Robert Lewis "Bob" French, 84, of Nashville, Tenn., passed away on Sept. 28, 2012 after a long and courageous battle with cancer.
At the time of his death, Bob was survived by his loving and devoted wife of 60 years, Delora (Shankle) French; son, Scott (Susan) French of North Richland Hills, Texas; daughter, Lisa (Bruce) Walker, of Nashville, Tenn.; grandchildren, Emily (French) and Cavan, Finlay and Ridley (Walker); and sister, Betty (Paul) Neal of Henry County, Tenn.
He was preceded in death by parents, Henry Nelson and Mary Alice (Frensley) French and his eldest son, Michael French.
He was a physicist by education and by inclination and is recognized as a pioneer in the field of automobile navigation.
He was born into a farming family in rural Tennessee and was raised during the Great Depression. As a child, he cared little for farm projects, hunting, fishing, sports etc, which interested many of his contemporaries and he developed a strong interest in aviation and the physical sciences as early as elementary school. His earliest childhood memories included playing underneath his house, "zipping" around on his bicycle (and rounding up cows in the pasture on it) and spending a lot of time building model airplanes.
Following high school, Bob enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and during his service to his country spent a year in aviation electronics school, taught at the school for a year and ended up in Southern California, where he completed a year of college at Santa Ana College. Upon discharge from the Marine Corps, he completed an Associate in Arts Degree in general engineering, before moving back to Paris, Tenn. and enrolling in a B.S. in Physics and Math at Murray State University.
During his time at Murray State, Bob met Delora Shankle and they married on Nov. 2, 1952 and the following year, their first son, Michael, was born.
After graduating from Murray State, Robert enrolled in graduate school at Vanderbilt University, where he earned a M.S. in Physics, and subsequently spent a summer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was an AEC Fellow in Radiological Physics.
In September 1955, shortly after his second son, Scott, was born, Bob moved to Fort Worth to work as a nuclear engineer with General Dynamics and subsequently Radiation Research Association, where he was involved in classified research on aircraft nuclear propulsion, nuclear rocket propulsion, nuclear weapons effects and other military applications of nuclear energy.
In 1969, his daughter, Lisa, was born, and he then transitioned into consulting positions in the fields of computer-modeling, education and solar and alternate energy. It was during this period he invented, developed and demonstrated the world's first self-contained turn-by-turn electronic route guidance system, a forerunner of the modern Global Positioning System (GPS).
In 1985, Bob started his own independent consulting practice, R&D French Associates, which provided automobile navigation-related technical consultation and strategic advice to major automotive, cartographic, communications, electronics and transportation organizations worldwide. During this time, he also presented regular seminars and lectured on these topics at universities around the world.
After semi-retiring in 1999, Bob kept himself busy by providing expert witness testimony in automobile navigation-related intellectual property litigation.
Bob was Founding Member of Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and a member of a number of other professional bodies. He was the author of over 80 publications on automobile navigation, and over 50 publications on nuclear, solar, and alternate technology.
Bob is remembered by friends and family as a soft spoken, humble and generous person, with a dry wit. He was generous in his support of his church, the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation (GNUUC), and helped contribute to their efforts to promote the betterment of humankind and increase understanding among differing cultures and religions.
GNUUC held a memorial service for Bob on Jan. 26, 2013. His cremains were added to the Still Spring Memorial Garden.
At the time of his death, Bob was survived by his loving and devoted wife of 60 years, Delora (Shankle) French; son, Scott (Susan) French of North Richland Hills, Texas; daughter, Lisa (Bruce) Walker, of Nashville, Tenn.; grandchildren, Emily (French) and Cavan, Finlay and Ridley (Walker); and sister, Betty (Paul) Neal of Henry County, Tenn.
He was preceded in death by parents, Henry Nelson and Mary Alice (Frensley) French and his eldest son, Michael French.
He was a physicist by education and by inclination and is recognized as a pioneer in the field of automobile navigation.
He was born into a farming family in rural Tennessee and was raised during the Great Depression. As a child, he cared little for farm projects, hunting, fishing, sports etc, which interested many of his contemporaries and he developed a strong interest in aviation and the physical sciences as early as elementary school. His earliest childhood memories included playing underneath his house, "zipping" around on his bicycle (and rounding up cows in the pasture on it) and spending a lot of time building model airplanes.
