Francis E. Goodwin

Francis E. (Frank) Goodwin Francis E. (Frank) Goodwin, 81, born in Hastings, Nebraska on September 7, 1927 to Margaret and Francis, passed away on May 21, 2009 in Thousand Oaks, CA. He is survived by his children, Glenda, Teresa, and Neal; his grandchildren, Jessica, Rebecca, Rio, and Erin; his sisters, Lucille and Jeanette; and his brother, Richard. He was preceded in death by his wife, Gayle; by his partner, Joy Yates; and by sisters, Margaret, Mary, and Lorene; and brothers, John and Jim. He proudly served in the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II, and in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He graduated from UCLA with a master's degree in physics, and worked for Hughes Aircraft Company in Malibu and El Segundo for 30 years, retiring as Chief Scientist in the Laser & Electro-Optical Laboratory. After retirement from Hughes, he worked as a consultant for TRW, and in 1987 partnered in forming Digital Optronics Corp (now MetricVision in Newington, VA), which manufactures Coherent Laser Radar products for Precision Measurement. He co-authored 17 technical patents, and is considered to be a pioneer in the field of Photonics. After retirement he lived in Austin, Texas where he had many friends and was active in local Parkinson's disease support groups. A graveside Memorial was held at Oakwood Memorial Park, 22601 Lassen St, Chatsworth, CA 92311 on May 28, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Contact: Griffin Family Funeral Chapels at (805) 230-2800. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to The Parkinson's Disease Foundation (www.pdf.org).