Monday, December 30, 2013

#98) Free Book - Lockheed Martin's First 100 Years

Celebrating their 100th anniversary, Lockheed Martin recently published a beautifully illustrated 273 page book, and it is now available for free.

Filled with inspiring stories, illuminating images and interesting details that chronicle Lockheed Martin’s heritage, the new commemorative book, “Innovation with Purpose” proudly highlights the Company's first 100 years.

If you missed ordering the paperback copy that Lockheed Martin offered to retirees in October, you can now get a free copy from Apple's iBook Store. Note, you will need the iBook App on an iPad (iOS-6, or later), or a Mac with the new Mavericks OS X v10.9 Operating System installed.

In addition, Lockheed Martin plans to offer a free PDF download in the near future. Click here to check the current status. You'll also find the paperback book listed on Amazon, but it is "currently unavailable".


Thursday, December 26, 2013

#97) Canadian Professor Seeks ASROC, Mk 111, and Mk 114 FCS Information From Libravets

Today I received an interesting request from a History Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada:
Thanks very much for putting the Librascope Memories website up! I wish other organizations that were involved in Cold War technology had such sites.
I am doing some historical work on ASROC and the Mk 114 FCS in the 1950s/60s. It is always better to correspond with real, live people who were there. Are there any Libravets that could assist me?
Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
Sean M. Maloney, PhD
Associate Professor of History
Royal Military College of Canada
My reply -

Hello Dr. Maloney,
Yes, there are Libravets that can help you. To reach them, I suggest you allow me to post your inquiry on our Blog at http://librascopememories.blogspot.com, so that our many Libravet subscribers will see it. Shall I ask them to simply e-Mail you if they can help?
Happy Boxing Day,
Carl

Professor Maloney's response -

Dear Carl:
Please do! I'll elaborate:
I am trying to understand the technical relationship between the ASROC launcher/missile and the Mk 111 Fire Control Group and then later the Mk 114 Fire Control System. I was watching The Bedford Incident (1965) and I was wondering if such a scenario was really possible given the number of steps and people necessary to launch an ASROC back then. I figured that the best way was to go to the source: the guys who made it. Can anybody enlighten me on what these processes and procedures were back then?
Again thanks to all of you who were involved with making these technological advances such a success. There is no doubt in my mind that we would not be where we are today without all of the personal effort and innovation all of you contributed fifty years ago.
Sean

If you would like to contact Professor Maloney, you may reach him at: Sean.Maloney@rmc.ca. You may also leave your Comments below. The Professor's personal website is at www.seanmmaloney.com

Monday, December 23, 2013

#96) In Memoriam - Roger James Mahoney

The following message was received today from Larry Knowles:

Sadly, I got a reply to the Christmas card I earlier sent to Roger Mahoney that he passed away November 23, 2013.
 His lady-love, Rula, was kind enough to let me know, but omitted any other details.  I'm certain many from Librascope will remember Roger as a highly capable Engineering Dept manager and one of the most gracious.  May I trust you will get the word out to other Libravets?  And may I hope the joy of Christmas overwhelms the sadness this message brings to those who knew Roger well.I wish good memories to all, like you, who worked with him.        
Larry 
 Roger's obituary was published in the Los Angeles Daily News on December 1st:
ROGER JAMES MAHONEY - Born September 26, 1934 Belleview, Washington, passed November 23, 2013 West Hills, California. Survived by wife, Rula; children, Cristina, Michael, Kathleen, Tom and Lisa; grandchildren, Scott, Michael and William; and great grandchild, Anthony. Predeceased by father, William George Mahoney; mother, Louis Marie Mahoney and brother, William George Mahoney. He was a conservative, caring, compassionate and funny father, friend and spouse who will be greatly missed. 

Note, Roger worked at Librascope from 1965 to 1992, when he retired from Engineering Design Services.

