Our Readers Pay Tribute To A Beloved Columnist

June 24, 2011
As we continue to mourn Bob Pease and pay tribute to his contribution to our magazine and our industry, we would like to share some of the sentiments from readers.

We want to thank our readers for the incredible amount of heartfelt and touching condolences and memories you have shared with us this week, in regards to the sudden loss of our friend and colleague, Bob Pease. Twitter and Facebook have also been ablaze with users expressing their shock and sadness, and posting anecdotes about Bob and his work. Many have pointed out the sad coincidence of two of the analog industry’s legends passing away within such a short time frame, referring to the very recent death of analog design great Jim Williams.

As we continue to mourn Bob and pay tribute to his contribution to our magazine and our industry on electronicdesign.com, we would like to share some of the sentiments from readers, as posted on our site and Facebook page.

“Such a sad loss of a good person and an outstanding analog engineer. With all his knowledge and worldly wisdom, he was still a down-to-earth man. I had the privilege of exchanging some emails with Bob a month back, regarding an analog circuit someone published in EDN. He was very sharp, quick to point out the mistakes I made in analyzing the circuit, while at the same time offering corrections and further help. He was quick in scribbling a circuit, scan it and email it back right away. Other than reading his columns, I did not know him nor did he know me. But I will always appreciate his offer of unconditional help if I needed something in the analog circuits. He was sincerely interested in increasing knowledge and expertise of analog design in engineers and ready to invest his valuable time to do it. People like Bob are hard to come by. He left a big vacuum that is hard to fill. May Bob rest in peace.”
Anoop Hegde on electronicdesign.com

“I knew both Jim Williams and Bob Pease. Personally signed copies of both their books on analog design. Bob showed up at my office one evening, scared the heck out of my wife, yelling "is Bob Landman here?" (he was wearing his backpack and with that beard of his....). He brought the books to me on his way home to SF. Spent time with me, getting to know me, what I was doing. He wrote in his book the following: "Best wishes to Bob Landman - may all your troubles be middlesized: so you can find 'em!" RAP 18xii91… I just can't believe it - "RAP" is dead! I just re-read a hand penned letter to me (he preferred his scrawl to e-mail) on traveling to India. I knew he was the sage trekker to contact for advice on what to bring, what to see, etc.. …Whenever I needed help… Bob provided it, and with his unique sense of humor. The industry won't be the same without these unique characters. My condolences to both the Williams and Pease families. I'm hearing from many of my friends who are grieving as I am.”
Bob Landman on electronicdesign.com

“Always read his incredible column. Met him at a seminar in Orlando, Fl. a few years back. Corresponded with him via email ... he always answered. I consider him a true servant of engineers around the world! RIP, RAP!”
Ken Whiteleather on electronicdesign.com

“Dang. I had a couple of questions I was meaning to ask Bob. Bob and I had a very interesting e-mail exchange on PID loops (I like the chemical industry version). He will very much be missed.”
M. Simon on electronicdesign.com

“I was shocked to learn that we've just lost two of our iconic spokesmen for the deep nuances of analog circuit design. Both were eloquent with words to describe their thought process for successful circuit design. I regret not having communicated with either after having had the opportunity for more than forty years as I learned from their articles.”
Don Lipke on electronicdesign.com

“This is a truly monumental loss to the engineering profession in general. Bob's observations of the world and the way it works were extraordinary. I always turned to his column before reading anything else in the magazine because I felt that here was this wonderful mixture of compassion, insight and plain old common sense. Although I never met him, my life will be emptier with his passing “.
Peter Ryan on electronicdesign.com

“Truly sad, but we are left better for the great contributions from both men. I only recently began following some of Bob's writings. Bringing clarity to some of the arcanity of design was his great gift and always appreciated his personal insights and observations.”
Michael Violette on electronicdesign.com

“I met up with Bob's writing as a Failure Analyst when I came across "Troubleshooting Analog Circuits". I have followed him through his books and articles ever since. I learned a lot, both about technical and non-technical subjects. And having been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes 5 years ago, I was blessed by his article on his own diagnosis. For someone I never had the pleasure to meet in person, I will miss him an awful lot.”
John Melillo on electronicdesign.com

