Obituary

Sam Jurich was born on May 28, 1929. He attended high school at Duquesne, Pennsylvania. He had the desire for a higher education, and in 1946 enlisted in the United States Army to help pay for the education.

Sam was stationed in Orldong, Korea, just outside of Soul, before the start of the war. After serving for 1 ½ years, reaching the rank of Technical 4, he attended the University of Cincinnati from 1948 to 1953 majoring in electrical engineering.

On November 2, 1957 Sam married Jean, whom we all knew and loved and who passed away on September 28, 2009.

Sam and Jean moved to Arizona in order for Sam to earn his Masters degree at the University of Arizona in 1959. After completing his education Sam went to work for Jet Propulsion Laboratories JPL in 1960 and worked for them for three years as an engineer for the Goldstone project: 85 feet antennas for tracking space satellites.

In 1964 Sam changed jobs and worked for Computer Control Company. He worked there for 3 years building computers for general industry. Then for one year he and a partner started their own business to design and develop a scientific calculator.

From 1966 to 1967 Sam worked with Electrical Optical Systems, a Division of Xerox, and then in 1968 went to work for North American Aviation, which eventually became Rockwell International. He worked there for 24 years and settled down in Irvine to be close to the office. Sam retired in 1994.

Although Sam loved science, he also had a keen interest in astronomy and animals. He and Jean had 2 basinji, Rafi and Binti who they cherished over a span of 32 years. In retirement Sam could be found walking neighbors dogs in his local parks. Sam was a big sports fan and enjoyed watching the Angels and Lakers. They also loved to travel and visited Mexico in 1970, Europe in 1972 and Canada in 1974. Sam attended Calvary Chapel Church for many years and had many friends.

Sam is survived by his sisters Annie Gallagher and Dolly Welcker. brother-in-law David Schultz, sister-in-law Judy, and all of his nephews and nieces. His family in Glendale have many cherished memories celebrating holiday, summer picnics and birthday with Sam and Jean.

A memorial service will be held for Sam on January 27th, 2011 at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in Santa Ana in the Fellowship Hall at 2 pm. Family and Friends will have a reception after the service at The Jurich home.