Richard "Dick" Halverson

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University of Hawaii University of Minnesota University of North Dakota

Richard Halverson Obituary

Halverson, Richard "Dick" Peyton Richard "Dick" Halverson 76 of Honolulu, Hawaii Died peacefully at his home on Sunday July 1, 2007. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 21, 2007 at ST. JOHN'S BY THE SEA CHURCH, 47-074 Lihikai Drive, Kahalu'u, Hawaii. Visitation will begin at 9AM, service at 10AM, with lunch to follow. Dick was born September 16, 1930, the first son to Orpheus and Lillian (Sorenson) Halverson in Northwood, North Dakota. After graduating from the University of North Dakota, he served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. While stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, he obtained his Master's Degree at the Ohio State University where he met his future wife, Sau Hung Young, of Honolulu Hawaii. In 1954 he began his career in Minneapolis Minnesota as an electrical engineer at Engineering Research Associates (predecessor to Sperry Univac then Unisys). He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1961 then joined the faculty as an associate professor, where he developed the university's first courses in digital systems and computer design. Dick was always an entrepreneur at heart. While a professor at Minnesota and the University of Hawaii (from 1982), he helped found several companies, receiving several U.S. patents for inventions involving computers and digital devices. In 1954 he was united in marriage to Sau Hung Young. This union was blessed with three children: Richard (Christine David) Halverson Jr. of Honolulu, Hawaii, William (Dawn) Halverson of Belle Plaine, Minnesota and Lise Ann Halverson of Honolulu, Hawaii. Four grandchildren: Annalise Halverson of Honolulu, Hawaii, John-William, Shayna-Marie, and Leilani Halverson of Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Two brothers: David (Terry) Halverson of Clifton Park, New York, Hugh "Chuck" (Elaine) Halverson of Roseville, Minnesota, and Ruth Ann (Mervyn) Bjerke of Plymouth, Minnesota. Several nieces and nephews. Dick was active in his church, where he served as the Bishop's Warden. He also served on the Bishop's committee, the church choir and several other positions. He was a member of the Honolulu Opera Chorus for a number of years. He served on his neighborhood board and was active in politics. Dick also enjoyed golfing. He could always be found with a pencil, ready for a great crossword puzzle. He is preceded in death by his wife and his parents. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. John's By The Sea Church, 47-074 Lihikai Drive, Kahaluu, Hawaii, 96744. Internment will be at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), Honolulu, Hawaii.

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Published by Pioneer Press on Jul. 15, 2007.

Memories and Condolences
for Richard Halverson

8 Entries

Steve Serber

July 23, 2007

I had the honor of working with Prof. Halverson in several venues. I found him to be among the best EE instructors at Minnesota. He had the gift of taking complex topics, breaking them down into manageable pieces, and re-assembling them in a logical sequence that made them easy to understand. As my honors project advisor, he was always there with helpful hints, encouraging words, and oodles of parts samples to keep the project on track. Finally, it was a thrill to work W0ZHN on the amateur airwaves where he was a highly regarded “brass pounder”. My sincere condolences to the Halverson family, and my thanks to you for sharing Dick with us.

M.J. Wedemeyer

July 20, 2007

Sorry to hear about Dick's passing. My sympathy goes out to his family. I will always remember him as someone who loved a challenge--whether it was a crossword or sodoku puzzle--or an engineering problem. I still have a stick note on my monitor about an idea I wanted to run-passed him. He was always helpful with concepts and would give you the shirt off his back if that is what he thought you needed. And it all came with a big laugh. Aloha Dick.

Robert Fehr

July 17, 2007

My sincere condolences to Dr. Halverson's family and friends. He taught some of the most useful and inspiring EE classes I ever took while I was at the U of M. I was saddened by this news.

Lionel Bening

July 16, 2007

Among highlights of my U of MN days, Halvorson's honors class stands among the highest. His warmth, kindness, sense of humor, and teaching skill always impressed our class. Translating his wisdom that "the best engineers are the laziest" into a quest for low-cost, simple engineering solutions served me well throughout my engineering career.

Clifford Barraclough

July 16, 2007

We shallalways remember Dick's great sense of humor and wonderful tenor voice. He was a tremendous asset to our choir at St.John's-By-the-Sea in Kahaluu, Hawaii.

Danielle Juzan

July 16, 2007

We knew Dick when we lived in Honolulu from 1988-1991. One Saturday we came out of the building supply store with a carload of lumber we'd impulsively (and stupidly) bought to build a bookshelf--and no way to transport it with our Honda Civic! Miraculously, there was Dick, whom we'd just met at church a few weeks before, in the parking lot with his truck. He insisted on toting our lumber to the woodworking shop on base and would hardly accept our thanks, let alone any money. I will always remember him saying, "Just pass it on."

Later, when I knew Dick better, I encouraged him to audition for the opera chorus, assuring him that his big tenor would be eagerly welcomed. It gave me so much pleasure to see how much he enjoyed participating in the opera and other theater productions from then on.

We helped with a couple of church luaus while we were at St. John's, and we got a kick out of Dick's little joke when he served tourists who were a bit bewildered by all the exotic foods with strange names like poke, lomi salmon and haupia. They'd finally get to Dick at the end of the line, standing behind the nice, safe pan of frosted sheet cake. Then he'd say, with a perfectly straight face, "This is called 'kah-kay.'"

Although it's been years since we've seen Dick I still think of him often and will always remember his steadfast good humor.

Dick Petschauer

July 15, 2007

I met Dick shortly after he received his Ph.D. when I worked at Sperry Univac in St.Paul and he was doing consulting work there. I have met many engineers in my career and he was one of the brightest and very energetic too. I lost contact with him when he moved to Hawaii. He was about 50 then clean shaven then. But I recognized his peircing, yet friendly, eyes right away from the picture in the obituary.

Ted Szczech

July 15, 2007

I had Dick as an honors section professor at the U of MN. He was not only an outstanding teacher and fine individual but the most brilliant engineer that I've personally known.

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