Saturday, November 23, 2013

#95) Frank Copple - A Life Well Lived

Frank Thomas Copple II, 85, of Techachapi, CA passed away from natural causes on October 16th, 2013. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Betty. He is survived by his sister Rose Marie, daughter Cheryl, son Bob, granddaughters Aleta, Tamara, and Jade, grandson Travis, and four great-grandchildren.

Frank was born in Glendale, California to Frank and Lillian Copple on November 10th, 1927. In his teens, he honed his lifetime appreciation of automobiles and engineering during an apprenticeship at Copple Brothers Automotive (an auto sales and customizing business in Los Angeles).

He graduated from Glendale High School in 1945 and served on active duty in The Marine Corps from 1946 to 1948. He married Betty Jane Harvey in 1949 before moving to Panorama City to raise a family. Frank went on to earn his bachelor's degree in Production Management from UCLA in 1953.

In his younger years Frank was a sports car enthusiast who enjoyed competing in rallies and complex course races called gymkhanas (in which he achieved a number of wins and podium finishes). He also loved camping, golfing, hunting, and fishing with his friends and family, and had a special love for the high sierras.

In 1950, Frank joined Librascope, where he would spend his entire career. He eventually advanced to the position of Manager of Manufacturing Data Systems before retiring in 1989. Upon retirement, Frank and Betty relocated to Tehachapi to enjoy golf and the community life in Stallion Springs. They
truly enjoyed their time together there—golfing, relaxing, and making new friends.

In his later years, Frank was surrounded by family, friends, and companions. He will always be remembered as a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather, a talented engineer, a quick wit, a loyal friend and companion, a frustrated golfer, and an accomplished punster. He will be missed by many.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

#94) Librascope "Has-Beens" Gather for Luncheon and More.

After over a year's hiatus, twenty-one (21) Librascope "Has-Beens" gathered yesterday for lunch at the Burbank Hill Street Cafe. It was a great opportunity for Libravets to discuss old-times, current events, and personal stories.

Attending the luncheon were Georgine Archer*, Charlotte Ashby, Roy Bartlome, Don Barton, Ken Burton, Charles Buterbaugh, Emery Fekety, Ray Hand*, Larry Knowles, Carl Mandernacht, Ed Niekamp, A. J. Pankratz, Arnold Peters, Hank Pinczower, Marty Rudolf, Dan Sibly*, Ralph Simon, Carl Sorensen*, Billy Tilden, Don Tubbs*, and Earl Valdez.

After the luncheon, a small task force (see names* above) met to discuss Carl Sorensen's recent draft proposal to hold a "silent auction" at the next Librascope Reunion. The objective would be to responsibly dispose of most of the historical Librascope assets currently stored in Georgine Archer's garage, before too much more time goes by.

It was agreed that the 2014 Librascope Reunion would be the best opportunity for such an auction, and that it would provide an additional incentive for more to attend. Various action items were also agreed to, including investigating the possibility of donating Lewis Imm's original Librascope to the Smithsonian. Blog reader's comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

#93) LMCO Retiree Benefit Information

If Lockheed Martin (LMCO) currently administers your pension and/or medical insurance benefits, you may be interested in the following:

Yesterday I went on the LMCO Benefits web-site, because I had not yet received my 2014 Medical Insurance Annual Enrollment package. In the process, I found a couple unrelated problems that needed my attention.

I was told by a LMCO benefits representative that their web-site was redesigned about 10 months ago. As a result, my marital status was inadvertently changed from married to "single", and my e-mail address was somehow deleted. The representative I spoke to also told me that other retirees had made a similar discovery.

You can add your e-mail address on-line; however, you must telephone LMCO Benefits if you need to correct the marriage status indicated on your "Profile "page. If you do telephone them, you may be asked to change your PIN to eight digits. BTW, when you check your e-mail address, it is a good idea to also review and update your e-mail preferences.

