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Louis M. 'Lou' Seeberger Visalia, CA QCWA # 5265 Chapter 7 |
Louis M. Seeberger
April 11, 1921 - January 08, 2017
Louis (Lou) was born on April 11, 1921 in Oakland, California and raised by his grandparents in San Leandro, California. He passed away while at Prestige Assisted Living in Visalia on January 8, 2017.
Early in his youth, he found he had an unusual electronic ability and talent. While in high school, he made wax recordings for school plays and also received his amateur radio license. In 1937, Lou made a complete television system using one inch tubes. In 1943, Lou graduated from U.C. Berkley with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and in that same year, married Marjorie Church. Later, Lou received his Masters Degree in Business Administration from Drexel University.
During WWII, Lou entered the Army Signal Corps where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and became a radar officer studying at Harvard University and MIT.
After his honorable discharge from service, Lou began a career at RCA in Camden, New Jersey working in television research. He found himself with a group that worked on enabling a black and white tube to receive the first color images. He also worked on developing the first early aircraft anti-collision devices. RCA transferred Lou to California when they opened a plant here working on producing a camera tube that would be used to take the first close up video pictures of the moon upon impact.
Later Lou left RCA for a position with Hughes Aircraft Company. He became Director of Applied Research for the Radar Systems Group. It was there, initial work was done on aircraft pilots cockpit information display, eventuating in the present laser guidance system.
Lou, along with eleven others, founded the Society for Information Display, now numbering members world wide.
Upon his retirement from Hughes in 1990, Lou and his wife moved to Three Rivers.
Lou was an instrument rated private pilot and his hobbies included aircraft history, old time radio, ragtime music and theater organ construction. He led the installation of the theater organ now in use at the Visalia Fox Theater and served on the Board of Directors for 12 years as C.F.O.
His family includes his wife of 73 years, Marjorie Seeberger, his brother Robert and wife Sharon, son Jerry and wife Elizabeth, a daughter Christy and her husband Steve Wood, grandson Joe and wife Laura and a granddaughter, Ashley Billhymer and her husband Michael and 9 great-grandchildren.
There will be a private graveside service.
Published in Tulare Advance-Register & Visalia Times-Delta on Feb 3,2017