Donald W. Lolli, 67
Donald W. Lolli, 67, passed away Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005, at his residence in Kalispell.
He was born Dec. 1, 1937, in Chicago, the son of Dorando and Lela (Breed) Lolli.
He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1955 to 1959 in the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea.
In 1959, Don married Donna Bell Keeney of Pacific Beach, Ore. Together they had three children, Denise, Darrin and Daniel. They later divorced.
Don was an electrical engineer, and a prolific product designer and developer. His designs included: voice scrambler, ultrasonic leak detector, telephone open-line detector, telephone buried-line finder and fault detector, power dam fault locators, seismic equipment, oil well horizontal drilling systems and cryogenic equipment.
He worked for Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, Calif., where he was involved in development of oscillators and other electronic test and measurement instruments, which made Hewlett-Packard an international supplier of electronic instrumentation.
Don retired from Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto in 1969, and established Lexington Cable Area TV, a television cable company in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. He continued to design and develop electrical and mechanical products for government environmental agencies and the private sector in the Silicon Valley area of California for several years.
In 1991, Don relocated to Whitefish where he continued to design and develop products until his death. His recent products include: in partnership with Reggie McMurdo, Groundhawgs, a mechanical driving device to simplify installation of electrical ground rods for home and commercial applications; Travel Trac, a back traction device; and in partnership with Jimmy Bradford and Kelly Wheeler, Airbunz, the original inflatable bicycle seat, designed and manufactured in Whitefish. His latest product, 10 Minutes Books developed in partnership with Brett Jauhola and Reggie McMurdo, is a simplified accounting software product designed for home, business and commercial applications.
In addition to his family, Don leaves behind many friends. He was admired for his brilliance and loved for his honesty and generosity.
He was preceded in death by his twin brother, David Lolli; his father, Dorando Lolli; and his sister, Lela Jo Bjorde.
He is survived by his devoted wife and helpmate, Elizabeth A. Story, of Kalispell; his daughter, Denise Lolli, of Turlock, Calif.; his sons, Danny and Darrin Lolli, both of Whitefish; his mother, Lela LeBlanc, of San Jose, Calif.; sister, Barbara Lolli, of Laguna Beach, Calif.; and one brother, G. "Bud" Lolli, of Placitas, N.M.; a half brother, Rus LeBlanc, of San Jose; stepbrother, Jim LeBlanc, of San Jose; stepsister, Jeannette McNeal, of Bellevue, Wash.; grandchildren, Gregory Lolli of Los Gatos, Calif.; Geneva, Donald and Alena Lolli of Turlock; uncle, Amos Lolli, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; beloved aunt, Lena Leverence, of Hanover Park, Ill.; four nieces, Cindy Holly, of Chico, Calif., and Christy Lolli, Sheila Lolli and Deanna Lolli, all of San Jose; three nephews, Victor George Jr., of San Francisco, and Richard George and Douglas George, both of Hanover Park, Ill.; cousins, Henry Nick Lolli of Coalgate, Okla., Wilmena Thomas of Denton, Texas, and Jeanine McFall of Oklahoma City, Okla., Victor George of Temecula, Calif., Dennis George of Northbrook, Ill., Lawrence Leverence of Bartlett, Ill., Betty Anderson of Cameron Park, Calif., Patsy Cavender of Shingle Springs, Calif., Charles Lolli and Glen Lolli, both of Reno, Nev.; as well as numerous other nieces, nephews and cousins.
Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Johnson Mortuary Chapel. There will be no visitation.
The family suggests that any memorial contributions be sent to the Literacy Volunteers of Flathead County, 35 Fourth St. W., Kalispell, MT 59901.
Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Donald's family.