BALCOM, Orville R., Jr.

Today's News-Herald, Lake Havasu Cty, Arizona Published Thursday, February 21, 2008 Orville R. Balcom Jr., 70, electrical engineer and musician passed away Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008, after a brief illness. Orville was born April 20, 1937, in Inglewood, Calif. Orv attended Narbonne High School in Lomita, Calif., and graduated in 1958 from California State University in Long Beach, Calif., with a B.S. in Math. He went on to do his post-graduate work in electrical engineering at UCLA. As development engineer at Airesearch, Orv led a team which developed a number of patented devices for NASA's Mercury space program. He was also an accomplished musician, as a member of 'Jim Balcom and the Shades of Rhythm' he enjoyed musical success in the 1950s playing shows with the likes of Roy Orbison and The Platters. Since 1971 Orv was the Owner and Chief Engineer of Brown Dog Engineering. The company enjoyed success as a subcontractor for various high tech companies in the South Bay including Garrett Airesearch, Honeywell, Brumac, Maxtec and others. Whether near home in Lomita, or his vacation home at the Colorado River, Orv enjoyed winning several chili competitions, singing karaoke and playing trivia games with his extended family of friends. Orv was a lifetime member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 47, the International Chili Society and a member of IEEE and the Independent Computer Consultants Association. Orv, beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend is survived by his companion, Betty "Bets" Majalca; daughter, Cindy (Jerry) Aldridge; son, Steve Balcom; grandchildren Alicia Giuliani and Nick Giuliani; brother, James Balcom; sister, Catherine Balcom; niece, Julie Rose; nephew, Jim Adams; and numerous additional family members. In lieu of flowers and honoring Orv's love of music, donations can be made to the Creative Kids Education Foundation in Los Angeles at www.kusc.org/kids. Services will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday at Gamby Mortuary, located at 25001 Narbonne Ave Lomita, CA 90717. The public is welcome to attend.
Posted by mhenderson on November 26, 2010

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