Garth Conboy

Garth Conboy
April 17, 1961 - June 29, 2021 La Jolla, CA Garth Conboy passed away at home on June 29th, 2021, after a long battle with cancer. He was 60.Born to James Conboy and the late Mary Ann (Van Anda) Conboy, Garth grew up in La Jolla, where he attended La Jolla Elementary, Muirlands Middle, and La Jolla High. Interested in chemistry and physical sciences, he was award 1st place numerous years at the San Diego and California Science Fairs. His precocious interest in computer science would serve him well, as he graduated La Jolla High School early to attend UC Berkeley. As a 17-year-old freshman, Garth took a part-time job with Prime Computer in Palo Alto. Young, focused, and intense, he quickly proved he was capable of being more than just a "co-op student." Barely a sophomore, Garth realized, like many of his generation, that the exponential advances in the computer industry were happening faster than academia could keep up with. So, he left Cal to join Prime's Massachusetts office where he became known as a "rock star" facilitating the growth of Prime into international markets. He wasn't yet 20 and he'd filled a passport full of stamps from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Greece while traveling for Prime. He was able to brag for the rest of his life that he was a UC Berkeley drop out. Garth wrote the first C compiler for Prime from a small apartment in Boston. With an entrepreneurial spirit and his mother's help (from the family's dining room in La Jolla) on the marketing and administration end, his first company, Pacer Software, began. Pacer flourished, creating a series of groundbreaking products. Over the next 14 years, the Boston office grew to nearly 50 people, with another 10 in La Jolla. Along with his bi-coastal company, he began a bi-coastal relationship with Laura DuCharme, the project architect designing his parents' La Jolla home. They married in 1991 but it would be four more years before he sold Pacer and moved back full-time to La Jolla. Garth was an only child, while Laura came to the relationship with six raucous siblings who incorporated Garth and his parents into their universe, and frequent family gatherings. They welcomed son, Dane, in 1997 and daughter Ari in 2003. Both attended the same public schools that had been special to Garth. Garth joined SoftBook Press in 1997 as the VP responsible for authoring and building a team creating the pioneering software in SoftBook reading devices, the world's first dedicated electronic book. He eventually was involved with 40 patents in this field. Among Garth's most significant and enduring contributions to digital publishing and humanity was his unwavering commitment to accessibility, enabling people with disabilities to enjoy the benefits of reading. In 2004 Garth co-founded eBook Technologies continuing the development of increasingly capable electronic book reading systems. This led to the acquisition of the company by Google in 2011.

At Google, Garth built and managed a team responsible for the Play Books ebook and audiobook reading systems until his passing. Garth was a trailblazer, leader, mentor, advocate, collaborator, friend, and preternaturally good-natured. He was the epitome of self-effacing and the embodiment of humility; someone so extraordinarily accomplished, mind-blowingly brilliant, and yet so incredibly down-to-earth. Garth's magnetic personality and joyful, humble wit endowed him with a unique ability to bring groups of engineers together to achieve extraordinary things. Garth didn't see problems he saw challenges. Every challenge was an opportunity where he'd muse with colleagues, especially when things were going poorly, that he would be happy to share his "optimism pills" with them. An avid tennis player and fan, Garth enjoyed annual trips to NYC for the US Open tournament with his father, Jim. He made the most out of any business trip but preferred traveling with his family. Despite work travels, Garth rarely missed a Thursday "Date Night" with Laura. In recent years, travel included trips for Ari's lacrosse tournaments, joining a different raucous family Mad Dog and La Jolla High lacrosse parents. He marveled, with pride, how it was possible that Ari could turn out to be the family jock and socialite. He enjoyed, also with pride, following Dane's unique pursuits; music composition, ITG dance machines, and Dane's own interest in computer science. It's been said that Garth was a quintessential Californian: his head and shoulders lifted by an invisible spirit of sunshine-based optimism. He was a reminder that living in a world so lovely should be experienced and enjoyed.Garth leaves behind his beloved family his wife, Laura, son Dane and daughter Ari, his father Jim Conboy, mother-in-law Alton DuCharme, siblings-in-law Steve DuCharme and Patty Becker, Greg DuCharme, Marc DuCharme, Eric DuCharme and Tracy Elvin, Martha DuCharme, Dawn DuCharme and Charlie Grebing, and a score of nieces and nephews.