Pamela Ann McCorduck

New York, Santa Fe & Walnut Creek Champion of Artificial Intelligence, prolific writer and published author, philanthropist, loving sister and aunt.

Born in Liverpool, England during the height of German bombings Pamela emigrated permanently to the United States with her parents and younger twin siblings on the original Queen Elizabeth ocean liner arriving Ellis Island, New York on December 12, 1946. The family resided in New Jersey near relatives until 1949 when they moved to the Bay Area. For a brief time in the late 50s she and her family lived in Rutherford, New Jersey where she graduated from Rutherford High School at the early age of 15 before returning to the Bay Area where she attended the Univ. of California Berkeley earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Composition and Literature in 1960. A few years later she went on to earn her Masters degree in English Lit at Columbia University in New York where she also became a Professor of Creative Writing. In 2020 Pamela became a donor and Board Member of the Univ. of California Library.

In 1963 Pamela was working in the School of Business Administration at CAL where she became acquainted with Dr. Ed Feigenbuam who was teaching in the department at that time. Before she even had heard the expression “Artificial Intelligence” Pamela helped with the publication of the first ever book on AI. In 1965 Dr. Feigenbaum left CAL to become one of the founders of Stanford’s newly formed Computer Science Dept. at which time he asked Pamela to join the team at Stanford where her prolific writing skills were already in full bloom. It was at Stanford that Pamela met her future husband, Dr. Joseph Traub, who later became the head of the Computer Science Dept. at Carnegie Mellon Univ. in Pittsburgh, and the founding Chair of the

Computer Science Dept. at Columbia Univ. in New York. During her stay in Pittsburgh Pamela was a Professor of English Literature at the Univ. of Pittsburgh before moving to New York.

Pamela is the author or coauthor of eleven published books, three of them novels. Her novel, “The Edge of Chaos”, was short-listed for Best Fiction for the 2008 New Mexico Book Awards. Its sequel, her tenth published book, called “Bounded Rationality”, was published in the fall of 2012, the second in a projected trilogy called Santa Fe Stories. She took time from working on the third volume to write a memoir called “This Could Be Important: My Life and Times with the Artificial Intelligentsia”, published in late 2019. Her 1979 “Machines Who Think”, a history of artificial intelligence, was honored the year of its publication by the New York Public Library and was reissued in 2004 in a 25th anniversary edition, along with a new preface and lengthy afterword, that brought the history of the field up to date. Among her other books are “The Universal Machine”, “Aaron’s Code”, “The Fifth Generation: Artificial Intelligence and Japan’s Computer Challenge to the World” (coauthored with Ed Feigenbaum), and “The Futures of Women” (co-authored with Nancy Ramsey). She has consulted, and constructed future scenarios, for numerous firms in the transportation, financial, and high-tech sectors.

As a board member and then vice-president of the PEN American Center in New York City Pamela founded and chaired an innovative program that sends authors and their books to newly literate adults at sites all over the country. She also chaired a committee to study PEN’s long-range future which led to the first significant reorganization of PEN since it was founded in 1922.

In 2002 Pamela and her husband purchased a second home in Santa Fe, New Mexico where they continued to live 6 months of each year as well as 6 months in New York City. Pamela became a Board Member and Treasurer of the New Mexico Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts whilst continuing her membership in her beloved Century Association in New York where she gathered with like-minded people around the piano to sing songs from the American Songbook and moderated a reading group addressed to the works of Henry James, an early member of the club.

According to Martial Hebert, the current Dean of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon, “Pamela was an early and hugely influential chronicler of artificial intelligence at CMU and elsewhere, and her writing – including direct conversations with many of the giants of the field – helped define the way we view, in her words, machines who think.” In 2018 Pamela donated to CMU more than 50 mechanical calculators, encryption devices and early computers from the collection amassed by she and her husband. This valuable collection includes a pair of Enigma machines used by the German army to keep secrets safe during WWII.

In 2017 after the passing of her husband she left New York City and Santa Fe and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to be near her sister and brother where she continued to write and pursued her delight in the visual and performing arts. Pamela was known by her family and friends to have a tremendous sense of humor by entertaining them with humorous stories leaving everyone in stitches. “Friday night pizza” was a staple with her two siblings and spouses and were always filled with her inquisitive mind and trivia. She loved her nieces and nephews and delighted in hearing of their growth into adulthood. Pamela was predeceased by her parents Hilda and William “Jack” McCorduck and her loving and devoted husband Dr. Joseph F. Traub. She is survived by her sister Sandra McCorduck Marona (Lee) and brother John McCorduck (Kathy), her nieces and nephews Jordan, Spencer and Alexis Marona, Kelly Hinkle (Scott), Brittany Fullerton (Nick), Brian McCorduck (Emily) and Blaire Morse Drew (Brandon) and her step-daughters Hillary Spector (Avi) and Claudia Traub.

