Robert H. Norman

Chatham, MA - Robert H. Norman, loving husband and father, passed peacefully at home into the Kingdom at 89 years old. He was born in New York and completed his high school senior year after serving in WWII as a gunner on the Alabama.

He graduated from Oklahoma A&M and obtained his Masters at Columbia University. Bob was in the Naval Reserve and called in the Korean War Combat Air Crew. From 1953-59 he worked at Sperry Gyroscope Co., he invented the Resistor Transistor Logic and delivered the first successful Navy shipboard computer. Bob worked at Fairchild Semiconductor Systems where he invented semiconductor Random Access Memory. At General Micro Electronics, he invented integrated circuits, the desktop electronic calculator and the artillery timer electronic timer fuse. From 1966-72 he was President of Nortec Electronics Corp., then onto Timex. From 1983-84, at Singer Company, he established Application Specific Integrated Circuit development. From 1984-92 at General Dynamics he worked on the development of a computer for combat vehicles and the automatic infra-red target recognizer.

Bob was active in the Retired Men’s Club of Chatham and the COA and attended Mary Magdala Church and the Methodist Church. He was in the CGA and his hobbies were sailing and traveling.

Bob is survived by his wife of 33 years, Ruth; daughters, Terry (Joe), Anne (Michael) , and Sue; son, Tim; grandchildren, Crystal, Scott, Jennifer and Shane; great grandchild, Makayla; brother, Russ (Marilyn); nephews, Valiant and Leonard Santos; nieces, Barbara (Arnold), Carol Hammer (Anders), Jeanette Norman and Luana Norman; great nephews, Brendan and Patrick; and great nieces, Sara and Emily Gilligan. Bob was predeceased by his sons, Robbie and John; granddaughter, Rosie; brother, Eugene Norman and great nephew, Kevin. He also leaves his wife’s family: daughter Ruth (Seth) and their children Harry, Rachel and Neve; son Bill and his son Curt (Cindy) and their children Richie and Arielle.

A Memorial Service to celebrate his life will be held at the Methodist Church in Chatham on March 11, 2017 at 11:00 a.m.

Memorial donations may be made to the Council on Aging, 193 Stony Hill Road, Chatham Ma 02633.