Harold Frederick Erdley, 99, Remembered by Friends and Family

Harold Frederick Erdley passed away, suddenly, on Friday afternoon, February 21 (23 Shevat), in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 99, six weeks after the family home was destroyed by the Pacific Palisades wildfire.

Hal was born in Los Angeles to parents who had immigrated from Budapest, Hungary. He went to the University of California at both Los Angeles and Berkeley and earned a master's degree in electrical engineering. He interrupted his education to serve in the navy, during World War II, in the Pacific theater.

Hal's career was in the southern California aerospace industry. He was a pioneer of inertial navigation and highly respected in his field.

Besides being a "rocket scientist" he loved to read and listen to audiobooks and did so until his last day. He had an intellectual curiosity about many subjects, including quantum physics and American history. He had a love of many kinds of music until his hearing deteriorated.

Hal had a great sense of humor and enjoyed hearing and telling jokes. He could be quite deadpan, and sometimes it was hard to tell when he was serious and when he was kidding.

Hal was most proud of his five children, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren.

Harold is survived by his loving wife of 72 years, Celeste; by his children, Lori Gilman (Michael), Karen Ronan (Mark Bitter), Alyssa Ganezer (David), Julie Vanessa Julien (Bruce Smith), and Jeremy Erdley (Alison Wheeler); by his grandchildren, Melanie Gilman (Terence Lee), Anna Gilman (Benjamin Bergstein), Noah Gilman (Léa), Rafael Erdley, Zachary Erdley, Sabine Ganezer, and Samuel Zev Ganezer; and by his great-grandchildren, Eva and Miles Bergstein.