Gil and Linda Larish at Lake Tahoe
After graduation from CSM, I joined Melabs, an Electronic Counter-Measure start-up company, in the engineering department doing electro-mechanical design and packaging. I remained with Melabs for 12 years. It was during that time period that I met my wife, Linda, who was a nurse at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. A year after we were married, we moved to a home in San Jose where we remained for 34 years.
As our son Michael and our daughter Karen were growing up, we found ourselves being cheerleaders, taxi drivers, and coaches for them as they participated in all the local sports and community programs. As a family, we enjoyed camping, softball, tennis, downhill skiing, and Lake Tahoe vacations. Linda, Michael, & I also enjoy backpacking in Yosemite and in the Lake Tahoe Desolation Valley Wilderness. Since sailing looked so relaxing (wrong), we bought a sailboat and have many stories to tell about our ventures on San Francisco Bay. Linda & I were also involved in our church activities and taught Marriage Preparation for Engaged Couples.
I worked for 2 other companies for about 3 years each until they both moved out of the Bay Area. During this time period I continued my studies at San Jose State and Stanford. In 1975 I joined Amdahl Corporation, a maker of Mainframe Computers in the Mechanical Engineering Department as a Senior Mechanical Engineer. I remained with Amdahl for 18 years. During my stay at Amdahl, I was able to advance to a Consulting Engineer and was responsible for the concepts of three of their mainframes. A mainframe project took about five years from concept to production and when assembled would fill an entire room. And now in 2005, that same amount of computing power sits in a small little box on top of your desk. It is amazing how semiconductor chip technology has evolved.
It was always a desire of mine to work for a medical company and contribute in the design of a piece of equipment that could save lives or improve one’s health. In 1995 I joined Visx as a consultant, and worked on the Excimer Laser System used to perform PRK (PhotoRefractive Keratectomy) eye surgery. This technology is still in use today and is being used by eye doctors worldwide.
In 1998 I joined Tandem Computers in Cupertino, CA, to head up a design team working on a new product. However, the week I joined them they were bought out by Compaq Computers and I ended up working on a server design controlled by Compaq in Houston, Texas. I stayed with Compaq until January of 2000 when I decided to retire.
Back in 1993 we bought a townhouse at Lake Tahoe in Incline Village, NV, and enjoyed spending a couple of weekends a month, a week in the summer, and a week in the winter at the lake. It was so different from the hectic pace of the Bay Area work place, the crowded freeways, and the valley smog. Tahoe is a very beautiful area and has many activities to offer in all seasons. Linda & I both agreed that we could retire there. That was all it took! In 1998 we sold the townhouse and bought a home within walking distance of the lake and moved there permanently in 2000.
We both enjoy the outdoor activities that the Lake Tahoe area
has to offer such as, snow shoeing, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing,
kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, golf (beginners) and just enjoying the
sunny summer days on the beaches. Our kids and grandkids enjoy coming up
and spending time with us at the lake. Of course, all our San Jose friends
also enjoy coming up to visit us. Sometimes we think we are running a B&B.
Our son, Michael, lives in Chico, CA with his wife and daughter, and works
for Butte County as a Computer Specialist. He is also a Sheriff and the
Captain of Butte County Search & Rescue. Our daughter Karen lives in
Elk Grove, CA with her husband, son, and daughter, and is a second grade
elementary school teacher.
When Linda is working part-time at the local hospital, I can be found raking pine needles in the summer or shoveling snow in the winter. We have been volunteering some of our time working at the local Jazz Festival, the Shakespeare Festival, and doing some community charity work. Over the years we have had the pleasure of traveling to many foreign countries with our favorites being Switzerland for hiking in the Alps and Italy for its people, wine, food and culture. We hope to continue our world travel adventures in the future and also see more of the U.S.
Maybe our paths will cross if you are ever visiting the Lake Tahoe area. If not, we will see you at the 50th BHS Class Reunion.
Gil & Linda on Tour to France (Summer 2007)
Photo courtesy of Irene Taylor who, by chance, was on the same tour