Raymond Nienburg Obituary

Raymond Edwin Nienburg, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, quietly passed away at home with his wife Mary on December 6, 2024. After over one hundred years, his heart could no longer keep up. He was one of the last surviving World War II veterans and Greatest Generation.

Ray was born July 7, 1924 and raised in Amityville, New York, along with his older brother Fred. Pearl Harbor was attacked during Ray's senior year of high school and upon his graduation in 1942, he enlisted in the Navy. He served in the South Pacific from 1943 until 1946 in the Navy's Construction Battalion (Sea Bees) whose motto, "Can Do", reflects the belief that it could do anything and Ray took that motto to heart. His Sea Bee unit island-hopped from Fiji to Okinawa, building airports, hospitals, and other necessary structures. His unit was in Okinawa when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

Going to college hadn't been part of his life plan but after the war, thanks to the GI Bill, Ray attended MIT, earning both BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering, graduating in 1950. While at MIT, Ray married Virginia Linden and they started a family. Ray was an actively involved father who served on the local school board in Mahopac, New York. He encouraged his kids' curiosity, taught them outdoor skills, and enjoyed family outings for skiing, canoeing and camping. One of Ray's favorite reminiscences was building his Cottam Hill house in New York by himself with only minimal assistance from a few special-skill contractors. His Sea Bee experience and Can-Do attitude served him well for that project.

Ray spent his career in the computer industry, initially at IBM in various locations in New York, where he participated in the beginnings of computer time-sharing. In 1968, he joined Control Data Corporation in both Minnesota and Toronto, moving into management where he honed one of his primary skills, which was organizing and managing people. In 1975, he became VP of Engineering at MSI Data in Costa Mesa, California. In 1981, he left the world of computer manufacturing for a consulting position at LTI, preparing and teaching computer management seminars on a contract basis to organizations across the U.S, Israel, and Europe. He gradually phased down his LTI involvement and retired in 1996.

When he relocated to California in 1975, Ray married Mary C. Steele and bought a house in Laguna Niguel. During their 50-year occupancy, Ray welcomed chances to use his Can-Do skills to create a comfortable home. They custom-designed a camper van in 1981 and over the next 30 years, spent many happy days in that van in much of the western U.S. and Baja California. Other travels included a cruise to the South Pacific, visiting many islands where his Sea Bee unit had been.

As Ray cycled down from formal employment, he became even more civic-minded. He was active in the local senior club and the ACS ham radio group. He brought computer training classes to the senior center, both teaching and recruiting other teachers. He ran a one-man home maintenance business. He canvassed and wrote postcards in support of progressive candidates. And as he reminisced over his long life, Ray wrote and self-published a book called WWII-A Sea Bee in the South Pacific.

Ray was preceded in death by parents Fredrick J. and Augusta E. Nienburg, brother Frederick E. Nienburg, and daughters Karla Jean and Nan. He is survived by wife Mary C. Steele, son Charles R. Nienburg, daughter Karen N. Scott, grandchildren Brett Nienburg, Kelly Gibbons, Michael Scott and Rachel Scott, and great grandchildren Rowan Gibbons and Kiera Gibbons.