Following high school, Bob enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and during his service to his country spent a year in aviation electronics school, taught at the school for a year and ended up in Southern California, where he completed a year of college at Santa Ana College. Upon discharge from the Marine Corps, he completed an Associate in Arts Degree in general engineering, before moving back to Paris, Tenn. and enrolling in a B.S. in Physics and Math at Murray State University.
During his time at Murray State, Bob met Delora Shankle and they married on Nov. 2, 1952 and the following year, their first son, Michael, was born.
After graduating from Murray State, Robert enrolled in graduate school at Vanderbilt University, where he earned a M.S. in Physics, and subsequently spent a summer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was an AEC Fellow in Radiological Physics.
In September 1955, shortly after his second son, Scott, was born, Bob moved to Fort Worth to work as a nuclear engineer with General Dynamics and subsequently Radiation Research Association, where he was involved in classified research on aircraft nuclear propulsion, nuclear rocket propulsion, nuclear weapons effects and other military applications of nuclear energy.
In 1969, his daughter, Lisa, was born, and he then transitioned into consulting positions in the fields of computer-modeling, education and solar and alternate energy. It was during this period he invented, developed and demonstrated the world's first self-contained turn-by-turn electronic route guidance system, a forerunner of the modern Global Positioning System (GPS).
In 1985, Bob started his own independent consulting practice, R&D French Associates, which provided automobile navigation-related technical consultation and strategic advice to major automotive, cartographic, communications, electronics and transportation organizations worldwide. During this time, he also presented regular seminars and lectured on these topics at universities around the world.
After semi-retiring in 1999, Bob kept himself busy by providing expert witness testimony in automobile navigation-related intellectual property litigation.
Bob was Founding Member of Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and a member of a number of other professional bodies. He was the author of over 80 publications on automobile navigation, and over 50 publications on nuclear, solar, and alternate technology.
Bob is remembered by friends and family as a soft spoken, humble and generous person, with a dry wit. He was generous in his support of his church, the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation (GNUUC), and helped contribute to their efforts to promote the betterment of humankind and increase understanding among differing cultures and religions.
GNUUC held a memorial service for Bob on Jan. 26, 2013. His cremains were added to the Still Spring Memorial Garden.
Robert Lewis "Bob" French, 84, of Nashville, Tenn., passed away on Sept. 28, 2012 after a long and courageous battle with cancer.
At the time of his death, Bob was survived by his loving and devoted wife of 60 years, Delora (Shankle) French; son, Scott (Susan) French of North Richland Hills, Texas; daughter, Lisa (Bruce) Walker, of Nashville, Tenn.; grandchildren, Emily (French) and Cavan, Finlay and Ridley (Walker); and sister, Betty (Paul) Neal of Henry County, Tenn.
He was preceded in death by parents, Henry Nelson and Mary Alice (Frensley) French and his eldest son, Michael French.
He was a physicist by education and by inclination and is recognized as a pioneer in the field of automobile navigation.
He was born into a farming family in rural Tennessee and was raised during the Great Depression. As a child, he cared little for farm projects, hunting, fishing, sports etc, which interested many of his contemporaries and he developed a strong interest in aviation and the physical sciences as early as elementary school. His earliest childhood memories included playing underneath his house, "zipping" around on his bicycle (and rounding up cows in the pasture on it) and spending a lot of time building model airplanes.
Following high school, Bob enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and during his service to his country spent a year in aviation electronics school, taught at the school for a year and ended up in Southern California, where he completed a year of college at Santa Ana College. Upon discharge from the Marine Corps, he completed an Associate in Arts Degree in general engineering, before moving back to Paris, Tenn. and enrolling in a B.S. in Physics and Math at Murray State University.
During his time at Murray State, Bob met Delora Shankle and they married on Nov. 2, 1952 and the following year, their first son, Michael, was born.
After graduating from Murray State, Robert enrolled in graduate school at Vanderbilt University, where he earned a M.S. in Physics, and subsequently spent a summer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was an AEC Fellow in Radiological Physics.
In September 1955, shortly after his second son, Scott, was born, Bob moved to Fort Worth to work as a nuclear engineer with General Dynamics and subsequently Radiation Research Association, where he was involved in classified research on aircraft nuclear propulsion, nuclear rocket propulsion, nuclear weapons effects and other military applications of nuclear energy.
