Theodore Henry "Ted" Geballe

Theodore H. Geballe

Theodore Henry (Ted) Geballe died peacefully at home on October 23, 2021. Born on January 20, 1920, he grew up in San Francisco with his parents, Oscar and Alice (Glaser) Geballe, and his older brother Ron. While majoring in chemistry at UC Berkeley, he met Frances (Sissy) Koshland. They were married for 77 years, until Sissy's death two years ago. Ted served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II, after which he returned to Berkeley to do his doctoral work. He and Sissy started their family, then moved to Summit, New Jersey, where Ted enjoyed amazing freedom at Bell Labs to pursue pure science, mainly in the field of superconductivity. During the 15 years he spent in the East, he established numerous lifelong personal and professional friendships. In 1967, he moved back to join the young Applied Physics Department at Stanford, where he spent the next 54 years, made more close friends, and mentored many young scientists who went on to productive careers. During the past 20 years, he particularly enjoyed co-teaching an undergraduate seminar about energy options for the 21st century. His passions included reading, playing tennis, swimming in Lake Tahoe, and eating artichokes. His loyalty to both Cal and Stanford was reflected in a favorite hat with dual logos. He had a warm and generous heart, an optimistic spirit, and wide-ranging curiosity, all of which lasted past his hundredth birthday. He is survived by 6 children, 16 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and many close in-laws, nieces, and nephews. In lieu of flowers, he would ask that you keep your carbon footprint low.