Robert Owen Winder

10/9/1934 – 10/11/2026

Bob Winder, 92, died peacefully in Tucson on Sunday, October 11th. His death was caused by complications of a debilitating stroke eighteen months ago. A mathematician, and geologist later in life, he was a pioneer in the field of computing, developing digital theory and applications for microprocessors.

Robert Owen Winder was born in the midst of the Great Depression on October 9, 1934 in Boston, MA. Soon afterwards his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. His mother was Harriet Owen Winder, MD, who set aside her career to raise Robert and his seven younger siblings, as well as to promote international peace and race relations as a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Claude (Steve) Veyne Winder, PhD, who rose to become the Assistant Director of Pharmacology at Parke-Davis, was his father.

While attending Ann Arbor High School, Robert refused to take the Military Orientation course because he never planned to join the military. At the time, only Conscientious Objectors and disabled people were excused from the class which was required for graduation. While Robert had been raised in the Quaker community, he didn’t share their belief in God, so could not claim to be a Conscientious Objector. His refusal to take the class was escalated to the School Board and reported in several newspapers, including the Toledo Blade in Ohio. Eventually, the School Board backed down and allowed him to graduate without taking the course and changed their policy so that parents could petition against it for their sons.

After graduating from Ann Arbor High School with honors, and receiving a merit scholarship, Robert moved to Illinois to attend the University of Chicago. As a participant of the Hutchins Program, he tested out of the first two years of college and placed into the junior year. After receiving his B.A. degree, he returned to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. There he received a B.S. in Mathematics after another two years, as well as a National Science Foundation Fellowship to attend graduate school. Even though Harvard accepted him, and the University of California Berkeley tried to coax him across the country, he chose Princeton University to further his studies.

At Princeton he studied Threshold (Digital) Logic, publishing many papers in the field, and earning M.S. and PhD degrees in Mathematics. He worked at the RCA Corporation while doing so, which not only supported him, but profited from his research as they developed the vacuum tube BIZMAC computer. Over the years, Robert rose to the position of Director of Memory and Microprocessor Products earning the David Sarnoff Award for his work on the COSMAC chip which was used by Chrysler to control the lean-burn engine of its cars.

During this time, he also supported a family. He met his first wife, Mary Stuart Winder, at the University of Michigan (he was her math tutor) and they married in Ann Arbor. In Princeton, they raised two daughters, Katherine (Kay) and Amy. After nearly twenty years of marriage, they split up, and he moved from RCA to Exxon Office Systems. A year or two later, he met, and married, Ann Formosa Sigler bringing her son, Jim, and daughter, Hilary, into the household. Unfortunately, that marriage didn’t last long, but soon afterwards he met and married Kathleen (Kathy) Colvin Derbyshire to whom he was married for thirty-eight years.

Not long after marrying Kathy, he became the Vice President of Syntex Computer Systems which was a consulting company that worked with the David Sarnoff Research Center to develop the Digital Video Interactive technology. After a few years, Intel hired the members of the company which required that he move to Phoenix, Arizona.

Bob and Kathy loved Arizona and spent a lot of time enjoying its beauty and hiking its trails. Bob retired from Intel after six years then earned an M.S. in Geology from Arizona State University. He studied, and published, several papers on plate tectonics. A few years later they moved to Academy Village in Tucson where he ran the HOA’s Finance Committee and was a director of the Board. Over time, all of Kathy’s children joined them in the Tucson area. In their spare time, Bob and Kathy travelled the world, seeing as many sights as they could.

Several years after moving to Tucson, Bob and Kathy downsized and transitioned to housing with more support for the elderly. Kathy passed away at the onset of the pandemic in 2020, and a couple of years later Bob met Janie Morse at Villa Hermosa. They spent several years together until he had a stroke and had to move to more supportive housing. Even in that condition, though, Janie continued to visit, and support, him. His children are grateful for the time she spent with him in his final years.

Bob is preceded in death by his wife, Kathy, and oldest stepdaughter, Ann Williams, and her husband, Chip. He is survived by Janie Morse, daughters Kay (Ralph) Jagelavicius and Amy Winder, and stepchildren Wesley and Lee Derbyshire, as well as five grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Also, preceding him in death is his youngest brother, Paul Winder, and stepsister Normie Kane, but surviving him is his six siblings Ann Winder, Allan (Teresa) Winder, Tom (Carolyn) Winder, Carl (Mimi) Winder, Mary Winder (Adah Miller) and Normie Rockwell, and two stepsisters Allie (David) Neff and Flo Friender.