Dr. Raymond Jurgens

Dr. Raymond F. Jurgens was born September 13, 1937 and was the eldest of four children born to Norman Jurgens and Martha Russel Jurgens. He passed away peacefully in his home at the age of 83 on September 26, 2020. The degenerative effects of Parkinson’s disease made his later years increasingly difficult except for the love, care, and support from his wife Barbara Uglean Jurgens and caregiver Kim Seymour.

In looking through Ray’s papers, we came upon his report cards from elementary and high school. He received mostly C’s and D’s with an occasional A or F. Various educators wrote comments such as, “Bothers everyone else, daydreams instead of working, can’t keep quiet.” He was spoken to about his attitude repeatedly and simply wouldn’t apply himself.  During his childhood years, his father and uncle, Raymond J. Jurgens, who they called “Pick” and who Ray was named after, were fighting in World War II. His father returned but his uncle was buried in a common grave and the family did not know what had happened to him for a long time. It is hard to know exactly why Ray struggled during his formative school years be it concerns for his father and uncle or simply not being sufficiently challenged, but he clearly grew to be a champion for lifelong learning.

He was actively involved from the age of 16 in ham radio, an interest that continued throughout his life. His first call sign was WAMSL and, until about five years ago, AD6RJ. His sister, Joyce Desrochers, remembers how people in Tiffin, Ohio would drop off tube radios for him to fix when he was about age 12. She said that his bedroom was so full of wires and things that his mother was unable to dust. There are also stories about how his experiments with rockets nearly blew off the porch. Later in life, friends, family, and neighbors can recall the impressive antennas he built and installed for his home and automobile.

Raymond Jurgens had undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering from Ohio University. In 1969, he earned his PhD from Cornell for his early work in radar astronomy at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, creating some of the first range-Doppler images of Venus. He was a professor at Ohio University and Clarkson University and then worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 30 years where he spent much of his time leading a team at the Goldstone Observatory. His primary focus was mapping and studying Venus, asteroids, and comets. His work was instrumental for the Magellan spacecraft to safely enter orbit. Throughout his career, he wrote or co-authored hundreds of published scientific papers. He was a primary authority on planetary radar astronomy and made enduring contributions in his field.

Among Ray’s many talents and interests, music was a central part of his life. He played piano, guitar, and various other instruments. He was particularly interested in early computer music and built hardware to send information between a computer and synthesizer. Additionally, he built remote-controlled airplanes and was an avid skier, bicyclist, and photographer. When his motor skills decreased late in life, he drafted essays and blog posts on environmental issues and climate change.

He lived a full and remarkable life and will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Uglean Jurgens; sisters, Joyce Desrochers and Terry Miller; children, Margot and Warren Jurgens; Barbara’s children, Darrell Uglean and Laura Uglean Jackson; grandchildren, Daniel and Barry Moore, Graham Jurgens, Mackenzie Zakharov, Nanette and Micaiah Ferlito; and great-grandchildren, Ivy Moore and Ira Jurgens.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to one of Ray’s favorite organizations: Population Connection, Planned Parenthood, or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.