Gary A. Burginyon

Gary A. Burginyon died Feb. 24. He was 85.

Burginyon grew up in Spokane, Washington, and attended Washington State University, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa recipient. He came to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1968 after receiving his doctorate in experimental nuclear physics from Yale University.

At Yale, he did Coulomb excitation studies of rare earth nuclei using the MP tandem accelerator. At Livermore, he first joined the High-Altitude Physics group, where he thoroughly enjoyed the projects as it included many trips to the Pacific Missile Range on Kauai. Later, he worked on diagnostics, including trips to the Nevada Natonal Security Site (formerly the Nevada Test Site) and assisting a group at the Aldermaston Laboratory in England. Prior to coming to the Livermore, he worked on anti-submarine warfare projects at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, and is survived by his wife, Sheila K. Burginyon; his daughters, Brenda Jorgensen (Doug) and Arlene Townzen (Matt); grandchildren, Alex, Nathan and Lauren; and his sister, Shirlene Brouillet of Gig Harbor, Washington. He was preceded in death by sister, Hazel Kivett.