According to Nancy Ramsey, “Pamela’s public face was grace, intelligence, and wit. Her deep respect for the dignity and rights of every person inspired her writing on technology and Artificial Intelligence. She saw them as tools in fulfilling those goals in the future.” At Pamela’s request no formal funeral or memorial service will be held in her honor. A close family and friends celebration of her life will be held in the future. Donations may be made to Hospice of the East Bay, 3470 Buskirk Ave, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 or your local Planned Parenthood. their children, and kept working, painting, and exhibiting. Starting in 1998, they embarked on a series of trips (Malta, Nepal, Egypt, Turkey, Spain, and India) which added to the rich cultural and archetypal imagery they found so nourishing. Since 2004 Jenny was a member of the national Society of Layerists in Multimedia (SLMM). Jenny was a highly sensitive person who listened well, was caring and compassionate, and was very supportive of her friends and family. She will be sorely missed. Jenny Badger Sultan is survived by a husband of 49 years, Henry David Sultan; a brother Tony Badger and his wife Margaret of Monterey; a daughter Naomi Sultana Young, her husband Joseph Young, and their sons Amos and Solomon of Santa Rosa; a son Leon Sultan, his wife Marisa Rossman, and their children Theodore and Adam of San Francisco; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, beloved family members, friends, students, and fellow artists.

The family wishes to thank Cecelia Quento and Maria Martinez for providing compassionate care during Jenny’s last days. An outdoor celebration life and art will be held on Sunday, November 14, in San Francisco. To RSVP, contact jennysultanmemorial@gmail.com The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Planned Parenthood. They also welcome you to visit http://www.jennybadgersultan.com/ and/ or purchase her artwork to discover and share the beauty of Jennifer Badger Sultan’s art and vision.

With great sadness we mourn the passing of Carroll Dean Smith, age 93, a 50-year resident of Marin County, CA. He was the third surviving son of Charles Alfred Smith and Edith Wardrip Smith of Waitsburg, W A. He was predeceased by his brothers Lloyd Henry Smith and Elmer Mayes Smith. Carroll was born on March 29, 1928 in the family home above the train station in Bolles, WA where his father worked for a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad. His mother taught him to read the train schedules, igniting a lifelong love for trains and all things transportation.

Following graduation from Waitsburg High School, he worked a few jobs for railroad companies, including the Northern Pacific Terminal Company before joining the army on April 26, 1946. He was first stationed in Yokohama, where he met his future wife, Teresa (Terry) Florence Shimizu, a fellow office worker. Their son Dean was born three years later.

The United States was soon embroiled in the Korean conflict where Carroll, now a sergeant, was assigned to the Command Section at Puson Logistical Command (later called the 2nd Logistical Command). He and four others including the Brigadier General, a Colonel, the Chief of Staff, and a Lieutenant Colonel organized the efforts to maintain the Pusan Perimeter which culminated in the amphibious landing at Inchon in September 1950, and the ultimate evacuation of the US troops from the east coast of Korea. Fourteen thousand US troops disembarked in Pusan after 2 days with little food and almost no water. Carroll was promoted to Master Sergeant. He was 23 years old.

In April 1952, Carroll, Teresa and Dean sailed on the U.S. General Simon Bucher for Seattle. After the birth of daughter Jacqueline, the family moved to Ankara, Turkey where Carroll was stationed until he retired from active duty as Lieutenant Colonel. After returning to the states, Carroll continued his education at the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of California in Berkeley. He joined the California Public Utilities Commission in Los Angeles and then settled in San Anselmo to work in the San Francisco office. Following

retirement, he received his J.D. from Golden Gate University. He practiced transportation law for more than 10 years.

Carroll loved to travel, visiting places near and far including Alaska, Uruguay, Russia, Turkey and Israel. He supported many causes and was an early supporter of Kohelet Yeshiva (formerly Stern Hebrew High School) in Merion Station, a suburb of Philadelphia. He enjoyed writing essays and memoirs. He authored a book, A Toast to Betty.

Following the death of his beloved wife Terry, Carroll’s life was filled with family, friends, community and social justice causes.

He met a wonderful woman, Marilyn Lee Curtis, to whom he was married for 18 years. Together they volunteered at the Church of the Holy Innocents in its treasury, thrift shop and food bank. They continued traveling, enjoying walks and spending time with family. They moved to AlmaVia Assisted Living in 2019, where they regaled staff and residents with warm conversations. Marilyn passed in December 2019.

Carroll Smith was a devoted father, husband, grandfather and community member. He was generous with his love for family and friends, and he contributed to an array of charitable foundations.

He is survived by his children, Dean Smith and Jacqueline Gomberg (Jonathan); grandchildren Arielle Landau (Joel), Hannah Zuber (Avi), Zoe and Aviva; greatgrandchildren Dovi, Noam, Kira and Mickey. He is also survived by stepdaughters Kati Haycock, Kris De Berg, Jackie Landsberg, and Diane Kemp, step-grandchildren Brooke, Brady, Jim, Randy, Julie, Dan, Jenny, Jana and Jake; and many step greatgrandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Elder Care Alliance for AlmaVia in San Rafael, CA, Kohelet Yeshiva in Merion Station, PA, or Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Corte Madera, CA. A memorial service is planned for 2:00 on Saturday, November 6, 2021 at AlmaVia, 515 Northgate Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903. Vaccination cards must be presented.