Duane E. Dunwoodie
Resident of Palo Alto
Duane Dunwoodie passed away peacefully on December 1, 2011, in Palo Alto, surrounded by his loving family. He will be remembered as a gentle, kind man with a great wit and sense of humor.
Duane was born in Kansas City, KS, on November 2, 1930, the older of two sons of James “Russell” and Ruth (Sharp) Dunwoodie. He grew up in K. C., attending Wyandotte High School. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1952 under the ROTC program and subsequently served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for 3 years. In 1955, he was recruited by Hewlett-Packard where he co-designed the first very-low-frequency oscilloscope.
He earned a Master’s degree in electrical engineering in 1958 and degree of engineer (EE) in 1960, both from Stanford University.
In 1960, he co-founded (with Bill Jarvis and Dr. Peter Lacy) Wiltron Company, an instrumentation firm. Unfazed by international industry giants, the company grew to an $82 million-a-year enterprise with 800 employees. Duane was responsible for the creation of test and measurement equipment needed for a number of high-tech fields including radar, telephony and computer applications, and he obtained many patents to his name in the process.
In the early 80’s, the three founders moved their company from Palo Alto and developed the Morgan Hill Business Park. He was proud to employ three of his children and two daughters-in-law. In 1990, they sold their privately owned company to Japan-based Anritsu where Duane stayed on as CEO, retiring in 1994.
Throughout his life, he successfully led teams of people to share in his visions of the future and lent his expertise to a number of civic, educational and philanthropic organizations. Duane was a Lifetime member of IEEE, First Methodist Church, SIR Branch 35 and a board member of The Museum of American History.
In 1992, Duane established an endowment at the University of Kansas for the microwave laboratory named in his honor. He was presented with the Distinguished Engineering Service Award from the University of Kansas in 2001.
After he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2007, he became a significant supporter of the Stanford Stem Cell Research program.
Duane was a long time car enthusiast, driving and collecting a number of Ferraris over the years. He restored vintage Elva sports cars and raced them at various racetracks like Laguna Seca until the age of 70. He also enjoyed oil painting in his spare time and took great pleasure in exhibiting his work.
Duane and Marlene, his wife of 55 years, spent most of their married life in Los Altos and raised four children. They moved to the Hyatt Classic Residence (now Vi at Palo Alto) in 2005. Duane loved his family and especially enjoyed the frequent family gatherings at their home in Pebble Beach.
Duane is survived by his wife, Marlene; brother, Norman, of Columbus, OH; two sons, David (Sheila) and Kevin, both of Morgan Hill; two daughters, Diane (Janice Azebu) of Oakland and Karen Abbruscato (Matt) of Pleasanton; and eight grandchildren, Patricia, Holly, Sean, Patrick, Kai and Ren Dunwoodie, and Austin Louise and Elle Abbruscato.
A Celebration of Life will take place on Sunday, Dec. 18th, 2011, from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. in Vi at Palo Alto’s auditorium.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to his memorial fund: Dunwoodie Stem Cell Research Fund, Stanford University, 2700 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Checks should be made payable to Stanford University, referencing Dunwoodie on the memo line.
