Gilbert La Vean

1933 - 2020

Gilbert Earl La Vean passed away in Berryville, VA 16 February, 2020, at the age of 86.
La Vean was born in Saranac MI in 1933, the son of Marion Gilbert La Vean and Lucy Hanna La Vean. He graduated from Saranac High School in 1952 along with his soon to be wife Barbara Cowels. They married in Clarksville on 12 September, 1953.
He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State University in 1955 and master degree in electrical engineering from Drexel Institute of Technology in 1961, and was commissioned into the Ordnance Corps in 1955. In 1975 he graduated from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and in 1979, with the creation of the Senior Executive Service, was in the first class of SES members of the Department of Defense.
Gilbert La Vean was one of the founding officers of the Defense Communications Agency, now Defense Information Systems Agency – DISA, and retired as Associate Director. During his tenure at DCA he was responsible for many innovations in secured communications and is the listed patentee on numerous patents. Some of his patents became fundamental to CDMA architecture and secured data and voice transmission.
Some projects that La Vean became involved in a supervisory role included the guidance systems for Talos Missiles, the communication architecture for Air Force One and Looking Glass, as well as NATO interoperability. He was also on the negotiating team for SALT II, specifically for frequency allocation and Satellite Positioning. His ICAF paper on the survivability of the communications systems after a Soviet Nuclear Strike was ordered to be printed and circulated DOD wide.
One of his favorite early stories was about testing for EMP which in the 60s could only be done by flying into a thunderstorm. After a particularly bumpy flight he noticed there were some anomalies so he wanted to make another pass through the storm. The pilot in command said "no sir we are not going back in there". He always smiled when he finished this story by saying that the Army was willing but the Air Force wasn't.
After his retirement he was a vice president at International Mobile Machine where he continued his work on development of communication infrastructure and adding to his patent portfolio. His insight also made him a highly sought after expert trial witness as a number of the communications patents that were issued in the cold war were declassified and became the subject of litigation.
He was active in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) of the United Nations and was a life member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. He was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.
He is survived by his wife Barbara and three children, Michael La Vean, Sherrey Oliverez (Manny), and Shawnn Morgan (Monte), eight grandchildren Madeleine La Vean, Manny Oliverez, Steve Oliverez, Nickki Hendrix (Sam) Tom Oliverez, Jessie Morgan, Jamie Morgan and Jordan Morgan as well as seven great Grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his brother Duane La Vean (interred in Saranac) and his son Major Mitchell Craig La Vean, USAF (interred in Arlington National Cemetery).