Eugene F. Grant, a retired aerospace engineer and longtime Pacific Palisades resident, died November 27 of heart failure, after a long and fruitful life that touched many, many people. He was 88. Gene was born on June 15, 1917 and raised in Baker, Oregon. He attended Oregon State University, where he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering, and met his future wife, Evelyn Dully. The couple married, moved to the East Coast, and started a family. Gene worked as an electronics engineer at the Westinghouse Corporation, Air Force Cambridge Research Center, Sperry Gyroscope Company, W.L. Maxson Company, and National Company. His best-known work during this period involved the development of radar systems and precision atomic clocks. In 1962, the Grant family, including son Chuck and daughter Robin, moved to the Palisades and Gene joined Hughes Aircraft. He rose to the position of Chief Scientist and continued as a consultant there after his retirement. He is named on 11 patents and was known for his problem-solving, his originality of thought, his insatiable curiosity, and his charming wit. Gene’s principal hobby was boating, which he began by building a 21-ft. power boat (Kilobucks), then by cruising with family to northeast islands and harbors on weekends and vacations. As the family grew, Gene and Evelyn purchased Argo, a 1932, 32-ft. Elko Marine cabin cruiser, and equipped it with a self-built autopilot. Argo was trucked to California when the family moved, and was eventually traded in for Circe, a 1948, 41-ft. Stevens power boat. Gene was active in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and joined the California Yacht Club where he became commodore. He participated in the boating sport of predicted log racing and won national championships. He “dropped the hook” in virtually every anchorage between Ensenada and Santa Barbara on his many cruises out of Marina del Rey. Evelyn died in 1978. In 1980, Gene met and became a life partner with Ann Johnson. Together they cruised extensively, both on Circe and also on chartered boat trips up the Nile River and to the Gal’pagos Islands. They also traveled by car throughout the western U.S., particularly eastern Oregon logging communities, guided always by a GPS positioning device for which Gene was an early design contributor. Gene was active in his community as a member of the AARP chapter and the Democratic Club, and he volunteered his time tutoring math students at Palisades Charter High School for several years. He never abandoned his interest in engineering, and he jointly applied for a nanotechnology systems patent this year in partnership with his son. In addition, he participated on an advisory board to the dean of engineering at Oregon State, where he has been inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame. He was a lifelong advocate of the study of advanced mathematics by engineers. Those who knew him will remember these Gene-isms for which one needed to be always prepared with an answer: What’s your thought for today? How have you been wasting your time? What humor do you have to report? Gene is survived by daughter, Robin Grant of Pacific Palisades; a son, Chuck Grant of Kensington, California; two grandchildren, Adam Grant and Sarah Chance; two great-grandchildren, Sophie Chance and Greta Grant; and an extended family of the children of Ann Johnson and their families. A private service is planned for mid-December.
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