Michael Waldner

1924 - 2010

(1924 - 2010) Michael Waldner, age 86, passed away Dec . 17, 2010 in Thousand Oaks.

Mike was born in 1924 in St. Louis, Mo. His academic successes brought him a full ride scholarship to Washington University where he received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1944, followed by a Masters of Science in physics from Cornell University in 1948. After working for two years at Northrop Aircraft in California, Mike returned to Cornell to get a PhD in physics in 1953. While at Cornell, he met his future wife, Betty, who was completing her Masters degree.

Mike and Betty were married in 1955, and settled in Syracuse, N.Y., where he took a job with General Electric. Their family was started with a son, David, and daughter, Susan. Mike and his family moved to Southern California in 1959 where Mike started a new job with Hughes Aircraft Company in Newport Beach and, later, Atomics International.

His family continued to grow with the birth of a son, Thomas. Mike took a job in the early 1960s with North American Aviation and a few years later with Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu and moved with his family to Woodland Hills, where daughters Nancy and Jennifer were born.

Mike was an avid motorcyclist and enjoyed taking his kids out to the desert to ride dirt bikes. He developed a love for photography and spent endless hours recreating the works of Ansel Adams as well as creating original works.

Mike retired from Hughes in 1987 and moved to the Newbury Park area. His favorite pastimes during retirement were listening to classical music, spending time at art museums and galleries, doing crossword puzzles, and creating digital art on his computer.

Mike is survived by children, David (Claire) Waldner, Susan (Gregor) Magnusson, Thomas (Annika) Waldner, Nancy Shipman (Roger) Gailey, and Jennifer (Nathan) Leland; grandchildren, Danielle (Paul) Diniz, Kristin, Brandi, Kyle, Sarah, Devon, Maren, Max, and Stella; and great-grandchild, Seth. Mike is preceded in death by wife Betty; son-in-law, Michael Shipman; and brother, Joseph Waldner.

Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 2, at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village.