Finally, I learned that the "snail mailing" of the 2014 Annual Enrollment (AE) packages were understandably delayed this year, but they are now in the mail. The 2014 AE is open from October 29 to November 14, 2013.

If you wish to check your LMCO benefits information, the contact information you will need is located on the LMCO "Contact Us" page at http://lockheedmartin.com/us/contact.html (refer to the 2nd paragraph - titled "Benefits").

Hope this helps,
Carl

Sunday, October 27, 2013

#92) Dr. Jack R. Pelamati, LCDR USNR (Ret)

The following message was received from Wendy Pelamati:

Hello Carl, 
This is Jack Pelamati's youngest daughter writing to let you know that my father passed away a few weeks ago. A copy of his obituary follows:

Dr. Jack R. Pelamati, LCDR USNR (Ret) 
Jack Pelamati passed away peacefully on October 6, 2013, at the age of 83 after a courageous 13-year battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was a highly accomplished man who lived his life with honor and integrity. He was a devoted husband and father of six children. He is survived by his wife Loretta of 60 years and his children Jack (Lisa), Sheryl, Kym (Kirk), Greg, Dean (Robyn), and Wendy, His eight grandchildren are Jack, Angela, Nicholas, Kevin, Kaila, Keely, Lacee, and Ryan. He will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be held at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church.

Sincerely,
Wendy Pelamati

Wendy later added:
The memorial service will be on December 28th at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Winnetka (Canoga Park) on Sherman Way and Corbin. We wanted to do it on his 84th birthday on the 29th, however, that is a Sunday which is church day.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

#91) Next "Has Beens" Luncheon - Wednesday November 6th

The following is an invitation to all Libravets and their guests from Ralph Simon:

Mark your calendar! I have arranged for our next Has Beens' luncheon to be held on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at the Hill Street Cafe located in Burbank. 

Please join us at 11:45 AM to share old war stories and current ailments at our usual spot in the back of the restaurant. I have made arrangements for a special menu with a set price of $15 per person including beverage and tip. 

Ralph

PLEASE RSVP to ralph3222@gmail.com by Monday, November 4th. Ralph will need a total head count for the restaurant by that date.

Hill Street Cafe in Burbank.
3301 N. Glenoaks  Blvd.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

#90) "New" 2006 Librascope Reunion Photo Album Published

An album with 22 "Table" photos taken at the 2006 Reunion has been published on the Photos section of the Librascope Memories website. Each of the large "new" photos includes a caption listing the names of each person at the table.

Note, there are now a total of 16 photo albums on the Librascope Photo Albums page of the website. This "new" 2006 album, second from the top, is titled "2006 Libravet Reunion - Tables".

Additional (candid) photos from the 2006 Reunion will be published later.


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

#89) Locating Replacement Parts For Old Librascope Products

Occasionally, Librascope Memories receives requests from both Libravet and non-Libravet readers for assistance in locating parts they need for old Librascope products. Some past examples include requests for locating L107MA disk memory castings required for replicating the "Mr. Fusion" mounted on the rear of the DeLorean Time Machine in the movie "Back to the Future" (see Blog Posts #2, 12, and 14). Other examples are various parts needed for WWII vintage Librascope Balance Computers and MK 7 Barrage Computers. A few of these requests have also been posted on this Blog.

Needless to say, old Librascope product parts are very hard to locate, and we can't always help you find them on a timely basis. So, here are some suggestions for where you might find the part(s) you need:

1) Museums that specialize in military, computer, and aerospace equipment. Frequently, they will have equipment or parts in the back room that they are no longer interested in displaying and would consider selling them, or donating them to a worthy cause.

2) e-Bay. Simply search on e-Bay for "Librascope". You might also consider posting your requirement there as a potential buyer.

3) War Surplus Stores (See Blog Post #64 for a local example).

4) Craig's List

5) Apex Electronics in Sun Valley, CA
http://www.apexelectronic.com/contact
When Librascope was still in business, the Company would often sell its surplus parts to Apex.

