Nathan Rynn

Nathan Rynn was the fourth and youngest child of Meyer and Rose Rynkowsky, who immigrated to America from Russia sometime during the second decade of the 20th century (around WWI). Fleeing the pogroms in Russia, Meyer and Rose and their two small daughters went to what was then Palestine, with the hopes of establishing themselves in what was to become Israel. Unfortunately, WWI made that impossible and Meyer managed to bring his family to New York City, where two more children were born, including Nathan.

Nathan grew up in the Bronx. He developed an interest in gadgets, and sent away for a kit to build his own radio. This fascination for all things mechanical and electrical led him to Townsend Harris, a scholarship high school, and then on to City College of New York (CCNY). Shortly after graduation, he was drafted into the Navy and was sent to the Pacific, where he was a radio engineer on a ship in the final phase of WWII. His ship was part of the American fleet present at the surrender of the Japanese at Yokohama Bay.

He returned to NYC and then pursued a master’s degree at University of Illinois, and finally a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Stanford University in California. He had met Ruth, his first wife, while he was still in New York, and she came to join him in Palo Alto, where they married and had their first son, Jonathan. Shortly after, the family moved back to the East Coast, to Princeton, New Jersey, where Nathan worked at RCA and their daughter Margie was born. An offer from UC Berkeley brought them back to California, and in 1966, Nathan was offered a professorship in physics at the brand new University of California at Irvine. The family settled into Laguna Beach, and a third child, David was born.

Nathan's academic career gave him many opportunities to travel, mainly for international scientific conferences. He and the family spent three sabbatical leaves in France, which gave him a deep attachment to that country. Travel piqued his insatiable curiosity about the world and he enjoyed his encounters with new countries and cultures immensely.

In the early '80s, Ruth and Nathan divorced. A few years later, Nathan had the good fortune to meet Glenda Brown, with whom he shared the last 28 years of his life (they were married in 1989). Glenda's two grown sons, Hunter and Taven, joined the family. In time, he became the proud grandfather of three lovely boys: Jon’s sons Joshua and Ryan, and Margie’s son Julien.

Nathan Rynn was a passionate man, always ready to plunge in should a new and fascinating subject come his way. He could be difficult, stubborn and temperamental, but his rough side was tempered with an openness and curiosity about the world, and a fabulously ironic sense of humor that could turn something serious into an opportunity for laughter. He always managed to turn a phrase that summed up the situation with an ironic joke. Underneath, he was a softy, tearing up when telling a sentimental story, giving money to just causes, getting outraged at the world's injustices.  

Aside from his devotion to science, he loved classical music, as well as history. He enjoyed woodworking and built a huge bookcase in the house that is filled from top to bottom with tomes, mostly about world history. He loved to recount the various battles and strategies of kings and countries; his quick mind could swallow centuries of conflict and conquest. Because Nat was such a strong presence, it is hard to believe that he is not in the world somewhere.