Herman Albertine

ALBERTINE—Herman, on January 22, 2010, at age 84, in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Herman was born October 20, 1925, in Hackensack, New Jersey, brother to musician and composer Charles Albertine and to sculptor Beatrice Albertine Hill. He attended Cornell University until enlisting in the Navy and served as Electronic Technician’s Mate First Class on the USS Cabot in the Pacific during WWII. After discharge in 1946, he married Lois Andlauer, of Newark, New Jersey, in 1948 and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cornell in 1950. He worked first for Westinghouse in the cathode ray (television picture) tube division in Horseheads, New York. In 1957 he moved with his family to Dallas, Texas, joining General Electrodynamics Corporation, where he developed video technology for space exploration. In the 1960s he joined National Electronics as president and later vice president and general manager of Varian Associates, National Electronics Division, Geneva, Illinois. He earned an MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1967. In 1979, he joined Varo Semiconductor, Garland, Texas, as general manager and went on to become general manager of an ITT Industries/Varo joint venture in night-vision technology. He led significant advancements in image intensifier and fiber optic technology. A civil rights advocate, Herman made a case for inclusive textbooks during his tenure as president of the Geneva, Illinois, Board of Education. In retirement on Amelia Island, Florida, he became a charter member of Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 14-1. At age 83, he completed work on his 23rd Habitat for Humanity house, Nassau County, Florida. Herman is survived by his wife, Lois; his daughter, Susan Albertine of Rockville, Maryland; his sons, Kurt Albertine of Park City, Utah, and Jeffrey Albertine, of Marietta, Georgia; six grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Herman’s memory to Nassau County Habitat for Humanity, 516 S. 10th Street, Suite 115, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034. A memorial celebration of Herman’s life will be held at Walker’s Landing, Amelia Island Plantation, Fernandina Beach, FL, on February 28, 2010, at 1:00 p.m.