Herbert William Newkirk Jr.

Lab retiree Herbert William Newkirk Jr. died Dec. 13, at his home in Livermore after a brief illness.

Born on Nov. 23, 1928, he was a ninth generation descendant of Mattheuse Cornelissen Van Nieuwkiercke, of Nijkerk, Holland who came to the New Netherland colony in 1659. These early pioneers helped found and develop the cities of New York and Jersey City. Several street names and family homes remain in these cities. Newkirk became a life member of The Holland Society of New York in 2008.

After attending public schools in Jersey City, he received a bachelor's degree in solid-state chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1951, and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in solid-state chemistry/ceramic engineering in 1956. He was a member of the Sigma Xi and Phi Lambda Upsilon scientific fraternity.

Newkirk served in the New Jersey National Guard from 1948 to 1952. He married his high school sweetheart, Madeline Dorothy Smith of Jersey City, N. J. and Germantown, N. Y. in September 1952. The couple settled in Livermore in 1962 and had three children: Elicia, Philip and Paul.

Newkirk devoted his career to the evaluation and synthesis of single crystal and polycrystalline materials for energy applications, technology transfer, transportation and environmental issues. He worked at the Laboratory from 1960 until 1992, when he retired.

From 1969 to 1971, he received from the Lab a "Professional Research and Teaching Leave" and conducted research at the Philips Laboratories in Eindhoven, Holland and Aachen, Germany. He also was a visiting professor at the Aachen Technical University.

Newkirk published more than 50 technical papers, held three patents, including one with participating colleagues involving the "100 Technologically Significant New Products of 1991." The American Ceramic Society recognized his microphotography of crystal growth phenomena as Best of Show in 1965. In 1999, he was elected to the Hall of Fame of Distinguished Alumni by the Jersey City, New Jersey Board of Education. In 1999, he also was named one of 2000 outstanding scientists of the 20th century by the International Biographical Center, Cambridge, England.

Newkirk was interested and involved in his community. He was a longstanding member of the First Presbyterian Church in Livermore. With other religious leaders in Livermore, he co-founded Interfaith Housing, three housing complexes for low-income elderly, and twice served as its president.

He was nominated as treasurer and board commissioner of the City of Livermore Housing Authority and chairman of its Energy and Environmental Committee.

He served as secretary of Open Heart Kitchen, was president of Masonic Lodge 218 and Odd Fellows Lodge 219. He was president of the Livermore Valley Rotary Club and a charter member of the Rotarian Foundation. Newkirk was founder and president of the astronomy club in Richland, Wash., and treasurer of the Northern California Crystal Growth Society. In retirement, he partnered with his wife and son Philip, to open a music studio in Dublin, Calif. to satisfy his love of classical music.

Travel, astronomy, genealogy, ballet and music, entertaining Rotary Club foreign exchange students, photography, family hiking and sailing adventures at Lake Tahoe and Yosemite were all a source of relaxation, education and inspiration to him.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Madeline, his three children Elicia Benstein, Philip and Paul and his grandchild Garrett Wesley.

A celebration of Newkirk's life will be held in the spring at the Retzlaff Winery in Livermore. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Livermore Valley Rotary Foundation, the Audubon Society, Oakland Children's Hospital Research Center and the Hospice Society.