Published July 24, 2020
MELROSE — Allan Richard Gunion, 90, passed quietly overnight on July 14, 2020 in Melrose. Al was born on June 15, 1930, to France and Martha Gunion, and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Fort Collins, Colorado.
Al graduated from Annapolis Naval Academy in 1954, and spent the next four years as a second lieutenant in the Navy primarily on destroyers, or “tin cans” as he was fond of calling them. He moved on to earn a Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Electrical Engineering. Al was an accomplished electronics engineer with a focus on optical applications.
He worked at EG&G for several years, then Honeywell in Lexington. He left Honeywell to join a small startup named Holographics International, then, as a last step before retirement, Keithley Metrabyte.
In 1962, Al married Jeanne Tinsley in Teaneck, New Jersey, and enjoyed 58 years with Jeanne until his death. Al and Jeanne lived for many years in Concord before moving to North Chelmsford. Al was fond of walking long distances at a rapid clip, small sports cars (the nimbler the better), playing bridge with Jeanne and friends, and examining the inner workings of computers in fine detail.
Al is survived by Jeanne, their two children, Barbara Ruth and Robert Francis, and their niece Elizabeth Tinsley Hecht. Arrangements by the Gately Funeral Home, Melrose
