Norman A. Austin

December 7, 1924 – April 10, 2015

Norman Alfred Austin died peacefully on April 10, 2015. He was 90 years old. Norm was born on December 7, 1924 in Woodland, California. He grew up in Placerville, California, where his father C. Lloyd Austin was an iris hybridizer and ran the Rainbow Hybridizing Gardens business with Norm’s mother, Gladys Easter Ingraham Austin.

Norm met his wife, Phyllis Jean Roach, at a USO dance while he was in the Army during World War II. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge in France and was awarded a Purple Heart. When he returned from the war, he and Phyllis were married in Eugene, Oregon. After Norm finished his B. S. at Oregon State and earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University, they lived in California where their daughters, Melissa and Suzanne, were born. In 1960, the family lived in Roskilde, Denmark, meeting life- long friends, Jens and Bente Lebech. Upon returning, Norm and Phyllis built their home in Los Altos Hills where they lived for 50 years.

With a successful career as an electrical engineer in Silicon Valley, Norm always enjoyed being on the “cutting edge” of technology. In the 1960s, he worked at Varian Associates where he helped develop the first radiation machines for cancer therapy. Subsequently, he joined several companies, including ETEC and CIC, and formed his own company, AB Networks.

As a devoted husband and father, Norm always supported Phyllis and her artistic talents, including framing her oil paintings and assisting with her interior design business. He assisted Suzanne and Melissa in obtaining degrees at Stanford and encouraged their careers. Despite his injury during the war, Norm was always athletic. He especially enjoyed tennis and taught Melissa and Suzanne to play at an early age. He was a good skier, golfer, and swam daily until near the end of his life.

Norm is predeceased by his wife, Phyllis Jean Roach Austin, and is survived by his daughters Dr. Melissa A. Austin of Seattle and Dr. Suzanne M. Austin of Los Gatos, his sisters Sylvia Osman and Jewell DeLapp, and many nieces and nephews. A mass and reception will be held at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Los Altos, located at 473 Lincoln Avenue, on April 29 at 10: 00 am. Donations in Norm’s memory can be made in support of Stanford Engineering, Stanford University, PO Box 20466, Stanford, CA 94309.