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David Milder Obituary
February 12, 1938 - December 12, 2009
Michael Milder, physicist and family man, died at his home in Pacific Palisades, California of kidney cancer. He was seventy-one years old. Born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Michael graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1955. He was a physics major at The California Institute of Technology, where he received his BA in 1959. He went on to receive his PhD in physics from Harvard University in 1968. He was employed at Tetra Tech in Pasadena, California from 1968-1972, R & D Associates in Santa Monica, California from 1972-1975, and at Physical Dynamics in Santa Monica, California from 1975-1976. In 1976, he became a founding partner, along with Frank Fernandez, Ken Nelson and Dick Ziemer, of Arete Associates, Inc., a thriving research and development company that serves national security needs, with offices in California, Virginia, Arizona, Florida and Colorado. In 1996, he received a Certificate of Commendation from The Secretary of the Navy for his "leadership, creativity and extraordinary technical insight" which were "fundamental to one of the Navy's most complex and challenging science and technology programs." In 2007, Michael established a permanent, endowed, need-based scholarship at Caltech, in honor of George P. Mayhew, the Master of Student Houses during Michael's years of study there. Throughout his life, Michael valued his "obsessions," beginning with ham radio in his youth; music, including singing in the a capella world-music group "Song of Earth"; photography; and eighteen years of soccer refereeing for Pacific Palisades AYSO. His greatest intellectual obsession was physics, where his natural curiosity combined with his ability to embrace paradoxes, enabling him to "trip over" seemingly insoluble contradictions that eventually led to new understandings in wave theory. Known for his integrity, wisdom and compassion, Michael was beloved by his family, friends and colleagues. He is survived by his wife, Maureen (Mo) McGee, of Pacific Palisades, California, and their two sons, Sam, of Barcelona, Spain, and Max, a junior at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, whom he loved dearly and who were his greatest source of pride, and his cousins Nancy Schimmel of Berkeley, California, and Marissa Mei of Grass Valley, California. A private memorial will be held for him at Caltech in January, 2010. Memorial donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders (http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org.) Through his words and his actions Michael offered his sons this exhortation: "Find your heart's desire, and follow it."
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Memories and Condolences
for David Milder
Sponsored by anonymous.
December 21, 2023
Rest in peace dearest Michael.. and say hi to Ken and Dick and Judy. You all were so special to so many.. me especially. XO carol
Carol Archer
December 22, 2022
You were a vvv special, Michael, and I was vvv fortunate to know you. Unforgettable, really! XO
Johanna Mayhew Lessinger
June 28, 2011
I never got to meet Dr. Wilder, but will honor his memory because he established a scholarship fund at Cal Tech in honor of my beloved father, George Mayhew. I take this opportunity, belatedly but with deep sorrow, to extend my condolences and sympathy to Michael's wife and children.
Carol Archer
January 18, 2010
Dear Mo, Max and Sam,
It is very hard to put into words how much Michael meant to me -- I knew him most of my life -- from 25-60 -- a very long time. He was truly an inspiration, and my association with him through Arete Associates was a lifetime treasure. My heart goes out to you Mo and your incredible sons. I hope one of these days we can get together and remember when. What an incredible man. The world will not be the same without him in it. But lucky are those who had the pleasure of knowing him. ( He would probably be all over this with his red pen re sentence structure! )
Love,
Carol and Hugh
Employees of Arete Associates
January 5, 2010
Mike Milder was both the heart and the intellectual core of Arete Associates. His unwavering desire for technical excellence has become the trademark of Arete and its people. As a company founder, owner, and board member, Mike was a powerful advocate for Arete and its employees. This advocacy ranged from Mike helping establish employee ownership to his serving as cultural custodian. The small company he helped found in 1975 is now over 300 people strong and has eight offices in seven locations. As the company inevitably continues to change, the most fitting tribute Arete can make to Mike is to preserve the principle of excellence underlying the company, a principle that he exemplified in every respect.
Mike articulated the value of identifying and solving challenging problems that would engage our staff and make a difference for our nation. It was always a company priority with Mike that Arete provide an environment where talented employees could perform interesting and satisfying work. Mike's ethical sense was also a foundation for our company culture.
Remembering Mike Milder and his life, we are reminded of the novelist, Barbara Delinsky, comparing real intelligence to a river: "the deeper it is, the less noise it makes." All of us at Arete Associates have been diminished by Mike's death, and we all will miss his profound and quiet voice.
Barbara Herzberg
January 4, 2010
Thankfully I was able to write most of what I wanted to say to and about Michael in a letter, which he received. However, I wish to add my "voice" to those whose are already "on record."
Although Mike and I knew each other in our youths in Cambridge, we never lost touch. One of his many gifts was the ability to maintain friendships over time and space.
