 |
In Memoriam: John
Linford
Mechanical contractor and WWII pilot
|
In
his retirement, John Linford (right) served for two years
as mentor to George Ban-Weiss, a 2003 graduate in mechanical
engineering.
PEG SKORPINSKI PHOTO |
John A. Linford (B.S.'47 ME), who ran his own mechanical contracting
company for 40 years, died of cancer May 2, 2003, at age 80.
Linford was born and raised and lived his entire life in Oakland,
spending 46 of those years in his Piedmont home. He began his
engineering studies at Berkeley in 1940 but left school to enlist
in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He flew 34 combat missions,
including piloting the lead B-24 in the Eighth Air Corps' last
mission over Europe. Returning home in June 1945, Linford resumed
his studies in mechanical engineering and earned his degree in
1947.
In 1954, he started his own company, Linford Air & Refrigeration
Company of Oakland, which became the second largest mechanical
contractor in northern California. In 1990 Linford received the
Samuel Terry Award, the most prestigious honor of the Oakland
chapter of the Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors'
National Association.
An avid skier, fly-fisherman, and outdoorsman, he also continued
to fly planes after his military service. He visited all seven
continents and piloted aircraft over four of them. He was proud
of his pioneer ancestors — on both parents' sides —
who sailed the Atlantic and walked across the plains to build
a new life with the Latter Day Saints.
Linford served as president of the Engineering Alumni Society
in 1994 and was an active supporter of the Berkeley Engineering
Fund. He and his wife’s support of the Soda Hall Campaign
is commemorated by the John A. and Louise T. Linford Lounge on
the seventh floor of Soda Hall. In addition to his wife, he is
survived by a son, two daughters, two granddaughters, and four
grandsons.
|
|
FOREFRONT takes you into the
labs, classrooms, and lives of professors, students, and alumni
for an intimate look at the innovative research, teaching, and
campus life that define the College of Engineering at the University
of California, Berkeley.
Published three times a year by the Engineering Public Affairs
Office. Have a comment about Forefront? E-mail
your letter to the editor. Click here
to learn more about the magazine.
|
|
