Lasting Memories

Thomas Henry Corbin
Nov. 6, 1927-Nov. 30, 2012
Scottsdale, Arizona

Silicon Valley Pioneer Thomas Henry Corbin, Nov. 6, 1927-Nov. 30, 2012.

Thomas Henry Corbin passed away at 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2012, in his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., after a long illness. He was 85 years old. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; two sons, David and Ted; two daughters, Catherine and Marje; and a step-daughter, Karin Wiseman. He also has three grandchildren and one great grandchild. A dog lover his whole life, he would also want to mention his beloved Beagle, Sonny.

Mr. Corbin was a pioneer of Silicon Valley, having come to Palo Alto, Calif., in 1955 with no job prospects and only a few years experience as a junior engineer under his belt. After working for a couple of years at Levinthal Corporation, he founded Corbin-Farnsworth in 1960. As Vice President of operations and Engineering he developed early versions of electronic medical equipment such as cardioscopes, defibrilators, pacemakers and IV delivery systems. He also worked with doctors such as W.B. Kouenhoven at hospitals like Stanford, Johns Hopkins and Mt. Zion to help develop new monitoring and surgical procedures as well as emergency medical procedures such as CPR. He was also a pioneer in the world of venture capital, working with Bill Draper of Draper, Gaither and Anderson to fund the growth of his company and eventually selling out to the Pharmaceutical company Smith Kline and French.

He later became a significant real estate developer, first in Palo Alto and later on the island of Maui where he moved in 1976. In 1996, he moved to Scottsdale where he continued to dabble in real estate and began to test the waters as an author of both non-fiction and fiction. His first work of non-fiction is titled "Harthrob" and chronicles his career(s) in both the medical electronics field and real estate. His fiction features super detective Roque Durand and includes the titles "Rowlinda" and "Noo Yawk Lady."

A memorial service for Mr. Corbin will be held at a date TBD.