Earl Freemont Worden Jr.

Nov. 30, 1931 - May 22, 2020

Earl Freemont Worden Jr. passed away May 22nd, 2020 at his home of 56 years in Diablo, California. He was 88 years old and lived with Type-1 diabetes for 64 years.

He was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on November 30th, 1931 to Earl Freemont Worden and Nona Odiorne Worden of Rye, New Hampshire.

Earl attended Portsmouth High School and the University of New Hampshire where he received a Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, and a Masters of Science degree in chemistry. He completed his studies at the University of California Berkeley in 1959 with a PhD in Physical Chemistry and began working at Lawrence Livermore Lab as a member of the Physical Chemistry Section. He was on the team which observed the spectra and found the first energy levels in the elements curium, berkelium, californium and einsteinium. In 1985 he received the Louis A. Strait award for outstanding accomplishments in the areas of molecular absorption spectroscopy, atomic emission spectroscopy and laser spectroscopy, at the Pacific Conference on Chemistry and Spectroscopy. He authored numerous publications, coauthored books on spectroscopy and was granted several patents. Earl was a member of the Society of the Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Chi Sigma.

Earl met his wife Marlys in 1959 and they married in 1960. Both enjoyed entertaining and for decades hosted a New Year’s Eve party. In later years they spent New Year’s Eves in Hawaii. Earl would return to New Hampshire every summer where he spent time on his favorite beach in Rye. He was an avid hiker and frequented trails in the Berkeley hills, Marin county, Big Sur, and on Mt. Diablo. Earl was an exceptional ice skater, snow skier, swimmer and body surfer. He loved gardening, cooking, and Beethoven. In 1956 Earl and fellow UCB grad students founded KIVA Club, a poker group, which met every month for 64 years, until March of 2020.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years Marlys and his son Seth, sisters Joyce Richardson of Plantation, Florida, Gayl Worden of Rye, New Hampshire and brother Dean Worden of Southwest Harbor, Maine. We will miss him dearly.

Donations in Earl’s memory can be made to Save Mount Diablo, or a charity of your choice.