In Loving Memory of
Barry Keepence
In memory of Barry Keepence, who passed away peacefully on December 27, 2020.
A devoted husband and father to Sara and Jennifer, he was a good friend and inspiration to many and a founder director of Semestry Limited.
Please share any thoughts, memories or condolence messages that you have of Barry.
Book Owner: Rob Smith
View Condolences (Max 80)
Add New Condolence Message
Linda Keepence ( Aunty linda
God bless you, Uncle Ivor and myself had a very nice holiday in Scotland, when we visited you. …
- February 1, 2021
- 6:20 am
Andrew Webb
It was through Barry at IndigoVision that I got my first stab at writing commercial software back in early 2006. The interview was searching yet relaxed (“‘Ow d’ya fancy writing GUIs?”). It was my first foot into the door of what has since been a lucrative engineering career for me. Though I never knew Barry personnally, I always remember him as an excellent conversationalist and throroughly decent guy. …
- January 24, 2021
- 10:42 pm
Rob Smith
I only had the pleasure of meeting Barry once in person, but I won’t forget his passion and shear enthusiasm that he exuded. He believed in me giving me an opportunity to join his company and the change I desperately needed at the time. For that he will always have my thanks and gratitude. My deepest condolences go to his family & friends, it is clear from speaking to anyone who know Barry well that we have lost someone very special. Rob …
- January 21, 2021
- 2:55 pm
Ian Gilbert
Sara was one of the 1st people I met when I started work in Edinburgh. Jeremy- an old friend of Sara invited us to his birthday as he shared the same birthday as me. Another friend of Jeremy was Barry and Sara met him first and came buzzing up to me excited that this great guy had just given her his credit card to buy a mountain bike with. How could she refuse. We watched the bond between them blossom and their marriage. They arranged a summer solstice trip to Durness to watch the midnight sun set, and I took the leap and invited my now partner to come with me – so I can blame Barry for that! We kept going each summer for about 10 years until we eventually had a clear night a saw the sun set. We kept in close contact and after my work at Edinburgh was becoming a bit stale Barry offered me a job at the company he was now a director of. I jumped at that and it was a good choice. My partner became pregnant and when we told Sara & Barry they replied the same and our children were …
- January 13, 2021
- 12:26 pm
Alan Mathieson
I was standing on the roof of Drumlanrig Castle some 70 miles from home when I first spoke to Barry. I was installing some radio equipment when he phoned to ask if I was interested in doing some software development for his company in the South of Scotland. It took a while but we managed to reduce the scope of the geography to realising that we were neighbours albeit about 5km away from each other. It was a closeness that transcended that geography and we soon discovered that we were kindred spirits in lots of different areas of our lives; fellow geeks living in the countryside. Barry was the best boss I have ever had. In the beginning (I have just re read some of our Slack channel) he was tolerant and nurturing, patient when I was new but after that, and once I had my bearings, he gave me all the support I needed to introduce technologies required to elevate our software to higher and higher technical levels. This for me was one of Barry’s strengths. He had the highest standards of engineering and he was willing to do the hard graft of research (I never really understood …
- January 10, 2021
- 5:20 pm
Jeannie Carter
It has taken me a few days to find the words that I wanted to add to my condolence message for Barry, but after deliberating, I thought I would add some notes on our first and last meetings. I first met Barry when I joined Cambridge Judge Business School and we were looking to implement a new Timetabling and Room Booking System. I had initial discussions with Lee, Tony and Leon and once it was decided to move forward, I met Barry. Instantly I was drawn to his energy, joy and zeal for the system and his enigmatic thought process when he was speaking. He captured the people around him and though I could see a very intelligent and articulate man, I also found a very dry humoured man who made me laugh. I went on to work with Barry, when I joined Semestry Ltd. My last meeting with Barry was when I left Semestry to return to Cambridge, on my last day he made a point of being in the office and saying goodbye to me. I stated to him, it had been a pleasure and honour to work with such a lovely, funny, bizarre man, whose enthusim and …
- January 8, 2021
- 7:39 am
Luke Duncan
I had met Barry just the once in person, but have been on multiple online calls with him. We once had a long chat where I was asking and he was telling me about his career and how he had done some work programming for satellites in space! I found this fascinating. He inspired me with his knowledge and drive to build great software. His ambition and individuality will be missed by all. …
- January 6, 2021
- 5:04 pm
Christina Monier (IDVO)
Very sad to hear about Barry’s passing. I remember being at the office the first time and Barry showing us new parts of TermTime in such an enthusiastic manner (‘look at this, this is amazing!’) and that is exactly how I will remember him: enthusiastic and passionate and always willing to share his thoughts and knowledge. My thoughts are with Barry’s family and friends, wishing you a lot of strength in this difficult time. …
- January 5, 2021
- 7:03 pm
Stuart Ferguson
My thoughts and best wishes to Barry’s family and friends. I didnt know Barry well but I could see the entrepreneurial spirit and drive he had. He was very encouraging and positive toward me about working at Semestry which I really appreciated. He will be a big miss. …
- January 5, 2021
- 5:52 pm