Notes:

Birth:

Nancy married Samuel James BRUNGARD on 3 Dec 1903 in Salona, Clinton Co, PA. Samuel (son of Henry James BRUNGARD and Rebecca BARNER) was born on 22 Oct 1878 in Lamar, Clinton, Pennsylvania; died on 6 Jan 1965 in Cuba, Allegheny Co, NY . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Sherman V. FRANCISCO. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Sherman Francisco
FRANCISCO SHERMAN GOWDY FRANCISCO (Age 75) An electrical engineer wh
o helped pioneer the GPS system, died
at his home in Rockville, MD of a massive heart attack on January 7, 2
009. Mr. Francisco began his professional career with
IBM in 1955, working in the newly formed Federal Systems Division. Whi
le employed by IBM, he obtained patents relating to
analog to digital conversion. As a senior technical staff member, Mr
. Francisco was head of the Control Segment of the GPS
development program. He was a contributing author to the definitive bo
ok on the GPS System, Global Positioning System:
Theory and Applications, Vol. 1, ed by Bradford W. Parkinson and Jame
s J. Spilker Jr., [1994 American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.]. Mr. Francisco was a member of th
e first class in the prestigious IBM Academy and was
an IBM FSD Fellow. He received many citations and awards from IBM/Lora
l/Lockheed over the years, including IBMs
Outstanding Technical Achievement award for his contributions to the d
esign, development and fielding of the initial GPS
control segment. He received the Collier Award for IBM in recognitio
of the GPS system as the most significant develop-
ment in safe and efficient navigation in 50 years. The technical commu
ity of IBM/Loral/Lockheed Martin created The
Francisco Award to honor him for his outstanding achievements and cont
ibutions to the GPS Project. Dating from the 1950s,
Mr. Francisco was an accomplished private pilot with IFR, Seaplane, Gl
ider, Multi-Engine and Commercial ratings. He
volunteered many flying hours and administrative time to Aircraft Owne
s and Pilots Association (AOPA) for the Aviation
Safety Foundation. Before 4-wheel drive vehicles were popular, he volu
teered to transport doctors and nurses to and from
hospitals in snowstorms. In recent years he had volunteered as Santa C
laus on several occasions. Mr. Francisco was born in
Wellsville, New York, on February 2, 1933, and grew up in Smethport, P
ennsylvania near Bradford, where he attended the
Smethport Schools. He graduated from Smethport High School in 1951. Hi
s father, Mr. Sherman V. Francisco, was a
prominent educator who served as Superintendant of Schools in Smethpor
t. His mother, Rhea Brungard Francisco, taught
Remedial Reading. Mr. Francisco received a B.S. degree from Penn Stat
e in 1955, an M.S. from Stanford in 1960, and the
equivalent of doctorate in Electrical Engineering from M.I.T. in 1964
. His thesis was titled A Terrain Proximity Flight Controller
Utilizing Characteristic-Coordinate Transformations. He was a member o
f Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. Mr.
Francisco lived in Montgomery County from 1966 to the time of his deat
h. He is survived by Lizbeth K. Francisco, his wife of
44 years. A memorial service to honor and celebrate the life of Mr. Fr
ancisco will take place on Tuesday, January 27, at 3
p.m. at the Glenview Mansion (Rockville Civic Center), 603 Edmonston D
ive at Old Baltimore Road, Rockville, MD.
Donations in his name may be made to Doctors Without Borders,www.docto
swithoutborders.org or 1-888-392-0392, or by
mail to P.O. Box 5030 Hagerstown MD 21

Washington Post, January 18, 2009


Birth:



Died:

Sherman married Lizbeth K. ? about 1965. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]