John Fulton Donan

John F. ("Jack") Donan, 91, passed away on Thursday evening, April 2, after a 2-year battle with metastatic prostate cancer, a battle he fought with great courage and determination. Jack was born in Los Angeles on July 26, 1923, the third child of Joe M. and Hilda Donan, and the first in his immediate family to be born in California. Jack grew up during the Great Depression, at a time when Los Angeles still had almost a small-town feel. His father ran a butcher shop, and Jack worked in the store as a youth. Boyhood friends included former L.A. Supervisor Kenneth ("Kenny") Hahn, and Jack and Kenny were active in the YMCA. Jack graduated from Manual Arts High School with the summer class of 1941, the last class to graduate before Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into World War II. (An article by columnist Steve Lopez about this class appeared in the L.A. Times on October 5, 2011.) After attending Los Angeles City College, Jack graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Electrical Engineering in 1944. He later earned Master's degrees from USC in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics. While at USC, Jack was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. One of his pranks while there, he recently recollected, was sneaking the well-known canine mascot, "George Tirebiter", into a fraternity brother's bed! Jack was also honored with memberships in Phi Kappa Phi honor society, Sigma Xi (scientific research society), Tau Beta Pi (engineering honor society), Eta Kappa Nu (electrical engineering honor society), and the Blue Key men's service fraternity. Jack enlisted in the Navy in October 1942. Following the end of World War II, he was assigned as a Lt(jg) to duty at the Naval Shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina, where, as Assistant Officer in charge of the Electronics Laboratory, he was responsible for all RADAR equipment of the Sixth Naval District. While stationed in Charleston, he met Miss Cecil Lundy, from Conway, South Carolina. They married in 1947, and Cecil returned with him to California. Jack was a pioneer in the early days of the computer industry. He was awarded 12 computer patents; among the most significant were for the first digital calculator using transistor technology, and for the Magnetic Drum Differential Analyzer, part of the inertial navigation system for the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missle and the Poseidon Nuclear Submarines. He also developed the TACDEN (Tactical Data Entry Device), the first computer monitor, which was never patented. He served as Project Engineer for the NCR 107 General Purpose Computer, utilized by the U.S. Navy in the 1950's. Over the more than 40 years of his technical career, he worked for firms such as the Clary Corporation, the National Cash Register Company (NCR), and Aeronutronic, the defense and space division of the Ford Motor Company. It was while working for Aeronutronic that he moved his family to Orange County, in 1958. He was instrumental in the design and construction of their home, in what was then still open space in the hills of the north Tustin area. That home burned, and was rebuilt, following the Paseo Grande fire in 1967. He joined Autonetics (a division of North American Aviation), in Anaheim, around 1962. With only a brief interruption, during the widespread aerospace layoffs of the early 1970's, he remained there for the rest of his career, as Autonetics later became North American Rockwell, then Rockwell International, then eventually the Boeing Company. While at the Rockwell Space Division, Jack was Subcontract Engineer for the display system of the first Space Shuttle. He held a similar position at Rockwell International's Autonetics Marine Systems Division. He retired from Boeing in 1990. After retirement, Jack became actively involved in a number of hobbies, including computers, photography, beekeeping, and organic gardening, to name a few. He was a University of California Master Gardener, and past president of both the Horticultural Society of Orange County and the Orange County Organic Gardening Club. He was also a member of the Rare Fruit Growers, Toastmasters International, and the North Orange County Computer Club. Many friends and family members over the years have enjoyed receiving Jack's humorous emails, newsletters, and beautiful pictures enhanced by his masterful skills at Photoshop. Jack was predeceased by his parents, his brother David, his sister Betty, and his son, John Lundy Donan. He is survived by his wife Cecil, daughter Debra Donan, and granddaughter Kelly Barnhart. Graveside service and burial will be at Riverside National Cemetery on Monday, May 4, at 12:30 pm. The family was assisted in funeral arrangements by McAuley & Wallace Mortuary (714 - 525 - 4721) in Fullerton. Plans for a future memorial service are pending.