In 1969, his daughter, Lisa, was born, and he then transitioned into consulting positions in the fields of computer-modeling, education and solar and alternate energy. It was during this period he invented, developed and demonstrated the world's first self-contained turn-by-turn electronic route guidance system, a forerunner of the modern Global Positioning System (GPS).
In 1985, Bob started his own independent consulting practice, R&D French Associates, which provided automobile navigation-related technical consultation and strategic advice to major automotive, cartographic, communications, electronics and transportation organizations worldwide. During this time, he also presented regular seminars and lectured on these topics at universities around the world.
After semi-retiring in 1999, Bob kept himself busy by providing expert witness testimony in automobile navigation-related intellectual property litigation.
Bob was Founding Member of Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and a member of a number of other professional bodies. He was the author of over 80 publications on automobile navigation, and over 50 publications on nuclear, solar, and alternate technology.
Bob is remembered by friends and family as a soft spoken, humble and generous person, with a dry wit. He was generous in his support of his church, the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation (GNUUC), and helped contribute to their efforts to promote the betterment of humankind and increase understanding among differing cultures and religions.
GNUUC held a memorial service for Bob on Jan. 26, 2013. His cremains were added to the Still Spring Memorial Garden.
At the time of his death, Bob was survived by his loving and devoted wife of 60 years, Delora (Shankle) French; son, Scott (Susan) French of North Richland Hills, Texas; daughter, Lisa (Bruce) Walker, of Nashville, Tenn.; grandchildren, Emily (French) and Cavan, Finlay and Ridley (Walker); and sister, Betty (Paul) Neal of Henry County, Tenn.
He was preceded in death by parents, Henry Nelson and Mary Alice (Frensley) French and his eldest son, Michael French.
He was a physicist by education and by inclination and is recognized as a pioneer in the field of automobile navigation.
He was born into a farming family in rural Tennessee and was raised during the Great Depression. As a child, he cared little for farm projects, hunting, fishing, sports etc, which interested many of his contemporaries and he developed a strong interest in aviation and the physical sciences as early as elementary school. His earliest childhood memories included playing underneath his house, "zipping" around on his bicycle (and rounding up cows in the pasture on it) and spending a lot of time building model airplanes.
Following high school, Bob enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and during his service to his country spent a year in aviation electronics school, taught at the school for a year and ended up in Southern California, where he completed a year of college at Santa Ana College. Upon discharge from the Marine Corps, he completed an Associate in Arts Degree in general engineering, before moving back to Paris, Tenn. and enrolling in a B.S. in Physics and Math at Murray State University.
During his time at Murray State, Bob met Delora Shankle and they married on Nov. 2, 1952 and the following year, their first son, Michael, was born.
After graduating from Murray State, Robert enrolled in graduate school at Vanderbilt University, where he earned a M.S. in Physics, and subsequently spent a summer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was an AEC Fellow in Radiological Physics.
In September 1955, shortly after his second son, Scott, was born, Bob moved to Fort Worth to work as a nuclear engineer with General Dynamics and subsequently Radiation Research Association, where he was involved in classified research on aircraft nuclear propulsion, nuclear rocket propulsion, nuclear weapons effects and other military applications of nuclear energy.
In 1969, his daughter, Lisa, was born, and he then transitioned into consulting positions in the fields of computer-modeling, education and solar and alternate energy. It was during this period he invented, developed and demonstrated the world's first self-contained turn-by-turn electronic route guidance system, a forerunner of the modern Global Positioning System (GPS).
In 1985, Bob started his own independent consulting practice, R&D French Associates, which provided automobile navigation-related technical consultation and strategic advice to major automotive, cartographic, communications, electronics and transportation organizations worldwide. During this time, he also presented regular seminars and lectured on these topics at universities around the world.
After semi-retiring in 1999, Bob kept himself busy by providing expert witness testimony in automobile navigation-related intellectual property litigation.
Bob was Founding Member of Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and a member of a number of other professional bodies. He was the author of over 80 publications on automobile navigation, and over 50 publications on nuclear, solar, and alternate technology.
Bob is remembered by friends and family as a soft spoken, humble and generous person, with a dry wit. He was generous in his support of his church, the Greater Nashville Unitarian Universalist Congregation (GNUUC), and helped contribute to their efforts to promote the betterment of humankind and increase understanding among differing cultures and religions.
GNUUC held a memorial service for Bob on Jan. 26, 2013. His cremains were added to the Still Spring Memorial Garden.
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