Orville Joseph Golub

1915 - 2015

August 24, 1915 - September 28, 2015 Orville Joseph Golub saw his last sunset on September 28, 2015 in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Born to Edith and Simon Golub on August 24, 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri, Orv was a compassionate spirit with a grateful heart. Wise, witty, and wonderful, he lived well and was well loved for one hundred years. Orv grew up in Seattle, Washington with his loving parents and older brother, Stanley, who joined the family jewelry business, Simon Golub & Sons. Orv graduated from the University of Washington (B.S., 1936, M.S., 1938) and received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1944. Orv met the love of his life, Ellina Marx Jacobs, by the Great Fireplace at "I" (International) House where they both resided while students at Cal. Orv and Elli were married in San Francisco on June 15, 1941, and honeymooned in Carmel. During WW II, he served in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Commander and was stationed at Camp (Fort) Detrick, Maryland to conduct research in virology. In 1948, Orville J. Golub, Ph.D., returned to civilian life and, with three colleagues, founded Bio-Science Laboratories in Los Angeles. For the first time, physicians had global access to a clinical reference laboratory for diagnostic testing. Dr. Golub directed the promotional development of Bio-Science Laboratories. The BSL motto, "There is no substitute for integrity," were words by which he lived. With his keen intellect and philosophical humor, Orv weathered the "trials and tribulations" of scientific endeavors the same way he navigated the "Sturm und Drang" of family life---on an "even keel." To his chagrin, there is still no cure for the common cold yet there is for an internet virus. The Golubs raised five children and three Yorkies in Westwood, where Orv enjoyed the company of good friends, golf, and cultural events. He was an esteemed member of The PLATO Society of Los Angeles and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the UCLA School of Medicine. For four decades, annual "Travels with Elli" took him around the world. Orv's camera captured the essence of faraway places and exotic peoples with such an artistic eye that his favorite photographs became shared memories for the entire Golub family. Orv penned witty limericks on postcards and searched for antique microscopes and scientific books while Elli sought treasures for their home. Orv's legacy is The Golub Collection, one of the world's finest collections of antique microscopes, on permanent display at the UCB Life Sciences Building. (Steve Ruzin, Ph.D.,Curator). http://golubcollection.berkeley.edu/. He served on the Lawrence Hall of Science Advisory Council and was honored to be a Berkeley Fellow and Builder of Berkeley. Thirty years after their honeymoon in idyllic Carmel, the Golubs returned to build their dream home, "C'est la View." Overlooking the ocean, Orv marveled at the spectacular sunsets and toasted his fortunate life. For the past fifteen years, daughter Laura lived with her parents and tended to their every need as the proverbial "chauffeur, chef, and Sherpa." Laura and her husband, Tom, were devoted caregivers for Orv after Elli's passing in 2008 and the family is forever grateful. Orville Joseph Golub is survived by his five children, Judith Marx Golub, Jeffrey Norman Golub (Martha), Cary Lurie, Laura Overett (Tom), Katherine Smith, ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, sister-in-law Adele Golub, nieces Carol Harris and Susan Golub and nephew Stanley Golub. Friends and family who wish to make memorial contributions to The Golub Collection may send checks payable to "UC Berkeley Foundation," specifying "GOLUB Endowment" on the memo line. Mail to UC Berkeley Foundation, 2080 Addison St. #4200, Berkeley, CA 94720-4200