John E Egbert
April 19, 1922-Jan. 5, 2017
Portola Valley, California
John "Jack" E. Egbert April 19, 1922–January 5, 2017
John E. Egbert, longtime resident of Portola Valley, California, died peacefully in his sleep on January 5, 2017. He was 94.
Jack, as his friends and family knew him, was born on April 19, 1922, and grew up in Buffalo, New York. After attending Middlebury College in Vermont, where he was a member of Chi Psi, Jack graduated in 1944 with honors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
While at MIT, Jack enlisted in the U.S. Navy V-12 Program and Midshipman School at Annapolis, MD, followed by Radar School.
In December 1944, Jack was deployed as a United States Navy officer to Pearl Harbor for advanced radar training. From June 1945 through June 1946, he worked as an instructor at the Fleet Radar School. Following WWII, Jack continued his radar duty as a Navy reserve officer aboard submarines.
In 1946, Jack started his mechanical engineering career working as a designer for an aerospace company in Newton, Massachusetts, eventually becoming its National Sales Manager.
In 1958 he was hired by Minneapolis Honeywell Aerospace and relocated to California.
Two years later, in 1960, Jack founded his own corporation in Palo Alto, Egbert Engineering, specializing in sales within the aerospace industry. He retired in the early 2000s.
Jack was an original entrepreneur in the computer industry. In the early 1980s, at the dawn of the personal computer, Jack developed a Random Access Database System called "Filemate," for TRS-80 computers. His last contribution to the computer industry was in the 1990s for "Talarian," a provider of real-time infrastructure software. Jack served on its board of directors.
Jack married Lynne Forbis in 1951 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. They celebrated 52 years of marriage until her passing in 2003.
Jack and Lynne were founding members of the Alpine Hills Tennis and Swim Club in Portola Valley, joining in 1959. He was an active tennis player and enjoyed the social scene, but his favorite pastime at the club was playing bridge, a game he mastered.
In 1960, Jack designed and built his dream house on an acre of oak woodland in Portola Valley and spent 56 happy years there.
In their senior years, Jack and Lynne enjoyed travel overseas, including their annual trip to Hawaii. After returning home, however, Jack would say that the most beautiful view in the world was from his deck — he loved the rolling hills and evergreen trees of the Valley.
Jack also loved small boats and sailed competitively on the San Francisco Bay, winning numerous championships. Jack, his family and friends had good times at the Palo Alto Yacht club for many years.
Jack was also an avid skier and runner. He ran his last San Francisco "Bay to Breakers" race at the age of 65.
Jack was known for his relentless work ethic, lifelong passion for learning, as well as a big smile, unmatchable charisma, quick wit, and genuine care for others. He will be greatly missed.
Jack is survived by his four sons, Steve Egbert of Carmel Valley, CA, Scott and his wife Venda Egbert of Medford, OR, John and his wife Shaun Egbert of Scotts Valley, CA, and Jeff and Alicja Egbert of Oakland, CA; his three grandchildren, Scott Jesse, Gina, Daniel; three great grandchildren; as well as his youngest sister, Alice Stevenson of Los Angeles, and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service is pending.
Tags: business
