Friday, August 31, 2012

#74) Information about lost Libravet sought by Niece

Occasionally we are contacted by people searching for information about a Libravet they have lost contact with. Recently, we received an e-mail request from a lady who was searching for detailed information about her deceased Uncle, Verle McClure. She knew he worked at Librascope over 50 years ago, but little else for certain. A quick search of the 300 plus Librazettes on our Librascope Search website, produced a dozen issues that his name appeared in. A closer study of those newspapers indicated that he had started with Librascope on July 6, 1948 and retired sometime in the early 1980's. During this time, he was a popular union representative in the shop. This information, including a photo of Verle taken for his 25th service anniversary in the July 1973 Librazette, was greatly appreciated, and provided enough information to pursue additional searches. Verle passed away in 1992 at the age of 77.

#73) Librascope Building Complex Update

Building 8's Directory
I stopped by the old Librascope building complex recently, and noted the following. First of all, Buildings 1 and 2, that were on Flower Street, are completely gone. You cannot tell they were ever there. The rest of the complex (including Buildings 3 and 17) appears to be completely occupied by Disney, although there is very little signage to indicate their presence. The only interesting sign of theirs was a small two-story building directory next to the front entrance of Building 8, which is now titled "Disney Television Animation". See photo of sign (left).
    
"Disney Television Animation", aka Building 8


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

#72) In Memoriam - John ("Gus") Gustafson

John ("Gus") Gustafson 1975
The following announcement was received from John Wm. Gustafson's children:

A CELEBRATION OF LIFE WILL BE HELD FOR OUR FATHER, JOHN Wm. GUSTAFSON, THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012 AT 2 PM, AT THE CENTRAL FILIPINO CHURCH OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS. 777 COLORADO BLVD, LOS ANGELES. Click here for map.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO THE LIBRAVET FAMILY. ALL ARE WELCOME.

Last Thursday, August 16th, John's daughter, Sheila, sent me the following:

Father's Day - 2012
"This is Sheila Moretta (Gustafson), John Gustafson's daughter.  I wanted to let you know that he passed away this morning at around 2am. He'd been sick in the hospital for the past 2 weeks with an infection, but was on the mend and was laughing and joking as of yesterday.  He took a turn for the worse overnight and never recovered.
I know he was liked by many of our Libravets.
When I find out when his service is, I will let you know so it can be posted".
Thank you,
Sheila Moretta (Gustafson)
John Playing His Sax in 1987


 John was 81 in July, and worked at Librascope from 1955 - 1963, 1968 - 1971, and 1973 - 2000, when the Glendale facility was closed. During this time, he occupied many high level Librascope Engineering positions and worked on countless programs that were important to the Nation's defense. Gus was highly respected by fellow workers and customers alike for his technical and management skills. He was also well known for his superior saxaphone skills.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

#71) In Memoriam - Richard ("Dick") Varnon

Richard Varnon's wife reports that Dick passed away at noon Sunday August 12, 2012 at the age of 75. In 1967, Dick started at Librascope in the Installation Engineering Department (see 1969 photo below). He retired 26 years later in 1993 as the Manager of Integrated Logistics Support (ILS).

Librascope Installation Engineering Department - 1969. Foreground L - R, Jack Kelly, Joe Sanfilippo, and Dick Varnon. Photo courtesy of Joe Sanfilippo.
Richard's wife says everyone is welcome to attend a "Celebration of Dick's Life" tomorrow, Friday August 17th from 6 PM to 10 PM at the Summit Club House at 26400 Delmonte Drive in Valencia, CA. Dick will be cremated and buried at sea. An obituary has not been published.