Paul R. Wickliffe Jr.

WICKLIFFE PAUL R., JR., 81, born in Louisville, KY, died on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 in Summit, NJ, where he has resided since 1954. He graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Virginia before serving in the Army in World War II. He received a second- alternate appointment to West Point and later earned degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue and MIT. His entire working career was spent with Bell Telephone Laboratories at Murray Hill and Holmdel in New Jersey. One of his earliest assignments was for the design and installation of a microwave relay system that formed the backbone of AT&T's long distance service across the country. He headed a group that pioneered telephone service aboard trains and found a way to provide continuous service through the rail tunnels of Baltimore for the Metroliner train. Among other projects, he collaborated with the British Post Office to provide overseas networks, and supervised a group that participated in the Telstar communication satellite program. He was in charge of a group that developed the electronics for transmitting video from one central office to another for the Picturephone service. He was given a "rush job" to design, fabricate, and operate a system for fiber optic transmission for broadcast from the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980. It was another pioneering event in which he was the first person to ever send TV over optical fiber cable. He is survived by his wife, Mary; a son Paul III; a daughter-in-law Roseanna; and a granddaughter, Sarah. A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Friday, December 8, 2006 at Central Presbyterian Church. Interment is at Evergreen Cemetery in Greenville, KY. Memorials may be made to Central Presbyterian Church, 80 Maple Street in Summit, NJ, or to First Presbyterian Church in Greenville, KY.