Bert Van Zyl

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He was born in Orange City, Iowa, November 30, 1935, the fourth child of Lillian (Vanden Berg) and Bert Van Zyl. Two sisters and his father died before he was born, and he was raised by his widowed mother and much older brother Kenneth, whom he idolized. He attended grade schools in Hospers, Rock Valley, and Sioux Center, Iowa, and upper grades in Orange City, graduating in 1953.

After high school, Bert moved to McMinnville, Oregon, where he lived with his brother and his family. Bert entered Linfield College at McMinnville in 1953 where he majored in physics and sang in the college a cappella choir. There he met his first love, fellow student Dorothy Ann Pursian. They were married in 1956. Their daughter Kim was born in 1957 just before Bert’s graduation from Linfield.

Bert attended graduate school at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, for 1957’s fall quarter, but returned to the Pacific Northwest in December when Dorothy’s health deteriorated. She died December 25, 1957.

Bert entered the University of Washington’s graduate program in physics in January 1958, where he received his PhD in November 1963, successfully defending his thesis on November 22, 1963.

Bert married Virginia Blackburn, also a student at UW, on December 19, 1959 in her hometown Kirkland, Washington. They had two children, daughter Suzanne and son Bert K., who joined big sister Kim to complete the family.

Bert did post graduate work at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) at CU-Boulder for two years. He continued his research at what was then General Motors Defense Laboratories in Santa Barbara, California from 1966 to 1972. When that facility underwent a reorganization, Bert again worked at JILA on a special assignment for the National Bureau of Standards.

He affiliated with the University of Denver in 1973, becoming a Research Professor, where he mentored several graduate students over the years and continued his laboratory research into the atomic and molecular reactions taking place in the proton aurora. He was supported for nearly 25 years in this research by the National Science Foundation and made significant contributions to his field of study and to the University of Denver. His work resulted in numerous scientific publications, speaking engagements, and culminated with an invitation to present an overview of his career’s research at the XVIII International Conference on the Physics of Electronic and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC) at Aarhus University in Denmark.

Bert always maintained that physics was his hobby as well as his career, and he continued his studies after retirement in 1999, with a final paper published in 2014 and, until a few months before he died, he was analyzing additional data in hopes of producing another paper

Bert’s love of physics was surpassed only by his love for his family. He enjoyed hiking in the mountains with the family or just he and his son, especially exploring the old narrow gauge railroad lines. Bert took an active role in Boy Scouts while his son was in Scouting, leading the boys on extended backpacking trips. He and his son built an elaborate model railroad layout in the basement. There were also frequent excursions with the family to the mountains, to historical sites or museums, or the Pacific Coast ocean beaches. He grew a large vegetable garden and was very particular about the care of his yard and house. His retirement brought more opportunities for travel, researching his family history, and quality time spent with the grandchildren.

Music was always an important part of his life. He learned to play the trumpet as a boy, and played in the high school band, sang in the college choir, and taught himself the guitar as a young man. He engendered a love of music in his children and took enormous pride in their academic and musical accomplishments.

Bert was preceded in death by his parents, brother, and a niece, Rozanne Van Zyl. He is survived by his wife Virginia, daughter Kim (Bob) Bucklin, daughter Suzanne (Marc) Smyrl, and son Bert K. Van Zyl, all of Centennial; niece Dee Dee Van Zyl; grandchildren Erika, Brandon, Anne, and Jeremy; and great-grandchildren Tesla and Logan.

Private burial services at Olinger Chapel Hills cemetery. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, June 9, 2016, at Olinger Chapel Hill.