I remember the first time I met Phil. Jolene and I were in middle school (sometime between 85-88) and Phil just arrived home from the service in his fancy new high tech car. I was so astonished that every time we opened his car door it would say "door ajar". This was big technology then. I remember thinking how cool and rich he was. 


When I joined Absolute Software, I kept hearing about how intimidating this Phil Gardner guy was. When I met him, we quickly got into nerd-speak and he learned that I had been a customer of Quarterdeck's QEMM product way back when, 
a product I had thought was brilliant.  That turned out to be the right thing to say, I guess, especially since I had joined in a non-technical role. We quickly bonded.

I loved every moment spent working with Phil, even when he was annoyed, because I knew that I was in the presence of a rare sort of intellect.   It's no exaggeration to say that Phil was a genius and a productive one at that.  He taught me a TON but my biggest takeaway was that all the marketing in the world will not make up for a product  that is a piece of crap. And Absolute's product ended up making such an impact because Phil cared enough to make sure that it worked, and worked IMPRESSIVELY. The man was never into half measures. 

Phil cared, whether it was about customers or colleagues. And he cared about me, too. And he changed my life and those of others for the better because of that. 

Thank you, Phil, for everything you did for me. You were truly one-of-a-kind and I will always treasure my memories of our time together at Absolute Software.

Trevor

I met Phil when I was working at Quarterdeck in the  1990 time frame. Tech support had informed me that a shareware program called DosMax was a popular add-on to QEMM, and that the developer wanted to talk to me about it. DosMax could move pieces of DOS into the memory areas QEMM was creating, to further increase the precious bottom 640K of memory. I talked to him, and it was apparent immediately to me that he was technically brilliant and really knew his DOS internals.

At this time, QEMM was very successful, but we were having trouble figuring out how to make it better. We already were moving all resident programs into upper memory. What was left? Well, Phil had identified what was left. DOS itself! I arranged to fly him out to Santa Monica from Minnesota, to discuss how we could work more closely together.

My plan was twofold: To integrate DosMax with QEMM for the next update to QEMM, and to hire Phil to take over QEMM maintenance from me. There was no one else I knew who would be able to do that. My plan worked out perfectly. We clicked, he agreed to move to California, and we started working together, with him eventually taking over the QEMM project from me, and doing things with it that I would never have thought of or been capable of. I took over the role of "buffer to Phil", as there were a number of co-workers who were intimidated by him (more so than they were of me!), but I don't think he was ever mean or demeaning. People just knew that he was something special.

After Phil left Quarterdeck for Absolute Software, we stayed in touch. He hired me as a consultant for them for various projects. The last time I spent significant time with him was in the late 90s when we attended a 4 day seminar in Orange County on BIOS internals. We played golf one day during that trip. I last talked to him a few years ago when he had moved to Florida, but we never got together. I always figured there was time. There was not.

I will miss my friend.

Phil was my nephew and  I always admired his concern and care for others.  He liked to play the piano for me and improvise on what he had dreamed up.  He guided us on a wonderful trip to Hawaii when he was in the navy and  showed us the whole island.  I made a scrapbook of Hawaii and places that Phil showed us around.  We had the best tour guide ever.   The early morning breakfasts were fantastic  when we were outside and the birds that flew around.  We enjoyed seeing  all of the famous  and beautiful places.  Phil put the corsage  on  me for our 50th wedding anniversary.  That was so special.  He will always have a special  place in my heart.  Aunt Bernie


I met Phil early in my career at Absolute. In addition to the professional relationship we developed through collaborating on many initiatives, we forged a true friendship over the years. 

Phil’s contributions to Absolute are many and he leaves a legacy that lives on today. He had a brilliant mind, but most importantly a great heart. 

Michel and I were fortunate to spend several good times with Phil and Michelle. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Michelle and Phil’s family. 


It is important to understand, we who write do so for ourselves to meet our needs. If what we express also meets the need of others, its icing on the cake. This is most certainly true for we who write poetry.  The following, therefore, expresses for me, his father, thoughts regarding my son Phil. 
                                                 

NOW AT PEACE - PERHAPS


Restrict the strings. He is at peace now, perhaps
This bright-eyed boy with the engaging smile.
Laughter to augment the cherished heart.
Burning pain that would tear it asunder.

Silence the woodwinds. He is at peace now, perhaps
The lad of aspiring mind, eager in youth enhanced.
Trails to be sought, horizons to be surpassed,
restrictions by ignorance never to comprehend.

Mute the horns. He is at peace now, perhaps.
Deeply driven man, eager somehow to please,
Longing to be understood, full of enriching ideas.
Inconceivable others would not follow behind.

Still the timpani. He is at peace now, perhaps.
No more torment in lingering addiction or pain.
Never to accept abiding reality
all could not be vanquished alone.

Lay down the baton. The symphony is at an end
though the requiem has but to commence.
He is now at peace. For we, the faith and strength
to be ultimately at peace now, perhaps.

