[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E558-E559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MARLAN BOURNS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 9, 2014

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to 
Marlan Bourns, who passed away on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Marlan was a 
pillar of the community in Riverside County and he will be deeply 
missed.
  Marlan was born May 28, 1920, not far from Milford, Michigan, to 
Frank and Bernice Bourns and was raised from humble beginnings. He grew 
up in the same home his mother was raised in, which stood on 40 acres 
of farmland. Marlan was enrolled in the local school, Picket School, 
which only consisted of one room, but provided him with a quality 
education. While growing up, Marlan took on many jobs on the farm 
including counting sheep, collecting eggs from the hen coup, and 
bringing in water from the well. Marlan also developed an interest in 
the technical fields and started reading the magazine Popular Mechanics 
at a young age.
  This interest quickly manifested itself into a passion and a hobby. 
Marlan took the technical knowledge he gained through reading and began 
building things by himself. He built a shooting gallery to practice his 
BB gun shot, a small working submarine, and eventually two working 
automobiles that could fit full-sized adults. Marlan also took up an 
interest in musical performance, and developed a knack for playing the 
saxophone during his high school years. He also honed his skills 
playing the clarinet and piano and created both a band and a lucrative 
business by playing his instruments at weddings. Soon, Marlan would go 
on to graduate high school with a perfect record and earned a spot at 
the University of Michigan where he would graduate with a Bachelor's 
Degree in Physics and a lifetime membership with the Phi Beta Kappa 
Academic Honor Society. Throughout his time in high school and as an 
undergraduate, Marlan's interest in technology was manifested during 
his shop classes and he was known for being able to convert innovative 
ideas into hardware.
  Marlan also met the love of his life, Rosemary, during his time at 
the University of Michigan, whom he would marry in her parent's living 
room shortly after she graduated from the same university in 1947. 
After being selected for a top secret U.S. Navy program at the 
California Institute of Technology, which was instrumental in the 
development of the Manhattan Project, Marlan and his new bride made the 
cross-country trek to California with the help of her parents. The 
couple purchased an older home in Altadena, California, and started 
Bourns Laboratories, which recently celebrated its 65th Anniversary, in 
their single car garage.
  Rosemary ran the business side of the operation and Marlan was the 
innovator, and together, they made an unstoppable team. The Bourns 
family worked diligently making and testing products with what little 
resources they had. With the creation of one successful prototype, made 
out of a Whitman's candy box, they earned a massive contract with 
Consolidated Vultee in San Diego for many of their projects including 
linear motion potentiometers, vane transducers, accelerometers and 
bourdon tube pressure transducers. Though the company would rapidly 
grow over the coming years, Rosemary and Marlan remained very 
personally involved in its development and made sure to establish 
relationships with their employees. They built manufacturing plants for 
their products all over the world, and found a passion for traveling as 
they regularly visited them.
  Marlan, who holds over 100 patents to his name, was often honored 
throughout his career for his significant contributions to growth of 
the electronic components industry. He was

[[Page E559]]

honored as the ``Fellow of the Bourns College of Engineering'' by the 
college he helped establish at University of California, Riverside. He 
and Rosemary were also honored as Sensors Magazine's 1996 Lifetime 
Achievement Award in 2010 and as Cal State University, San Bernardino's 
recipients of the Spirit of the Entrepreneur Award and Lifetime 
Achievement Award.
  Marlan is survived by his son Gordon; daughters Linda Hill, Anita 
Macbeth and Denise Moyles; 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren 
who will fondly remember his sense of humor and compassion for others.
  Marlan will always be remembered for his incredible contributions to 
business, his work ethic, generosity, and love of family. His 
dedication to his work and community is a testament to a life lived 
well and a legacy that will continue. I extend my condolences to 
Marlan's family and friends; although Marlan may be gone, the light and 
goodness he brought to the world remain and will never be forgotten.

                          ____________________