NORTH ANDOVER — Stanford R. Amstutz, 80, died at Wingate of Andover, December 11th, after a courageous six year battle with Multiple System Atrophy, a rare neurodegenerative disease.
Mr. Amstutz, of North Andover, formerly of Andover, is survived by his wife of 45 years, Carolyn (Stevens), and their two daughters, Jennifer Amstutz and her husband Spencer Warnick of Albany NY, and Elizabeth and her husband Neil Munro of Sevenoaks, Kent, England. He also leaves four grandchildren: Ryan Stanford Warnick, Daniel Spencer Warnick, Katherine Stevens Munro, and Emily Forbes Munro.
Also among his survivors are his sister-in-law, Martha Walsh and her husband John of Lancaster Pennsylvania as well as several nieces and nephews. Mr. Amstutz was born in Smithville, Ohio, March 8, 1931, the son of Harvey and Beulah Amstutz. He attended Ashland College for one year, before transferring to M.I.T., from which he graduated in 1955 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He was a member of the Theta Chi Fraternity, and was an ROTC cadet.
After being commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, he served for three years as an engineering officer in communication system development. After leaving the Air Force, Mr. Amstutz joined Sylvania Electronic Systems where he conducted development on communication systems and radars. In 1965 he earned his Masters in Science from Northeastern University, and then in 1972 went to Comshare, a computer time sharing company in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was VP of Software Product Development.
In 1982 he joined GTE Laboratories in Waltham, Massachusetts. At GTE he was Principal Architect of Burst Switching Technology, an innovative approach permitting switching of voice and data through the same switching fabric. He received 8 patents for this work, and the burst switch was added to the Smithsonian collection in 1998. In addition to his ongoing interest in all things technical, Mr. Amstutz was an avid reader, historian, skier, golfer and a lifelong learner.
ARRANGEMENTS: A Memorial Service will be held at West Parish Church, 129 Reservation Road, Andover MA on Monday, December 19, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be directed to MSA Research Fund, c/o Dr. Peter Novak, U Mass Memorial Fund, 365 Plantation Street, Worcester 01605, or the charity of your choice. Family and friends may call on Sunday, December 18 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Conte Funeral Home, 28 Florence Street, Andover MA. For directions or to offer online condolences please visit www.contefuneralhomes.com
