David Thomas Magill

1935 - 2014

David Thomas (Tom) Magill
May 14, 1935- July 29, 2014
Palo Alto
Tom Magill was born in Evanston, IL to parents Mabel L. Raymond and David Tristan Magill. He attended Evanston Township High School, graduating in 1953. Tom received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University in 1957, and an MSE and PhD in Communication Theory at Stanford in 1962. He married Mary Elizabeth Carmine in August, 1957. They settled in Palo Alto where they raised their four children. They separated in 1979, and in 1981 Tom married his second wife, Adina Katin.
For more than four decades, Tom had a successful career as an electrical engineer, working at Lockheed, Philco Ford, Stanford Research Institute (SRI International), Stanford Telecom and Advanced Broadband Communications. He specialized in the design and testing of advanced telecommunications systems and components. He was internationally recognized as an expert in spread spectrum and multiple access techniques. He worked on TDMA, GPS, WiFi and other technologies to improve communication for both commercial and military applications. Over his professional career, Tom was granted 11 patents and published 28 papers. Active in the IEEE, Tom volunteered in several key chapter positions. His major contributions include the development of the first analog delay-lock loop as well as his PhD thesis on optimal adaptive estimation which is still internationally recognized as the seminal paper pioneering the still active field of Multiple Model Estimation.
While Tom was focused and successful in his career, he had many hobbies which he shared with friends and family. Most notably, Tom was memorable for his wicked sense of humor, and his creativity with practical jokes. He was very active in sports, playing volleyball, swimming, and running long before the jogging "craze" of the 1970's. He loved good food, especially Asian foods, and was always on the hunt for a good pastrami sandwich. Tom found peace bird watching and spent many weekend mornings at the Palo Alto Baylands with his binoculars. He was an avid gardener, and was particularly proud of his roses. When his children were young, Tom was an active member of the Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist fellowship where he helped out with youth programs. His love for physical activities was shared with his children on weekends at Rinconada park and pool, and camping in Northern California and Oregon.
At age 60, Tom was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He fought a long and valiant battle against the increasing neurological issues associated with the disease. While independent for many years, for the past seven years he had been residing at the Nazareth Classic Care Community in Menlo Park, whose staff has been both generous and patient in his care.
Tom is survived by his wife Adina and her son Ron Baraze, and Tom's four children and five grandchildren: Catherine Magill and son-in-law Chuck Sholtz of Palo Alto, grandchildren Alex and Sophia; Diana Heinzmann and son-in-law Jud Heinzmann of Los Altos, grandchildren Colin and Trevor; Michael Magill of Santa Rosa; and Elizabeth (Deedy) Magill of Mt. View, grandchild Marisol. He was preceded in death by his parents and younger sister Mary (Magill) Damavandi of Ridgewood, New Jersey.
If you would like to make a donation in his memory, please contact the Parkinson's Institute: http://www.thepi.org/giving-to-the-institute/