William E. Sabin

William E. Sabin, 88, of Cedar Rapids, passed away on Monday, October 13, 2014, at Northbrook Manor Care Center. Memorial Mass: 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 16, 2014, in Queen of All Saints Chapel at All Saints Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, by Rev. John R. Flaherty. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be at Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio. Arrangements are by Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids. Bill was born August 1, 1926, in Covington, Kentucky, to Montgomery and Emma Householder Sabin. Survivors include Ellen, his wife of 58 years; a son, Paul, of Nashville, Tennessee; a son, James and his wife, Cindy of San Marino, California; a daughter, Janet and her husband, Steve Meyer of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; two granddaughters; six grandsons; and one great-grandchild. During WWII, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a radio operator aboard both the USS Atlanta (CL-104) and her deck-mounted Grumman J2F 'duck' plane. After the war, he flew over Hiroshima, Japan and was able to observe the aftermath of the atomic bomb. Bill was an avid, globally known ham radio operator, having received the call sign W9YFA in 1941 in Covington, Kentucky at age 15. In 1964, his call sign was changed to W��IYH. He attended evening classes at the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering while employed at General Electric. He and his family relocated to Cedar Rapids upon his employment at Collins Radio in 1964. He received his Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering (with distinction) in 1973, and his Master's in Electrical Engineering in 1976, both from the University of Iowa. Bill was a design engineer in the Advanced Technology department at Rockwell Collins from 1964, until his retirement in 1990. He was widely experienced in HF receiver and exciter design, synthesizer design, power supplies, spread spectrum techniques, and digital design. He was the co- editor and contributing author of three books on Single-Sideband and HF radio. Upon his retirement, he was the sole author of 'Discrete Signal Analysis and Design', which was published by Wiley Publishing Company and is considered to be a leading work in this subject. He authored more than 40 technical articles as well as portions of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) handbook. Bill was a Registered Professional Engineer, a lifelong member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Life Senior Member of IEEE, and member of the ARRL DXCC Honor Roll. In 1983 he received the annual ARRL Technical Excellence Award. He was preceded in death by his father, Montgomery Sabin of Orlando, Florida, his mother and stepfather Emma and William Warren of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and his brother, Montgomery Jr., of Falls Church, Virginia. Bill had a quick sense of humor. His family often said he could write for the late-night comedians. He was intelligent, well-read, and fully informed on current events. He thoroughly enjoyed and had a deep knowledge of classical music and was able to recognize a composition after hearing only a small portion of the opening movement. Two of his favorite quotes were, 'Don't live your life like it is 1000 years long', and 'Never settle for mediocrity. Why play checkers when you can master chess?' 73, Bill. The family would like to thank Dr. Archer, Dan, and Deanna at Mercy Health Partners; Dr. Frank at Mercy ER; Dr. Pham, Dr. Whitters, and those staff of Mercy Medical Center 9th Floor; and those staff of Northbrook Manor for their care and concern. And special thank you to Hospice of Mercy - you truly are 'Angels of Mercy!' Memorials are suggested to the Lewy Body Dementia Association in Lilburn, Georgia or Hospice of Mercy, Hiawatha.