If all else fails, please contact me and we'll try and help you. Of course we would appreciate hearing about any successes you've had too. Either send me an e-mail (see above), or leave a Comment on this Post.

Finally, we suggest that you subscribe to this Blog (see instructions above), so that you can be kept up to date on any related matters.

Thanks,
Carl

Friday, September 6, 2013

#88) In Memoriam - Norris C. Guy

Guy, Norris Campbell,  age 80, of San Clemente, CA passed away at home on August 29, 2013. He was the beloved husband for 58 years of Jeanne Jansen Guy; loving father to Christopher (Laurie), Jeffrey, Jonathan, and Anne (Tracy) Brown; and proud grandfather to Ryan, Jennifer, Nicole, Jake, Jack, and Gabby. Norris was preceded in death by his grand-daughter Nicole.

Norris was born in Tacoma, WA on February 6, 1933 to Melvin and Marion Guy. His brother James preceded him in death and his sister Phyllis lives in Federa l Way, WA. He studied electrical engineering at Washington State College (University) where he met his college sweetheart, Jeanne. After graduation they were married and moved to Southern California to start their new life, originally moving to Van Nuys, but then settling in La Canada Flintridge for 40 years. After raising their four children they moved to San Clemente to enjoy the beach life. Norris was an electrical engineer for Singer Librascope and retired after 33 years. Even in retirement Norris was not one to sit idle, so he continued to maintain his rental properties in the Los Angeles area and commuted between Los Angeles and San Clemente weekly.

A memorial service celebrating Norris life will be held at San Clemente Presbyterian church on September 27 at 2:00 pm. He will be interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.

Even though Norris did not serve the United States in the military, he has always had gratitude and a great respect for those that do, so the family is requesting that donations be made to Norris favorite charities the Fisher House (fisherhouse.org) or Wounded Warriors (woundedwarriorsproject.org) in lieu of flowers.

Published in the Orange County Register on September 4th and 5th, 2013.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

#87) In Memoriam - James R. Drugan, PhD


Dr. James R. “Jim” Drugan
1938 - 2013

Jim Drugan passed away quietly on July 22. He had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease for many years. He is survived by his wife Jan, two sons and a daughter. There will not be a funeral.

Jim’s significant engineering career at Librascope began in 1958 and by 1969 he had become a Senior Staff Engineer. That year he also received a PhD in Engineering from UCLA. His thesis was on Large Scale Systems.

In 1971, he was promoted into management by Jerry Deitz, Vice President and Chief Engineer.

During his time as Supervisor, Librascope invested in an effort to expand the Company’s business from torpedo fire control into sonar. Under Jim’s direction, the “Blue Room” was built and numerous highly classified display studies were conducted for the Naval Sea System Command. The studies provided the Navy with guidelines for sonar display design that are still used today. As a result of this work, Librascope consulted on the movie “The Hunt for Red October” and received a screen credit.

In 1975, Jim was promoted to Manager, System Engineering. During his time as Manager, Librascope began marketing its torpedo fire control engineering expertise to allied navies. The first contract was with the Royal Australian Navy to study modernization of torpedo fire control system on their Oberon class submarines. At the conclusion of the study, Jim visited Australia with the Librascope team.

This led to a long relationship with the Royal Australian Navy as well as contracts with Canada and India.

After serving as Manager of System Engineering, Jim left Librascope to form Drugan Associates where he had a consulting relationship with both Librascope and the Royal Australian Navy. During this time, Jim played a significant roll in the development of the combat system for the Australian Collins Class submarines that replaced the Oberon Class.


Finally, Jim was a highly accomplished golfer -- he had a three handicap at one time. The Librazettes document his many accomplishments as a member of the Librascope Golf Team.




Jim became a member of the Oakmont Country Club in Glendale and purchased a home overlooking the golf course. Until health problems overtook him, he spent many happy hours playing golf on the Oakmont course and enjoying the view of the course from his front window.



