On December 17th 2022, George Samuel Downs passed away after a three-year battle with ALS.

George lived a rich and fulfilling life of professional achievement while enjoying a loving family and pursuing his passions.

Born in San Antonio, Texas on October 4th, 1939, he grew up mainly in the Buffalo New York area. George attended Amherst Central High School and participating in several sports including football, rifle club and track, where he excelled in sprints and hurdles. He had a lifelong love of Scouting, from Cub level to earning his Eagle Bade, to later leading Cub Scout Pack 45 in Acton.

In addition to being an athlete, George was an excellent student. Accepted at Cornell University, his first choice for college, he majored in Engineering Physics, a five-year degree. Nearing graduation, and watching the approaching blizzard coming up the gorge, he yearned for warmer climes. Stanford University, in sunny California, offered him a research assistantship in the Astronomy/Engineering department. George later wrote to a former professor that "those years were the most fun." His research on the polarization of radio sources earned him his PhD in 1968.

During his time at Stanford, George met Deanna. One week after graduation they were married and went camping in Hawaii. After returning, the newlyweds, along with Deanna's two children - Dan and Lisa Tudor - headed to Pasadena where George joined Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

For George, this was a dream job. Between February 24th and March 3rd, 1969, he and his associate observed an anomaly in a pulsar in the constellation Vela that led to what the New York Times dubbed "the crazy pulsar." This discovery had many ramifications for the future of space exploration and landed George in the World Book Encyclopedia 1972 yearbook.

As a member of the astronomical research community, George presented many scientific papers. As an added bonys, it allowed him and Deanna to travel extensively, mainly the major cities of Europe.

In 1974 their daughter Erica was born, and son Geoffrey followed in 1981. However, this did not stop them from traveling. In 1983 with Erica age 9 and Geoffrey not-quite 2, the family took a month-long sojourn to the South Pacific, including Tahiti, Bora Bora, Australia and New Zealand.

George became involved in planetary radar work, with the main focus being the planet Mars. Many nights were spent at the Goldstone Tracking Station in the Mojave desert. George came to love the desert and vastness of the night sky. Designing, building and calibrating a system to turn radar signals into planet morphology, George claimed he had looked at Mars for so long he had found a great vacation spot! This work led to finding a proper landing site for Viking 1, the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars.

In 1985 the family moved to Acton, Massachusetts and George joined MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, where he worked in signal processing and missile defense.

Retirement in 2011 opened up more time for travel, including South America, the Galapagos, Italy, Sicily, France and Normandy - one of George's bucket list places.

Aside from career, family life and travel, Karate was George's life-long passion. Beginning as a student while at Stanford, he continues to take courses for over 50 years, earning a second-degree black belt and running a dojo in Acton for many years, until his diagnosis and the pandemic forced him to close the doors.

For the past three years George was lovingly cared for in his home by his family and a team of dedicated nursing aides. Many thanks to Phil, Brenda and the many others for their help and devotion during this incredibly emotional and challenging time.

George is survived by his wife of 54 years, Deanna; son Geoffrey (Suzanne Guzman); daughter Erica (Andrew Chan); granddaughter Georgia Chan; brother Donald (Richard Korb); stepson Daniel Tudor (Soyuswan); stepdaughter Lisa Tudor; and step-grandson Kevin Borgio.

George's care was aided immensely by Compassionate Care ALS through provision of equipment, supplies, referrals, and recommendations. Contributions in George's memory can be made to:

CCALS

PO Box 1052

West Falmouth, MA

02574

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