Lowell Gardner


I remember my Uncle Phil for being someone who taught me about computers, he would always be available to troubleshoot, teach, and generally help in any way he could.  I have fond memories about all the times he let me play Flight Simulator in the 90s, complete with the large Viewsonic monitor, flight controls--totally immersive and awesome!  He also played piano, and had a great Roland keyboard, I spent a lot of time playing with all of the different sounds, as well as him helping me learn "Cannon in D".    Phil and Sandy also helped our family move from Indiana to Minnesota in 1991, and I'll remember that trip well.  I liked to ride with them, however, I must've gotten car sick and vomited in their back seat!  They were nice about it though :-)  Many holidays, and birthday parties, to Packer games on TV and in person.  We had a great trip to watch the Packers/Giants game for the NFC playoff in 2011, and even though they didn't win, it was a wonderful day with Phil, Michelle, and Grandpa John.

These are just a few memories off the top of my head, but there are many more just below the surface, that I'll be reflecting on over the coming days and months.  My heartfelt sympathy and condolences to you all during this tough time.  Please let me know if there is anything I can do or help with, big or small.  From a phone chat, to anything else.

Our hearts go out to  family and his children, Mathew, Samantha and Ashley of whom he was very proud. 

Phil was the CTO  at Absolute Software for 20 years.  
Phil was brilliant and was a great mentor to many of the Absolute coders.  

Phil more than held his end of the bargain when it came to delivering for customers. 
In fact in 20 years - he never let a customer or OEM down - not once.
Phil was easy to misunderstand because he was brilliantly complicated. 
But underneath the somewhat gruff exterior was a kind, compassionate, caring, funny person.

Robert Zanatta, one of our lead developers, first made contact with Phil through trying to fix an incompatibility with Quarterdeck software. 
Phil was a bit of a legend at Quarterdeck and the mastermind behind certain QEMM functionality.
We knew we needed a "low-level" OS expert with a very unique skill set to re-design, fix and maintain the perfect memory management solution.  
So we flew to LA to meet with “Phil from Quarterdeck” about 25 years ago.

Phil loved the Computrace concept, so he joined the team,  re-engineered our technology and we never looked back. 
For 20 years, Phil wrote code that worked beautifully and flawlessly - and it supported hundreds of other companies' bits of low-level  technology. 

Phil was probably the best OS level coder in the world.   

Phil was one of the hardest workers I have ever known.  
Phil could write important and complex pieces of code faster than anyone I knew.
Phil's code never had a bug.

Without Phil Gardner there would be no Absolute Software as we know it. I feel very grateful to have worked with Phil and the broader team to create and build Absolute’s industry standard persistence platform into its current success.

Phil, we all owe you a huge debt of gratitude. 
Thank you for doing so much for so many people at Absolute Software.

May you Rest in Peace my friend.  

John  xCEO   Absolute  Software


My brother Phil was 13 when I was born. He used to always say he picked my middle name Michelle and that his daughter Samantha Michelle was named after me. He claims he knew my mom was pregnant with me before she knew! He had an intuitive sense about family. 

Growing up I used to look forward to when he’d come home from the Navy to visit us and he used to remind me that I’d love to make him pancakes. But as a younger sister should, I made sure to annoy him and I still remember one time he got so frustrated with me for talking on the phone and stretching the cord across the room (remember the coily cords on phones??) that he (pretty sure it was accidental) kicked a stool into the wall and made a big hole. Imagine him explaining that to my mom later that day. Of course Phil fixed it and it was as good as new after, he was always the most meticulous person I knew. 

I will always love and miss my older brother and am grateful for the time we had together.

Phil, you and I have never had the pleasure of meeting in person, but know that your Absolute legacy lives on.  Your technical creativity has provided the foundation for highly successful technology company.  May you rest in peace.

Thank you Phil for all your creativity and inventions at Absolute Software.  

Lots memories of my brother. He was unique with a big heart!

He called me Cheryl-Lyle and I called him Flippy-Button. 

One of many memories (since I'm his mom):
He and his sister Cheryl had gone to a school carnival when we lived in Ashland, WI and Cheryl had won a cake at the cakewalk.  She came home and someone had stolen the cake. Of course she was devastated. We prayed about it.  And big brother Phil said "I'll get it back for you." I'm thinking o.k. but it will be half eaten.  But lo and behold the next day he came home from school with the cake intact.  Definitely a faith building moment.

I have know Phil since he was 15 years old. We clicked immediately and he has had a special place in my heart ever since. He got me hooked on Rubik's Cube while he was stranded at our house during a blizzard one winter! I think of him everytime I see one now. We spent hours on the phone over the years discussing everything under the sun and always picking up where we left off even after long pauses. I was fortunate enough to meet his children and my sympathy goes out to them, as well as to his sisters . My condolences also go out Ardie and Lowell. 
Phil was a unique Christian man who is at peace , walking with his Lord, for which I am grateful.  

Phil you are my mentor at Absolute Software, you don't have too many words but you lead by example. Working with people from far-flung places and different cultural background, you've earned respect from everyone with your genius mind and kind heart, that is universal. You will be dearly missed and may you rest in peace. Salute.

Fun times at the Llama festival and watching Packer games with Phil and Michelle

My one memory of Phil was when I first moved here from Canada, 16 years ago. I didn’t have my work permit yet. So he offered me a job to do some painting on his house and would pay me for it. That’s the kind of guy he was.

OBITUARY

Philip Bernard Gardner

July 8, 1961 – July 8, 2021

Wulff Woodbury Funeral Home

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