Wednesday, July 31, 2013

#86) Martin PBM-3C "LC-1 Balance Computor" (circa 1943)

Bruce Barth, an accomplished naval aviation historian and researcher, has a Librascope LC-1 Balance Computor (sic) manufactured for the Martin PBM-3C seaplanes used during W.W. II. Bruce's website is at vpmma.org.

Bruce acquired his LC-1 (s/n 662) about 25 years ago at an antique and collectibles show in San Francisco. The unit is in good physical condition and still works; however, it is lacking its original hinged case.

Bruce is wanting to display his Balance Computor in a museum setting, so he is very interested in acquiring a hinged case in almost any condition. He believes the case is the same size as those used on LC-1's designed for other aircraft types such as the PV-1 and PBY. The outside dimensions of his unit are 17.75" x 10" x 2".

You may contact Bruce at:  bbarth2boi@gmail.com and 1-512-288-9824.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

#85) A Belated Purple Heart For John Guarino - WWII Vet

Forward - Les Urban wrote the following story about John Guarino's interesting life, including John's experience when, last month, the Army presented him with a Purple Heart for his World War II combat injuries. 

If you would like to thank John for his military service, you may contact him at: jguarino1925@yahoo.com. You may also leave a Comment at the end of this Blog Post.


John Guarino is a long time Libravet with a 28 year tenure with the Company. He hired into the Quality Control Dept in 1961. Shortly thereafter he advanced to the Art Dept. where he stayed till his retirement in 1989.

John’s Military career began in March 1944, when he was inducted into the Army. He likes to tell people he was a passenger on the Luxury Liner, The Queen Mary in November 1944. But this was with 14,000 others after it was converted into a Troop Transport Ship. It was not long thereafter that he would be seeing Military Action.

In the Winter of 1944/1945 John Guarino was with the 17th Airborne Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was stationed in Luxemburg during the campaign known as The Battle of the Bulge. He spent numerous nights in foxholes in what was considered the coldest winter in over 100 years. John’s feet eventually became frozen to the point he was completely immobilized while facing the enemy. This met all the criteria for receiving the Purple Heart.

There was a Military Facility on the outskirts of St. Louis which housed an assortment of the Army’s historical records, including recipients of awards for distinguished service. An enormous fire broke out sometime after the War destroying over 16 million documents, among which was John Guarino’s award for the Purple Heart.

Fortunately, due to the marvels of modern technology, many of these records were restored to a legible state. In June of 2013,. an Army Captain knocked on John’s door, with a Purple Heart in hand. He of course apologized for the long delay. In addition, he presented John with another Medal for participating in Military campaigns in what was known at that time as The European - African Theater of Operations. The Captain respectfully gave John a salute after his presentation.

John also has an assortment of five Medals awarded him for distinguished service in the Military during his tour of duty.

John Guarino is an unpretentious man who makes friends very easily. During his civilian life, he has met many prominent people in the entertainment world, as well as the sports arena.

In a four year stint at MGM Studios, he got to know virtually all the Stars under contract at that time In particular; he developed a close friendship with Fernando Lamas and Robert Taylor. In his home, there is a montage of wall mounted autographed photos taken of him with many of the Stars.

Vic Damone, the popular singer for many decades, is one of John’s closest and dearest friends. They attended Lafayette High School together, and lived in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn. When Damone was awarded a Hollywood Contract to do a film, he asked John to come with him. John turned down the offer. He did accept a subsequent offer and moved out to California. They remained close friends through the years, till time and illness caught up with both of them. In Vic Damone’s autobiography, he mentions John Guarino as being one of the people who were most influential in his life.

John has been an avid St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan since 1934. In 1989 he went on a cruise sponsored by the Cardinals. There he met Al Hrabosky, a pitcher, better known as “the mad Hungarian”. They developed a close friendship and John would often go to St Louis to watch him play. After Al’s retirement, he became the TV color announcer for all of the Cardinal’s games. When ever the Cardinals were in town to play the Dodgers, John would sit up in the announcer’s booth to watch the games. They are still close friends, but John’s recent illness has limited his activities.


