My first meeting with Bill Atkinson was unforgettable. It was November 1983, and reporting for Rolling Stone, I had gained access to the team building the Macintosh computer, scheduled to launch early the next year.

Bill Atkinson, an engineer who played a key role in the development of the Macintosh and other landmark Apple products, has died of pancreatic cancer.

Atkinson married three times and is survived by his wife Jingwen Cai, two daughters, a stepson, a stepdaughter, two brothers, and four sisters. His contributions laid the foundation for modern graphical user interfaces and made personal computing more accessible and intuitive for millions.