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Obituaries

Eugene G. Haberman

August 18, 1933 - January 13, 2019

Service Information

Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills - Mount Sinai Chapel

5950 Forest Lawn Drive

Los Angeles, California 90068

Service Date
January 21, 2019
Service Time
11:30 am
Obituary Viewed 2830 times

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Gene grew up in New York City. Gifted in math and science, he attended The Bronx High School of Science and then City College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering. He met his wife, Barbara, at a Hunter Girl’s party she held in her home. While Barbara first claimed to have no interest in “that wild red-haired guy”, they soon became smitten with each other and married within six months of that first, fateful encounter.

Gene began his career at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he was part of an elite cohort of engineers recruited to advance space and weapons technology in the time of the Cold War. He served several months on active duty in the US Air Force, and then returned to the Air Force’s civilian corps. After a few years at Wright-Patterson, he moved across the country—along with most of his rocket science cohort—to work at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (AFRPL) in Edwards, California. The members of this close-knit group became colleagues, carpool buddies, and best friends and roasted each other mercilessly at their retirement parties.

In Gene’s 34 years at the Rocket Lab, he worked on and managed the design, development, and testing of a wide variety of rockets and components. As a manager, he was responsible for the operation of all the lab’s test facilities.  He rose through the civilian ranks, serving as Project Engineer, Office Director, and Division Chief for the Propulsion Analysis, Liquid, and Solid Rocket Divisions, as well as Director of the Solid Rocket Division. He also chaired the Independent Test Observer Team, which directly supported the President’s Commission that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. After Gene retired from his position at AFRPL, he continued his aerospace work within the private sector.  His children were thrilled to learn that one of his job titles was “Chief Engineer”, like Scotty on Star Trek. Another of his post-retirement roles was as the Technology Manager for the joint Air Force/NASA Advanced Launch System (ALS) Program. Gene was respected for his integrity and fairness and known for his intelligence and tenacity in defending his ideas and values. He was honored with a lifetime achievement award by his professional society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Gene was a devoted husband and father, one of those dads of the 1960s and 70s whose wife made his breakfast, packed his lunchbox for work (often with a hard-boiled “daddy egg” and some sort of treat), and sent him off with a kiss and a wave when his carpool came to pick him up. He always came home for dinner and attended his children’s varied activities, from David’s hockey games to Karen’s band performances and everything in between. He taught them important skills like how to change a tire and wax skis, and how to operate and record music on the reel-to-reel tape deck.

On weekends, Gene enjoyed his “Daddy music”, which included Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass, Harry Belafonte, and an assortment of folk and big band music. He also loved to relax on his air mattress in the backyard pool, silently slipping off it to play the role of “shark” for the kids. (The kids always knew he was coming, but his impeccable timing always caught them out.) As the kids grew older, Barbara and Gene developed a reputation for hosting poolside parties with good food and drink that sometimes lasted late into the night.

Despite being city people who lacked camping and wilderness skills, Gene and Barbara were determined to create the all-American experience for their family. They bought an orange Dodge camper van with a bubble top, dubbed “The Great Pumpkin”, and crossed the country many times, often staying in National Parks and always attending the ranger talks. Gene loved history, and supplemented the information gleaned from the rangers with deep historical background and endless factoids about a place and its people. Gene served as both driver and the navigator, balancing the map in his lap and only stopping if it was absolutely necessary. The children attribute their lead-foot driving habits and ability to drive six hours straight without needing a bathroom stop to their dad.

The family learned how to ski together and took many trips to Mammoth Mountain, California. On one ski trip, Barbara, David, and Karen were all waiting for Gene at the lodge at the end of the day when they saw a single ski shooting down the mountain.  Shortly thereafter, Gene came sliding down the mountain on his butt, holding one leg high in the air with the remaining, attached ski.  Gene also had a penchant for taking ski trails off the beaten path that often involved bushwhacking. These were dubbed “Daddy Trails.”

Gene and Barbara’s Jewish heritage was a significant aspect of their shared lives. On Friday nights, the family shared Shabbat dinners, always with prayers, candles, challah, and wine.  Gene and Barbara helped to build and lead Lancaster’s Jewish community. Gene blew the shofar for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services and served for a time as the temple’s President. After the temple was destroyed by fire in 1978, he supervised the rebuilding of the new temple.

After Gene’s retirement from the Rocket Lab, Gene and Barbara moved to Marina del Rey. They became active in their Chavurah at Temple Beth Shir Shalom and rode their tandem bicycle always in matching jerseys, often with matching socks and shoes! They cruised the Venice Beach bike path and explored the roads of France, Denmark, and Holland. They were usually not in the front of the pack, as indicated by their nickname, “The Tandem Turtles.” The most important part is that they had fun together. Always joiners and doers, Gene and Barbara organized many group bicycle trips for themselves and their friends. Their travels took on another dimension when they became Friendship Force Ambassadors. They immersed themselves in other cultures and formed lasting friendships with their host families abroad and visitors they hosted from all over the world. Gene organized and led a Friendship Force trip to Ghana in 2007.

Shortly after the trip to Ghana, Gene had a stroke, but that didn’t stop him from traveling the world. Barbara continued to organize trips and mobilize the two of them to such far-flung places as Kenya, Portugal, and Spain, sometimes with their son David as the driver. In 2015, they bicycled in the Loire Valley with their children, still wearing their matching outfits. Gene was impressive—cycling and smiling for many more miles than the rest of the family thought would be possible.  The couple traveled together to 64 countries in their 64 years of marriage and made it to all seven continents.

Gene and Barbara took life’s final journey together, side-by-side in their own home, as their children, family and friends recounted the stories of their lives. They are survived by David and Karen, an assortment of cousins, and their many friends.

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