LEWIS W. "LEW" COUNTS

COUNTS, Lewis W. "Lew" was an electronics industry leader who blended technical expertise with compassion. Lewis W. "Lew" Counts, a generous family man and pioneering semiconductor industry leader recognized for his technical and leadership prowess, passed away on September 14 at the age of 80. A longtime resident of Lexington, Massachusetts, he died peacefully at the Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln after a year-long battle with leukemia. Lew spent nearly four decades of his career at Analog Devices, Inc., where he championed the development of breakthrough technologies and became vice president of one of the company's most profitable divisions. He was a mentor to many, known for his personal humility and willingness to help wherever needed-at work and in the community. With his lanky, 6'4" frame and friendly handshake, Lew was a presence wherever he went, and he treated everyone he met with the same respect. He was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Born on June 13, 1940 in Birmingham, Alabama, to Mae Coleman Counts and Chester Carter Counts, Lew was raised by his mother in Alexandria, Virginia. He graduated in 1958 from Groveton High School, co-running a small transistor radio repair business and joining the newly created Sputnik Club. (His fellow club members became lifelong friends.) Lew worked his way through Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied electrical engineering and met Constance "Connee" Darmstatter, a student at Radcliffe College who became his wife of 56 years. He graduated in 1965, and embarked on a career that led him to the semiconductor industry just as it was beginning to take off. In 1968, Lew started as an engineer at Analog Devices, which specializes in technologies that convert real-world phenomena such as light, sound, temperature, and movement into digital signals and back again. (Analog's products are used in consumer electronics, medical devices, communications equipment, industrial systems and more.) After transferring to the integrated circuit division, he was charged with hiring and leading the linear design group, a team of engineers who achieved breakthroughs in high-precision amplifiers and developed scores of award-winning products. He rose to the role of vice president, managing all of Analog's linear products and building one of the company's largest and most profitable divisions. Lew was named in 1984 as the company's fifth Division Fellow, a designation that recognizes "those at the highest levels of technical advancement for their creativity and outstanding technical contributions to the company, acting as mentors to young technologists, and leading outstanding technical teams." He was the only person in Analog's history to lead a major division and also be recognized as a fellow for his technical skills. In 2003, Electronic Design magazine named Lew to its Engineering Hall of Fame, describing him as a "team captain and visionary" for his role in revolutionizing mixed-signal design, and noting that he's "considered one among the pioneers to design 'complete performance' into single chips." Before retiring in 2007, Lew became Analog's technical liaison to MIT, Stanford, and UC Berkeley. He was a lifelong member of IEEE, and a frequent speaker and presenter at the annual IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). Lew continued his relationship with his alma mater following his retirement, joining the board of MIT's Office of Engineering Outreach Programs, which offers programs to promising students from underrepresented and underserved groups who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). He was also a longtime member and contributor to First Parish in Lexington, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, serving on the building committee and putting considerable effort into lighting the interior and exterior of this historic church on the Lexington green. He loved music and especially enjoyed listening to First Parish's music director, Rip Jackson, play the church's 1890's Hutchings organ. With their shared interest in expanding learning opportunities for everyone, Lew and Connee strongly supported programs for learners of all ages, including a foundational gift to the Boston Children's Museum's new PlaySpace exhibit and to educational programs at the Huntington Theatre. Lew was an avid photographer, often seen with a camera, chronicling family or community events or capturing the beauty of nature or scenes from his travels. Even with his career success, he remained frugal and eschewed all flashiness. A lifelong cyclist, his one personal indulgence was a small fleet of Italian bicycles, on which he summited the Alps, the Rockies, the Dolomites, the Grand Tetons and the Green Mountains of Vermont. His cabin in South Barnard, Vermont was his favorite refuge. Lew is survived by his wife Connee; his daughters Margaret Counts-Klebe (Skott Klebe) and Laura Counts (Michael Mechanic); granddaughters Beatrix and Ruby; and grandsons Thomas and Nikko. The Counts family is grateful to Lew's oncology team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, led by Dr. Jacqueline Garcia with physician assistant Mary Gerard and the many nurses and caregivers who helped him wage a valiant battle against his disease. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be sent to support Dana-Farber's clinical cancer research (Lew's donation page: https://bit.ly/LewCountsDF ); to the Upper Valley Haven shelter and food bank (https://uppervalleyhaven.org/donate); or to a charity of your choice. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a memorial service will be held via Zoom at 2pm EDT on Oct. 3, 2020. Please contact admin@fplex.org for the link.

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