Obituaries

George Jerry Friedman, March 22, 1928 – May 31, 2020
Our wonderful loving father, George J. Friedman, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, May 31, at 7:23 PM. He was born on March 22, 1928, in New York City to Hungarian immigrants Sandor and Ruth Friedman, and spent most of his childhood in Monticello, New York. The family later moved to Los Angeles where he attended Los Angeles High School and UCLA. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, and his Master’s and PhD degrees at UCLA. George married Ruthanne Goldstein (1932-2019) in 1953, and settled in Hawthorne, California. They moved to Encino, California in 1966.
George was an Army and Navy veteran, worked at LA Department of Water and Power, and then spent most of his career at Northrop-Grumman where he attained the position of “Chief Scientist” (Vice President of Technology). George was the chief designer of the Northrop B-2 Stealth Bomber, among other military systems. After retiring, he then taught graduate-level courses in systems engineering at USC for about 20 years.
George invented a branch of mathematics called Constraint Theory and published a book on the subject. He was a founding member and past president of the National Council of Systems Engineering (NCOSE). George was an avid reader of science fiction, technology, mathematics, astronomy, and humor, and owned hundreds of books on these subjects.
George is survived by his three sons Sanford, Gary, and David, and their families, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the World Health Organization Covid 19 fund: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donate
A private family funeral was held. An online Zoom-based memorial is planned for Saturday, June 13 2020, at 1:00 PM PDT; details to follow. Please join us in celebrating and honoring George’s life. For information about attending the memorial, please contact Gary Friedman at garyfriedman2005@yahoo.com