Month: October 2015
In memoriam: George Raney (1922–2015)
George Neal Raney, 92, died at home on September 13, 2015 of natural causes. Born in Portland, Oregon on October 14, 1922, he spoke most fondly of his middle childhood years in Elmhurst, Illinois. In 1952 he married Barbara Robinson. They shared a love for their good friends, art, music, and travel for 60 years. He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara, his sister Patricia Lubar, and is his brother David Raney. He is survived by his sister, Helen Gowan, his daughters Rebecca Raney and Patricia Raney, as well as two grandchildren, two nieces, nine nephews, and many dear friends. Raney served from 1944-1946 as a navy radio engineer, and drove in a truck convoy on the Burma road from India to China in 1946. With a B.A. from Queens College 1943, Raney received a Ph.D. in mathematics from Columbia University in 1954. He taught math and engineering at MIT, Columbia, Penn State, and finally settled at the University of Connecticut in 1963, becoming emeritus 1984. His contributions were in the field of lattice theory, automata, and infinite series of functions and vectors. The Raney theorem became useful in computer science decades later. Raney also enjoyed studying botany and geology, hiking, and most of all, people. He will be remembered by those who knew him as a great friend, father and teacher, who was humble, generous, and just.