Jack Gilbert Burgen, Jr. Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

DUE TO CORONA VIRUS RESTRICTIONS, THE FAMILY WILL HAVE A PRIVATE GRAVESIDE SERVICE. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE AN ONLINE CONDOLENCE OR REACH OUT BY PHONE TO SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME. Jack Gilbert Burgen, Jr. was born December 1, 1933 to parents Gilbert and Jane Burgen (Gebhard). He grew up in Dallas with younger brother Carl, and attended North Dallas High School. At the forefront of the electronic revolution, Jack graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. That same year, he married Julia Ann Sanford. Together they had three daughters, Judy Aschner (husband Henry), Jenny Chapman (Barry), and Jackie Chase (Bob), six grandchildren (Erin, Eric, Jane, Austin, Katie, and Emma), and three great grandchildren (Liam, Sarah, and Henry). After graduation, Jack soon joined the initial missile group at Cape Canaveral as part of the U.S. Air Force, advancing from Second Lieutenant to Captain during his USAF service. Jack developed data transmission technology, initially focusing on achieving transfer rates of 3,000 bits per second in order to support voice communications. After leaving the Air Force, he joined Texas Instruments and was awarded a contract to support the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA on the first interplanetary (Mariner) space shot, which traveled to Venus. Jack founded a successful company, Electronic Instruments Inc., which eventually was purchased by Teledyne GeoTech. The design of small electronic data packages for space flight transitioned to applying those principles to instruments used down deep boreholes in oil and gas exploration, leading to the next phase of his career, with Gearhart logging company. In addition to attending the Harvard Graduate Business School in this period, Jack travelled extensively worldwide promoting logging tools with real-time data transfer technology, including trips to the USSR and China in the iron curtain days, (also Malaysia and India) long before such access was normalized. He also got a pilot Plane license and would fly Julia and Judy and Jenny sometimes. He also worked for MCI at the end of his working life making many trips to Ireland to help them with operations there. After a long and successful career, Jack enjoyed relaxing at home during his retirement with his wife Julia dotting on him and greatly loved by his family. He and Julia liked to camp and even backpack in Colorado and later would still travel to many National Parks. His brother said he even did some spelunking in his twenties and was with a group when one big cave was discovered. He liked classical music and going to the symphony as well as enjoying a bowl of ice cream with his daughters and grandkids while watching an old movie. He had a wonderful long life and he will be dearly missed. He is survived by his wife Julia, his brother Carl Burgen (New York) and his children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren too.

Jack Gilbert Burgen, Jr.

December 1, 1933 - May 19, 2020