Obituary

Versions of this obituary were submitted to the Waukesha Freeman and Laramie Boomerang.

Douglas Earl Eastwood

July 31, 1924 - April 17, 2009

Douglas Earl Eastwood, 84, passed away Thursday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease*.

Douglas was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Earl V. Eastwood and Thelma Yelton Eastwood. He was raised and graduated from high school in Dayton, Ohio. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he earned a BA from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where he met his wife, Ruby Carolyn Collins Eastwood. Douglas went on to earn a Master’s degree from the University of Kentucky and a PhD in Physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

As one of the first computer scientists in the country, Douglas worked on developing computer languages at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. He became Director of the Computer Center at Rutgers University, and founded the Computer Science department at the University of Wyoming. He worked for the Department of Energy and Bureau of Mines. He also started his own business, Action Computing, in Laramie, Wyoming.

Douglas was a deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church in Meyersville, New Jersey and in Laramie, Wyoming. He was very active as an adult leader for the Boy Scouts of America. He also volunteered recording audio books for the blind. He loved hiking, camping and fishing in the mountains of Wyoming.

Douglas is survived by his wife of sixty-two years, Ruby Carolyn Collins Eastwood of Waukesha, Wisconsin, their three children, Dan (Deb) Eastwood of Waukesha, Wisconsin, John (Kathy) Eastwood of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Susan (Tony Paticchio) Eastwood of Ashford, Connecticut, five grandchildren (Aidan, Bryce, Emma, Erin, and Megan), a sister DeLyle Eastwood of Pullman, Washington and four nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister Ellin Carter.

A memorial service is planned; details to be announced. Contributions may be made in his memory to the Presbyterian Church, Alzheimer’s research, Boy Scouts of America or The Caring Place, Attn: Mary Johnson, 810 North East Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186.