It seems like just yesterday and yet so far away, the first day on the job at DTL, Ron was one of the first to reach out and help me figure out how to get things done. I remember Ron as easy-going, someone who reached out to everyone, kept the communication going across the lab. As we can see, he was much appreciated by his colleagues at HP and Agilent. I was shocked and saddened to hear about him with such sad news.
Terry Harms HP/DTL/DTC
Ron was more than a friend to me. He was a best friend, a best man. I remember coming out of college a raw rookie. I had two jobs to choose from. At Intel they did not seem to trust anyone, while at HP it felt more like family. This was in large part due to Ron. Ron truly cared for and about people. Ron went out of his way to mentor me and went beyond the call of duty to ensure I would be successful. We quickly became close friends. When Ron called you a friend, he had your back. Ron had an easy going, straight shooting personality that made it easy to be with him. Ron helped to make work more enjoyable. We had many good times playing a mostly made up game called Birkball. It was fun because Ron made it a social experience. Life in the
Silicon Valley can be lonely, but Ron was there to make it more enjoyable. I remember going out to the movies an arcades with Ron. Ron really was always there when I needed him. He always seemed to have my back and life just seems a little more dangerous without him. Ron was someone I could share anything with. He was the one of the first people that I would share big news with and was a trusted advisor. Ron will be missed greatly. It is not often you meet a person of such character.
Martin Kruckenberg
Some comments sent to me via email:
I have good memories of him and it is sad to think that he is no longer with us. Thankfully he did not suffer for long.
Laurence Goodby
I remember Ron very well. Last I heard he went to the northwest for a job.We had many good times around the Birkball table. John Birk He was a truely kind person with a very warm heart.
Ruth Sleeter
Ron was a special person – one I was always happy to be around.
Jonathan Novich
Ron was a very decent guy, a close friend of yours, and well liked by the Birkball gang, but under appreciated by management.
Steven Menzel
I am very saddened and shocked by Ron’s untimely demise. It’s very heartbreaking.
Kasi Rengappa
I enjoyed working with Ron back in the days we were in Palo Alto. He will be missed.
Paul Krueger
My wife Gloria and I were talking last evening about the sudden loss of Ron and this image of the Pacific coast came to mind. Ron was a constant presence in my life for many years. He worked with me and for me for several years during the development of an automatic placement and routing system for integrated circuits (HARP) that we developed within HP Labs. The exact dates and the details of projects have receded into the fog of memory. When I heard from Ron’s friend and co-worker Marc Clarke, that Ron was critically ill I was concerned. When I learned that Ron had passed away on Christmas Day 2007, I entered what I can only describe as the fog of loss. I haven’t seen Ron since he left Agilent and moved back to Oregon to be nearer his family. I remember him as a hard worker who was easy going with a sense of humor. Many times it seems to me Ron was the one who could bridge the gap between engineers and managers who held strongly differing opinions. Ron would talk to both sides, understand their points and issues, and help engineer a solution that got the work moving forward and the customer satisfied. One time when he was thinking of leaving the HARP group I remember how hard his project manager Eric Slutz and I fought to convince him to stay. We knew how valuable he was to the group and we knew we didn’t want to loose him. In the end he decided to stay. We were greatly releived.Time passes and memories fade into the fog, but like the image above the fog masks a complex scene of great beauty. Even if the fog never lifts we know that the beauty was there, and will be there again when the light shines through.Help us bring Ron’s memory into the light. He has gone, we can’t alter that fact, but we can remember the wonderful things about him that brought light into our lives.Ken VanBree
Help us collect and preserve our memories of Ron
January 13th, 2008Those of us who knew and worked with Ron Eaton at Hewlett Packard and Agilent were shocked and saddened to hear that he passed away over the holidays. Please contribute your own thoughts, picutures and memories of Ron to this archive. I have set it up so that anyone can post to the blog. You don’t have to be logged in to reply to postings but please sign your comments so that we can remember together the friend that we have lost.
Ken VanBree – Ron’s friend and former boss from DTL/DTC/ICBD/HP
Posted in Comments, DTC, DTL, HP | No Comments »