Roger Robinson Webster's Obituary
WEBSTER, ROGER ROBINSON Born May 4, 1920 to Roger Glenn and Blanche Webster in Holtville, CA and passed away October 6, 2011. He grew up in Long Beach, CA and graduated from the School of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu honor societies. He was recruited during his senior year at college to join the select group to work on radar jamming systems at Harvard Radio Research Laboratory. Following that he worked at Cal Tech on the Manhattan Project and had top secret and Q Clearances. He worked at Stancil-Hoffman on magnetic tape recorders and supplied Lowell Thomas with portable recorders for his newscasts from Tibet, which were brought from Tibet via pack train to New Delhi, India, then flown to London per daily newscasts. He designed and installed at major networks in Chicago, magnetic tape recorders used for delayed broadcast s to the west coast. Roger moved to Texas and worked at Texas Instruments where he was recognized for his teamwork in development of the first transistor “pocket” radio. He was the U.S. Chairman of IEEE Integrated Circuits Committee and installed a chapter in Germany. Member of IEEE Life Fellow and later served on the selection committee for nominees for Life Fellow. He is mentioned in “Who’s Who” in the south and southwest. He built his first TV set in 1938 with a 1″ picture tube. He loved sailing from Newport Beach to Catalina and built his own 14′ sailboat. He also built a 9’x12′ solid wood bookcase cabinet. He was an avid reader and researched the history of the English language. Preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Fred and Harold Webster; and sister, Grace Margaret Webster. Survived by wife of 64 years Louise LaPrade Webster; sons, Roger Robert Webster and wife Gillian of San Martin, California, Frank C. Webster M.D. and wife Victoria of Coppell, Texas; daughter-in-law, Linda Dobson of Keller, Texas; granddaughters, Rachel and Rebecca Webster; brother, Edward A. Webster of Studio City, California; and sister, Katherine M. Webster of San Rafael, California. Services will be held at 9:30am, Saturday, October 15th at Restland Abbey Chapel with Reverend Bill Smith of Highland Park United Methodist Church officiating.
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