Glenn Martin Heestand

Glenn Martin Heestand of Plesanton died Dec. 18. He was 74.

Born June 17, 1942, in Canton, Ohio to parents Glenn and Elizabeth Heestand, he grew up working at his family's lumber company in Tiffin, Ohio, where he learned the value of hard work and developed an interest in physical science.

He received his undergraduate degree from the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio with high honors and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He completed his post-doctoral training at Aarhus University in Denmark. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi Honor Society, American Physical Society and Toy Train Operating Society.

Glenn started his career as an associate professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Superior in 1972 teaching graduate students.

During that time, he met Marilyn Weire on a bicycle ride, and they were married in 1974. The couple briefly lived in Madison before making the move west for Glenn to work at Exxon Nuclear in Richland, Washington. They built their first home in Richland, where their son Gregory was born in 1976. Heestand later joined the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1983, where he worked until his retirement in 2013. During his career at Lawrence Livermore, he was involved with both the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation and National Ignition Facility projects.

Heestand had great love for knowledge. He was an avid student and spent most evenings studying esoteric physics textbooks. He also was an avid collector of Lionel electric toy trains from the post-war period. He spent his weekends hiking, bicycling and expanding his model train layout. More than anything, Heestand loved his two young grandchildren as well as his pet Pomeranian and Papillion dogs.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, son, Gregory Heestand (Grace Ku) of Palo Alto; grandchildren, Garrett and Olivia of Palo Alto and sister, Diane Skinner (Robert Skinner) of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Services have been held.