Saturday, June 22, 2013

#84) New 2008 Reunion Photos Published On the LM Website.


Georgine Archer recently sent me some photos she took at the 2008 Reunion. As is her custom, Georgine took photos of all the 2008 attendees while at their luncheon tables. There are 18 photos altogether, and I have put them in a new album titled "2008 Libravet Reunion - Tables". They are now published on the "PHOTOS" page of the main Librascope Memories website at librascopememories.com. To view the photos on this website, first click on the PHOTOS tab at the top of your screen, and then click on the face of the selected album (see example below).

You will note a couple improvements to the PHOTOS section, First, ALL 400+ photos in 14 of the albums are 50% larger than before. Second, this change allowed sufficient caption space under each photo to list the full name of each person.in the new 2008 table album. This caption improvement eliminated the need for a separate name index table. Unfortunately, this improvement is not retroactive (yet).

Last, you can now get a quick preview of all the photos in any album, by "skimming" your mouse across the front of the album.

IMPORTANT: (1) If the date published at the bottom of the Librascope Memories - Welcome page is not June 21, 2013 or later, or (2) if the photos within each album are three across instead of two, you will need to RELOAD or REFRESH your browser 2 or 3 times to correct the problem. This problem occurs most often with Google's Chrome browser for some reason.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

#83) Latest News from Mark Derksen at Manassas


Following is an interesting report from Mark Derksen, Senior Staff Systems Engineer, on what's been happening recently in Manassas, VA. Mark's last report was published on April 13, 2011 (See Blog Post #23 - Click Here). Note, at the end of his e-mail below, Mark has included a link to a 17 minute Royal Canadian Navy video featuring an HMCS Victoria Class Submarine with Librascope's FCS installed.

Hi Carl,

There are still a few of the “remnant of Librascope” left here in Manassas. They still count our years of service based on our hire date at Librascope. Grant Corcoran retired at the end of last year. Those that are left (that I can think of anyway) are:

Kevin Kofler
Brent Derksen
Scott Maurer
Nick Thomas
Steve Mitchell
Mark Derksen

Based on age, my brother Brent will likely be the “last man standing” from Librascope.

As far as the Librascope legacy CBRN (formerly NBC) business area goes, at the end of last year we delivered 19 “Able Sentry” systems (a derivative of the original BAWS system) to Japan consisting of 190 Remote Sensors and 19 Base Stations. This makes a total of 46 BAWS-type systems delivered to Japan since 2006 under 8 separate contracts. There is now talk of back fitting the earlier systems to be the same as the latest systems.

Regarding the Librascope legacy International Submarine area, we delivered new Combat Systems (Weapons and Sonar) to Brazil for their German 209 submarines and successfully fired U.S. built torpedoes on two separate exercises. We also delivered systems (Weapons and Sonar) to the Spanish Navy for their new S80 class submarines. I was the lead SE for the Weapons portion and they are shooting a German built torpedo. I had a great time traveling to Spain, Germany and UK on this program. We also continue to supply the Canadian Navy with updated systems for their Victoria class submarines and recently had a successful warshot firing in Hawaii.

Mark

PS Below is a link to a video produced by the Canadian government regarding the SINKEX exercise as part of RIMPAC12 in Hawaii. The focus is on the Victoria class submarine with our Fire Control System installed. In the video you can see our consoles and displays with the screens fuzzed out. Some may recognize the TMA screens that utilize Harold Klein’s algorithms. Starting at about 13:31 into the video you will be able to see my brother, Brent, standing behind the weapons operators with a clipboard. Feel free to post this video link since it is in the public domain mostly as PR to the Canadian public.

http://vimeo.com/54048119

Monday, January 14, 2013

#82) The 2012 Librascope Reunion

As some of you know, I missed the November 3rd Librascope Reunion because I fractured my back just two days before the event took place. Now I'm feeling much better though, and finally able to report here on the 2012 Reunion.

