Dr. Lyle E. McBride Jr., 82

Obtained 27 U.S. patents

Dr. Lyle E. McBride, Jr., 82, died Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011, at his home in Norton, Mass.

He was surrounded by his family, including his two sisters.

Services will be held on Thursday, Dec. 22, at the Blair Congregational Church, UCC. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. at the church, with the service following at 11 a.m. Interment will be in the Blair Cemetery.

Lyle E. McBride was born Oct. 23, 1929, in Omaha to Lyle E. McBride, Sr., and Hilfrie (Lebeck) McBride. He was raised in Omaha with sisters, Nancy and Carol, and graduated from Central High School in 1947. As a boy, he spent time in Blair visiting his grandparents, George and Elsie McBride.

He attended Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., with a full scholarship and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1951. He met his future wife, Marjorie Crimmings, at Cornell and they married on June 15, 1952.

He began work at Procter & Gamble Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his young family accompanied him to assignments in Marseille, London, Brussels, and Manila, where he assisted in the construction of new factories. In 1959, he left industry to attend Harvard University, and acquired his master's and doctorate in applied physics in 1962. He taught four years at Princeton University then, in 1966, the family moved to Norton, Mass., for his new position at Texas Instruments, Inc. After retiring from TI in 1985, he taught electrical engineering at California State University at Chico until retiring again in 1992. During his career he obtained 27 U.S. patents.

He regularly visited Mexico, teaching electrical engineering at the University of Zacatecas. He had loved Mexico since first traveling there in high school, and his experiences in Zacatecas only increased his enthusiasm. He was highly regarded by his colleagues there and returned their admiration in full. He helped start a student exchange program providing cross-cultural experiences for U.S. and Mexican engineering students.

He was fluent in Spanish and French and had some knowledge of German and Russian. He was a gifted musician, often playing the piano to accompany his children and grandchildren in their music recitals. He was an avid railroad fan, and took numerous photos and videos of trains during his travels throughout the world. After retiring, he combined his love of travel and his love of trains as a tour guide who led rail tours in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Russia.

Married nearly 60 years, the McBrides raised six children: Lyle III, George, Jane, Mavis, Allen and Catherine. The family enjoyed many activities together including traveling, music, Swedish dancing and spending time at Onset Island.

Dr. McBride is remembered as a man of deep intellect who loved his family more than anything else in the world.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; one son and daughter-in-law, George and Lee McBride; and three daughters and sons-in-law, Jane and Peter Orzechowski, Mavis and Dan Dey, and Catherine and Craig Shogren; 19 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two sons, Lyle III, and Allen.

Memorials are suggested to the American Cancer Society, at www.cancer.org, or American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.

Campbell-Aman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.