“What sad news! I was working with Bob on a current project and was waiting for a reply. I suspect, from the description, that Bob may have had something go wrong with him before his accident. He had seemed a bit 'tired' to me lately. I will miss our e-mails, inside jokes, analog work and tech talks about vacuum tubes. Our condolences to his family from mine. I remember my first encounter with Bob back in the '70s, when I was a young engineer, in Denver at one of his seminars. His columns were always the first thing I read.”
Edwin Pettis on electronicdesign.com

“I was shocked to read of Bob's untimely death. He was truly an inspiration to everyone of his readers. My condolences to his family. May God's peace fill the void left in you hearts at this time of loss.”
Marvin Walker on electronicdesign.com

“Unbelievable loss to the design world. True out-of-the-box thinkers and problem solvers. Bob's tutorials, comments and editorials will be surely missed.”
Farrell Segall on electronicdesign.com

“I was writing an obituary on Jim Williams and I was already in a sad mode. I needed som facts on the cooperation between Jim and Bob and googled Bob. I did not understand what I read. Bob also gone? It was difficult to grasp the death of Jim. Now, I don't think I will try to understand that Bob also is gone. They were Philbrick, Analog Devices, National's and Linear's missionaries and souls. They were both original, sharp, entertaining and very very good. Miss both of them a lot.”
Gunnar Englund on electronicdesign.com

“Rest In Peace, Bob. You will be sorely missed. I followed your column for years and there never was a boring column. A true renaissance person. My condolences to his family. The world has lost an intelligent man.”
Dilip Shah on facebook.com/electronicdesign

“Bob and I exchanged some really nice emails over the years. He was one of my inspirations to begin writing "Balanced Lines"- my monthly tech column for the Delaware Valley Radio Association newsletter. Farewell, Bob. And thank you for the friendship!”
Robert Schroeder on facebook.com/electronicdesign

“I met Bob back in 1974-5 when my Tate System SQ decoder chips were being implemented. (While my boss was out of the room at our first meeting with National Semiconductor Corp., I was offered a job by their president, Charles Sporck!) But around late October they started work on the chip set development, and I worked with Tim Isbell and others, and met Bob Pease who even then was highly regarded inside NSC. We've corresponded occasionally since. He was a great engineer, and I was shaken by his tragic passing.”
Martin Willcocks on facebook.com/electronicdesign

“We will miss Bob's great wit and wisdom. He is now in the great analog heaven in the sky!”
Mike Nolen on facebook.com/electronicdesign

“… I corresponded with Bob Pease and was always given a reply even if he felt my concerns were overblown. However, my contention that he was driving a death trap has proved to be true. I urged him to junk that 1969 and get a newer safer model, he could well afford it. But in his usual 'basics only style' he stayed true to it. I will miss our friend.”
Frank Skocilich on electronicdesign.com

“Bob Pease and Jim Williams were both great Mentors in the field of electronics, and both will be missed and remembered by all the engineers including myself that had the privilege of meeting them and benefiting from their insights and wisdom. Their writings shall be a valued gift for all of us now and for future generations of engineers.My sincere condolences to the Pease and Williams Families.”
James Williams on electronicdesign.com

"My wife and I were both shocked and very sad to hear of Bob's passing. Bob and I were friends while we both worked at Teledyne Philbrick in Dedham, MA, but as of late the only way I followed him was in his articles in Electronic Design. As a matter of fact I had his latest article folded back to re-read and 'Pease Porridge' was my main reason for keeping my subscription current after I retired. I could relate many stories of our times back at T/P with Bob and the famous annual Camel Awards he was so proud of. Many times I would walk into his office and he would have one of his three dimensional circuits hanging with clip leads from a ceiling tile. I could never figure it out but of course Bob knew what he was doing. Bob was very brilliant, but always willing to talk to you, and will be sorely missed by all. Our deepest condolences to his wife and family. “
Martin Liben on facebook.com/electronicdesign

"We have lost one of the last few "great ones" of this profession. I had the privilege of taking to Bob recently when I called him with a really strange problem we were experiencing (suffice to say that we never met before). He helped us selfishly and completely. He was that kind of guy... My colleagues and I will sure miss his “Pease Porridge” insights. He will be greatly remembered and deeply missed. Godspeed Bob!"
Jorge Sanguinetti on facebook.com/electronicdesign

"A shame to see such a great man pass away. Bob was there to help and even pioneer. RIP RAP"
Derek Koonce on facebook.com/electronicdesign

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