fondly recalled his love for “painfully nerdy jokes, Bent Spoon cupcakes and Pixar movies.”

Other stories highlighted Zeller’s intellectual achievements as a talented computer programmer. At the University, Zeller worked at CITP, advised by computer science and Wilson School professor Ed Felten. At CITP, Zeller published highly regarded research on online security vulnerabilities and an influential paper arguing for increased government transparency online.

Felten, the first of Zeller’s friends to speak at the service, noted that Zeller was always working on a wide array of projects and would constantly bring up new ideas for discussion at their weekly meetings.

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But unlike most computer engineers, Felten added, Zeller explained his potential projects by describing how someone else would benefit from them.

“Every one of Bill’s projects was a concrete way to make someone’s life better,” Felten said. “Tens of millions of people were touched by his work.”

As testament to his influence beyond research conducted at CITP, many mentioned myTunes, a free program that Zeller created, which allows users to download music purchased from iTunes to other computers.

But more than anything else, speakers recalled Zeller’s friendship and the impact he had on their own lives.

“He left us code, he left us memories. He made us better people than when we originally met him,” King said.

Joe Calandrino GS, Zeller’s close friend who organized the service, explained that Zeller was always willing to guide him through difficult times. “I can’t help but feel truly grateful for Bill’s friendship over the past five years,” he said.

Laurie Manion, a friend of Zeller’s from his undergraduate alma mater, Trinity College, noted that he “impacted so many people from so many walks of life.”

Despite the gravity of the ceremony, memories and stories elicited smiles and laughter from the room, a tribute to Zeller’s fun-loving nature. “He was never much for ceremony or formality,” Felten said.

But for Felten and many others, the service marked the beginning of a healing process.

“This service is a lot like one of Bill’s projects,” he said. “It’s a concrete thing we know how to do to help each other get through this difficult time.”

A memorial fund has been established in Zeller’s name, and his parents will decide on the use of the funds.