Donald James Birmingham

Donald James Birmingham, 86, beloved husband of Barbara, passed away on August 25, 2019, surrounded by his wife and four daughters after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. He will always be remembered for his tremendous generosity and steadfast love and dedication to his family. Don was proceeded in death by his parents, his sister Sheila Giangrasso, and his first wife Marilyn Steffan Birmingham. He is survived by his wife Barbara, his younger siblings Kevin (Jeannie) Birmingham, Jack (Mariann) Birmingham, Kathleen Birmingham and Patricia (Pat) Scanlon; his children Mary Susan Birmingham, Moira-Shannon Birmingham, Meghan Birmingham Leader, Maureen Birmingham Freeman (Michael) and Donald J. Birmingham II; his grandchildren Matthew and Julia Birmingham, Spencer, Beatrice and Harrison Leader, Andrew, Emma, Jack and William Freeman, and Seamus Birmingham; and his great-grandson Miles Freeman.

Don was born on October 15, 1932 in Long Beach, Ca. to Irene (Nevin) and Donald. The oldest son of six children, he was raised in Aberdeen, Washington. He received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University in 1954. He was a member of the distinguished Army Signal Corps and served as the commanding officer of two different mobile television units. His units monitored some of the early missile firings at Cape Canaveral, FL in 1957 and produced live broadcasts from Fort Benning. He was honorably discharged from the Army as a First Lieutenant and went to work for RCA in the Los Angeles area. He met the mother of his five children, Marilyn Steffan, at a Catholic social and eight months later they were married on October 17, 1959.

In 1960, Don went to work for GE in Phoenix, where he collaborated with Arnold Spielberg (Steven Spielberg's father) in his groundbreaking work on computer controlled point of sale cash registers. In 1964, after the birth of his first two children, Don returned to California where he was a founding member of the Silicon Valley start-up, Data Pathing Inc. (DPI). At DPI, Don pioneered the first all-electronic data collection system. The use of the system by its fifth customer, National Cash Register (NCR), was so successful that it led NCR to purchase DPI nine years later. During this time, Don and Marilyn built a home in Mountain View, where they lived for the next 20 years and welcomed their remaining three children. Don was instrumental in the issuance of many patents while at RCA, GE and NCR. In 1983, the same year he was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia (CLL), Don left NCR to launch a consulting business. In 1985, Don moved to Lake Forest where he lived until 2004. He spent the remainder of his life in Southern California.

At the time he was first diagnosed with CLL, Don was told his prognosis included a five year life expectancy. As he did throughout his personal life and professional career, Don was determined to set a new path. He lived with CLL for more than 34 years, until it transformed into Richter's Syndrome and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in February 2018.

In 1993, Don retired from his business ventures and in 1995 he lost his first wife to her battle with breast cancer. After her death, Don was blessed to find love again and in 2006 he married Barbara Parker in San Diego. Don and Barbara spent many years traveling the world together, participating in their church and enjoying their children and grandchildren. Don had a love of photography and genealogy. He was a historian beyond the family tree and authored two historical fictions about medieval Ireland. Don instilled a tremendous work ethic in his children, but his enduring legacy is his love of family.

Family and friends are invited to a rosary at 4pm at Mission San Luis Rey, 4050 Mission Avenue, Oceanside on Thursday, September 5th and a funeral mass at 10:00am at the Church of St. Timothy, 2960 Canyon Road, Escondido on Friday, September 6th. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Lightbridge Hospice Community Foundation, 6155 Cornerstone Court East, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 92121 or donate online www.lbhcf.org.