Alan William Stirling

He was born in East London on October 22nd, 1927. His father passed away when he was nine and just three years later, he was evacuated to the West of England at the beginning of WWII. He returned to London a few months afterwards to help his mother, especially after their home was bombed during the Battle of Britain.

A very bright young lad, Alan graduated from East Ham Grammar and was accepted into University College London’s (UCL) Physics program. Before starting UCL he served in the British Army in Austria just after the war ended. It was during this time that he met the love of his life, Alice Edwards (Eddie) at London’s Winter Garden dance hall. He literally “saw her standing there” across the hall and was smitten immediately. He managed to convince Eddie to marry him in 1951 despite her picture being seen across London as one of the telephone operator stars of a British Telephone campaign that ran after the war.

After UCL Alan began a long career in semi-conductors, first working for Standard Telephone Labs, a division of ITT and while there he was asked to present papers on his research at events in the US just as the US space program was taking off. That led to his being asked by several American tech firms to join their groups as part of what was then known as ‘the British brain drain.’ He chose a position with GE’s Semi-Conductor division in Irmo, SC. Once again, he had to convince Eddie to make an eventful choice – leave London and move to America with their two young kids, son David and daughter Jacky.

Alan & Eddie made their home in Columbia where daughter Beverley was born. Soon after the Apollo program was completed, Alan was transferred to Syracuse, NY where he was at GE’s Electronics Park while Eddie worked at Syracuse University. 13 years later, Alan was transferred again, this time to Raleigh where he worked at GE’s RTP location. He retired from GE in 1986 and Alan & Eddie made their home in Raleigh’s Wood Valley neighborhood for 30 years.

“Stirling College”

Alan hired and mentored many, many young engineers throughout his career. Despite the intense and fiercely competitive nature of both GE and the semi-conductor industry, Alan had no enemies. He also had the rare gift of being able to speak eloquently, without notes, on virtually any occasion. He demonstrated that dozens of times, especially away from work at weddings, funerals and other celebrations – each time leaving audiences wowed by how effortless it appeared.

Alan remained very active in volunteer work during retirement as he worked with United Way, various programs for Seniors and even developed a “poor man’s Internet” in the late 90s for helping needy students to be tutored in Math.

Alan and Eddie made scores of friends in the UK and across the US and the world. Sadly, they both outlived a great many of them, but they always managed to make new friends, most recently at Magnolia Glen Independent Living where they lived since 2017. At Magnolia, Alan started the “Men of the Glen” group so that residents could keep abreast of new technologies as well as do a deeper dive into some of the memorable moments in the past. The Men of the Glen program has spawned a women’s version at Magnolia – “GEMS” – and has also been duplicated at The Cardinal where Alan was in skilled nursing the last weeks of his life.

Alan & Eddie had many wonderful friends at Magnolia Glen and the family especially appreciates the tireless efforts of the staff and the Interim healthcare teams. In many cases, Alan had a chance to know each Interim member quite well and always asked about where they were from and what career aspirations they had. He continued that approach at The Cardinal where the wonderful Skilled Nursing team went out of their way to comfort him and the family.

Alan leaves behind a large and loving family after losing Eddie in 2020, the three children -- David (Shelley), Jacky & Beverley (Glenn Eskow), four grandchildren (Andrew, Christopher, Danielle & Rebecca) and four great grandchildren (Nathan, Ada, Evie & Nora Jane).

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the Salvation Army of Wake County, by using the link below, under 'Donations'. On one of their many visits back to England, Alan & Eddie were returning from Heathrow to Pittsburgh on a USAir flight the morning of September 11th, 2001. Their flight was diverted to Eastern Canada. They were delayed several days and never forgot the incredible support and generosity of the people there, especially the Salvation Army.

A Celebration of Alan's Life was held on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at 11:00am in the Chapel of Mitchell Funeral Home. Officiating will be Rev. Craig Gaither. A private burial will be held at a later time in Raleigh Memorial Park. A link to the service is below, under 'Donations'.

If you would like to leave a favorite memory / story of Alan, or a message of condolence for his family, you may do so below, within 'Add a Memory'.