First of all, Georgine Archer says the 2012 Reunion was “very successful”. As expected, a little over 100 Libravets attended, including first-timers Mark Ferry, Norris Guy, and Pete Maimone. She also said the food was good, and it was a beautiful location. About half the attendees were subscribers to this Blog.

A hugely successful “50/50 Raffle” was held to help support the ongoing expenses associated with our three main websites (Librascope Memories, Librascope Search, and this News Blog). Georgine also reported that there was a very generous, but anonymous donor. And, our thanks to Jeff Luther, and Jim Carpenter who sold $420 worth of the above raffle tickets. The happy raffle winners were Barbara Herrick, Al Mohill, and Marty Rudolf who each received $70.

A lot of good pictures were taken at the reunion, which are now posted on the Photos page of the Librascope Memories website (click here). Note, there are two 2012 Reunion Albums. One album is for all the “table photos” that Georgine normally takes at each reunion, and the other album is a collection of candid photos that were taken by Georgine, Charlotte Ashby, and Don Chen. The “Tables” Album includes a list of all the people at each table. This list is also on the Librascope Search website. In addition, Ray Hand took a short video which we hope to publish at a later date.

On a sad note, Georgine also made available a list of the Libravets who had passed away since the 2010 Reunion. A current version of that list of 35 Libravets is published on the Librascope Memories website History page (click here), Section IV. It is also on the Librascope Search website.

Finally, I wanted to mention again that I will soon be publishing over 100 new candid and table photos that were taken at the 2006 and 2008 Reunions, so stay tuned.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

#81) In Memoriam - Bill Girouard


The following obituary for Bill Girouard appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the Pasadena Star-News yesterday. 


Bill was responsible for the design and construction of Librascope's buildings, including Buildings 8, 17, and the 100,000 sq. ft. Instrumentation Facility in Marina Del Rey. A couple years ago, Disney's architecture firm contacted me for any information we might still have about the construction of Building 17, that they were planning to renovate soon. I put them in contact with Bill who promptly responded, from memory, with a detailed description of how the building was constructed, including the first of its kind roof parking lot. Disney's firm was very appreciative, and said that Bill's input would save them a lot of research.

Bill last attended the 2008 Librascope Reunion.




Dr. William F. Girouard
May 10, 1921 - Jan. 3, 2013

Son of D.W. and Loretta C. Reidy Girouard, loving husband of Rita F. Phipps, proud father of Kathleen and Maureen Girouard. Alumnus of Oberlin College A.B. '47, University of Southern California B.S. 58' M.S. 60' , Madison University Ph.D. 06'. Dedicated lifetime teacher (with interruptions) 1947-2008; Boston Public Schools, Friends Academy, Faculty Member USC and Cal Poly Pomona. Faithful member (semper fi) United States Marine Corps WWII, Korean War Resigned (Major), Director Librascope Division Singer Co. 1960-1986; Cited Who's Who in the West and Who's Who Nationally. Active in Industrial Engineering, Chapter President, Regional Director, National Director Professional Registration. Active in public life; Planning Commission South Pasadena, President Homeowners Association South Pasadena, Parishioner '64 till passing and Lector and Eucharistic Minister, Holy Family Church.

This was Bill, the engineer's, answer to a request for a biographic resume. However, Bill neglected to state he was a man of staunch faith, provided endless acts enlivened with humor, and every act, robed in love.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, January 11, 2013 at Holy Family Church at 10:30 a.m. A reception will immediately follow at St. Joseph Center (located directly across the street from the church). Holy Family Church 1501 Fremont Avenue, South Pasadena, CA 91030. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Industrial Engineering Department @ Cal Poly Pomona or University of Southern California Cabot & Sons, Pasadena.