Santa Clara Magazine

Richard "Dick" Minor ’71, M.S. ’73 was 63. June 19, 1949 to July 16, 2012. Dick passed away surrounded by his loving family after a courageous battle with cancer. Dick was born in Portland to James and Marjorie Minor and grew up in Lake Oswego. He graduated from Our Lady of the Lake, Jesuit High School and Santa Clara University, with an M.S. in electrical engineering. He then earned an M.B.A. from UCLA and was a recipient of the National Science Foundation Award. Upon graduation from college, he set off alone on a 10,000 mile bicycle trek touching all four corners of the lower 48 states. Dick was an avid pilot and was instrument rated. He was a proficient photographer, and his 1970 Vortex I pictures were published in The Oregonian and featured in the OPB Oregon Experience documentary, Vortex. Dick married the love of his life, Jean, in 1987 and was devoted to his family, his community and the Boy Scout program. Dick served for many years as a leader of Troop #520 of Newberg; was involved with the scout program for 15 years; and was thrilled to see his son, Danny, receive the Eagle Scout Award, just as Dick himself had received the Eagle badge years before. Dick was a senior software engineer for dvsAnalytics for the last 17 years; and was instrumental in the design and development of the company's flagship product, Encore. He was a mentor and role model for the other software engineers and brought to the organization a wealth of knowledge and experience. He will be missed not only as a valued and loyal employee, but as a friend. Previously, Dick was one of a small group of software engineers who developed the programming for the first automatic teller machines serving banks up and down the West Coast. He also owned his own software company, Comprog. Dick is survived by his beloved family his wife, Jean; his two daughters, Megan and Colleen; and his son, Danny, all of Newberg. He is also survived by four brothers, Chris (Mary), Tim (Melinda), Bob (Cate) and Rusty (Donna); and sister, Nancy; in addition to numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family. Dick was well known for his love of life, community service and appreciation of family. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. 

Larry J. Alvarez ’71, 63, a retired Tracy farmer, died Sunday, Nov. 18, at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City. Born in Tracy on Aug. 5, 1949, he was a lifelong Tracy resident. After graduating from Tracy High School, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Santa Clara University. After college, Mr. Alvarez returned to Tracy to farm with the family farming operation, Alvarez Farms. He served in the U.S. Army and National Guard Reserves and was a parishioner of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church and a member of Tracy Golf and Country Club and Rhodes Bean and Supply Co-op. He was a past board member of the California Tomato Growers Association. Survivors include a daughter, Alesha Alvarez, and her husband, Gus Jimenez, of San Ramon; two sons, Mitch Alvarez of Stockton and Joey Alvarez of Tracy; and three grandchildren. Also surviving are his father, Joe Alvarez of Tracy; a sister, Patty Robidart ’69 of Pinole; a cousin who was like a brother, Jack Alvarez of Tracy; and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Brijida “Bre” Alvarez. 

Hans Camenzind MBA ’71, the Swiss emigre analog guru who invented one of the most successful circuits in electronics history and introduced the concept of phase-locked loop to IC design, passed away in his sleep at the age of 78. 

Camenzind came to the United States in 1960 and worked for several years at some of the storied names of the newly developing semiconductor industry: Transitron, Tyco Semiconductor, and Signetics. 

In 1971 he joined the ranks of entrepreneurs by founding InterDesign, a company specializing in semi-custom integrated circuit design. It was there, working under a contract with Signetics, that he invented the 555 timer.  Signetics commercialized the device in 1972, and it went on to become one of the most successful in the industry's history. The device, used in oscillator, pulse-generation and other applications, is still widely used today. Versions of the device have been or are still made by dozens of major semiconductor vendors, including Texas Instruments, Intersil, Maxim, Avago, Exar, Fairchild, NXP and STMicroelectronics. 

Camenzind also introduced the idea of phase-locked loop to design and invented the first class D amplifier.

Camenzind was a prolific author with interests as diverse as electronics textbooks and the history of the industry ("Much Ado About Almost Nothing") to a book on God and religion ("Circumstantial Evidence"). He wrote under the pen name John Penter. He received an MSEE from Northeastern University and an MBA from the University of Santa Clara, and, during his career secured 20 patents. 

He is survived by his wife Pia, his daughter Sue (Erol Kirelik), his sons Robert (Amy), Peter (Lisa), Tim (Marie), and nine grandchildren.