Another gift was his genuine appreciation of the accomplishments of others and the pleasure he could take in the pleasures of others.
He was a dear man and a cherished friend.
My love to Mo, Sam and Max (perhaps his greatest "accomplishments.")
Barb (Joseph) Herzberg
Mike Downs
December 30, 2009
Tacked somewhat incongruously to the bulletin board in my school administrator office, among mundane work related items, is a single folded page of sheet music. It’s been there for a few years now. And as I look at it, I can hear the three part harmonies, and Michael’s voice carrying the base line. Dos Palomitas, the South American song arranged, in this case, for men’s voices. I seem to remember that Michael brought the song to the group – Song of Earth Chorus – but I could be mistaken. I recall that he cared very much about the proper pronunciation. “A dentalized ‘D’,” I recall him telling us, demonstrating as he did so.
He was always so kind to me, so welcoming and appreciative in his quiet way. Though I have not seen him in close to a decade, I think of him every time my eye passes over the folded sheet of music. Can’t believe he’s gone. Half a page, a few lines about doves, crying, I think. Lovely harmonies, men singing together. Thanks, Michael.
Ronit and I send our love to Mo, Sam and Max.
Quentin Navia
December 29, 2009
We celebrate the life of Mike, our friend much loved. It was a joy to know you both as you dated, to have played the music at your wedding and to have stayed with you so many happy times during our tours to the south.
It is said, in truth, that there is no death. Life cannot die. The coating uses up, the form disintergrates, but Life Is - is always there.
His creative Presence is everywhere he is remembered.
Mo, much love to you, Sam and Max
Quentin & Eddy Navia
SUKAY
Frank & Carmen Fernandez
December 28, 2009
Mo, Sam, Max
As you know, I knew mike for a pretty long time. He was family and I will never stop missing him. He helped to make Arete what it is, today and has left a true legacy of "students" who he mentored and to whom he taught the true meaning of the word, "Arete". It is, after all, all about quality.
Our love and condolences to you all and I just know that Mike and Ken are both enjoying a smoke at this very moment.
Frank & Carmen Fernandez
Lee Geisel
December 28, 2009
Dear Mo: As you know, I never had the chance to meet your wonderful husband, Michael, but having known you for EVAH, I know he was an exceptionally talented and loving man. I know he will be truly missed by you, your family and many others. And how wonderful that he continued to contribute to the good of society, even after his passing, by his donation. You and yours should consider your good fortune in having such a person as part of your lives. Love,
Lee Geisel
December 28, 2009
Michael and I were "boy scientists" together in Van Nuys during our junior high school years. We made crystal radios and experimented with electronics and high voltage. We strung an antenna and communications wire across the courtyard between our apartments. I've often reflected on how lucky I was to have known him in those formative years. It was a key factor in launching my own technical career and lifelong love of science.
Alan Adler
Los Altos, California
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Adler
David Levin
December 27, 2009
Mo, Sam, and Max,
I did not have the honor of meeting Michael, but I feel blessed to have known of him and the love he showered on all of you.
He will live on in your hearts, in all you are and become; and may his memory be a blessing.
With our sympathy and love,
David, Darcy, Alex, and Ilan.
Mike Todd
December 27, 2009
I am saddened by the passing of a true gentleman and a loyal friend of many years.
As a newcomer to refereeing Mike was a guiding light to me.I cherish our days together on the field with the AYSO and the YMCA.A weekend in Tucson where I always maintain that I went to as a beginner and,thanks to Mike's instruction and advice,came back as a referee.
I'll alway remember my times with Mike as a fellow referee and friend of the family fondly.You could not meet a nicer man in a day's walk.
His legacy is a loving wife (Mo) and two sons that are a credit to him.
My heart goes out to them all.
Be in peace,Mike.
Mike Todd
Howard Kramer
December 27, 2009
Michael and I became friends in graduate school and for life. Among the many very bright physics students at Harvard, Mike stood out. He had a gift for understanding sophisticated mathematical equations in terms of their implications for the physical world, a translation few could see so clearly. I have fond memories of parties, double dates, and quiet hours watching old movies on TV with my friend. Michael’s loss reflects the arbitrariness of illness, which can be tragically unfair. Goodbye Michael. I miss you already.
pauline Gehrmann
December 27, 2009
Michael was a man of great wisdom, selflessness, humility and tremendous love for his family. We will miss him so very much.
December 27, 2009
Mike was a great friend. We shared many things in common having been born in the same hospital, being together at Los Angeles High School and rooming together for two years at CalTech. Things that were obtuse to most were intuitively obvious to Mike. Judy and I will both miss not seeing him on our trips to California.
Jerry Arenson
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