Dr. Richard “Dick” Max Bird, 81, passed away peacefully February 20, 2014 at his home in Cherry Valley, California. Dick was born into a family with 4 brothers and 1 sister ( Gene, Corki, Bob, Glen, and Martha). His parents, Etta and George, raised the family in their home in Hollywood Ca.
Dick graduated from John Marshal High School in 1950 where he was class president. In 1953 he joined The United States Air Force to serve in the Korean War. After returning from the war, he pursued the education that he so craved. In 1958 he earned his BSEE and BS in Math from California Polytechnic State University with studies in Electronics, Communications and Mathematics. In 1959 he earned his MSEE from U.C. Berkeley with studies in Communication, Networks, Computer Programming and Control Systems Theory. In 1962 he earned his MBA from UCLA with studies in Accounting and Finance, Management Theory and Operations Research. In 1969 he earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UCLA. In 1970 he cofounded Operating Systems, Inc. where he spent 7 years building the company to $4M in sales and 100 employees strong. He was President and Founder of Datafusion Corporation from 1979 to 1986 where he invented the Associative File Processor (AFP) and High Speed Search (HSTS) technologies which were considered the King of Search Engine Technology at the time. Using the AFP system he designed the most sophisticated information storage and retrieval system to be implemented at the time. It was delivered and installed at the CIA in Washington, D.C. in 1986. After 1986 he served as a consultant for some of the top Fortune 500 corporations around the country. From 1998 until 2008 he was a professor in the MBA program at Woodbury University in Burbank Calif.
During all of his pursuits he found time to be a loving husband, father, grandfather, and avid tennis player. He is survived by his wife of 36 years Sandra Bird, his daughters Audrey, Debbie and Jamie, and his grandchildren Joey, Shea, Connor and Trevor.
Graveside service will take place on Monday, March 3, 2014 at Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd., Riverside, California 92518. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The American Hemochromatosis Society at www.americanhs.org.
Arrangements were entrusted to Weaver Mortuary in Beaumont California.
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