George Howard Royer PHD

October 4, 1925 - September 26, 2020 Resident of Los Gatos

George was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He earned a scholarship to Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1943. His studies were interrupted by WWII; he joined the Navy as Ensign trained in radio and radar. He was three days at sea when the war ended but his tour of duty continued with the rebuilding of Manila in the Philippines.

George returned to finish his education with a BS in 1946, a MS in 1948 and was working on his doctorate degree. His studies were again interrupted when he ‘accidently’ met a lost senior from Pennsylvania College for Women (Chatham). Jean Patricia ‘Pat’ Royer and George were married in April of 1953. He finished his PHD later that year.

Dr. Royer worked at Westinghouse and went on to IBM for his entire career. Accomplishments included a patented design for an antenna used on early spacecraft, the Royer Oscillator and work on the IBM Teaching Machine - a precursor to the now wide-spread use of computers for childhood education.

George was a long-standing member of the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church (over 50 years). He was also active with the YMCA and in particular their Camp Campbell site in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

George retired from IBM in December 1991 and was able to travel the world with his family and friends. He continued skiing into his 80s. He joined and volunteered with many social groups, some involving computers, diabetes treatment, genealogy, the San Jose Tech museum, singing and railroads. He and Pat moved to The Terraces of Los Gatos in 2009 and quickly involved themselves in the lovely community.

George is survived by his wife Pat, three children Kenneth, Howard and Cheryl, four grandchildren Andrew, Ashley, Leah and Richard. He was then promoted to Great Grandfather of three, Dylan, Emilia and Adeline. There will be a small private ceremony. Donations to the YMCA Camp Campbell are suggested. Visit giving.ymcasv.org and select the DONATE button.