Lew Franklin died on September 27, 2019, and has returned to his heaven, the Sierra Nevada Mountains to hike the breath-taking and never-ending wilderness he called home. Lew was born in Fresno, California, to Lew and Mary Franklin and was the eldest son of four children. He grew up in North Fork, California, and graduated from high school at 16 and started at Fresno State. In his junior year he transferred to UC Berkeley and received a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1957.  While at UC Berkeley his fraternal brother at Delta Sigma Phi, Fred Schorr, introduced him to his little sister Nancy Schorr. After a courtship that included speeding down Hwy 101 in a red MG, a glove compartment full of speeding tickets from King City, and short weekends in Downey, California, Nancy and Lew were married in September, 1959, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Lew and Nancy settled in Sunnyvale, California, and Lew began a long and illustrious career in the defense industry in Silicon Valley. Lew joined ESL as Employee #6 in the early 1960s and over his 30+ year career moved up from engineer to Vice-President of TRW. He loved ESL and made many dear friends to whom he remained close for many years. In his career he was on many government boards in Washington DC and in appreciation for his service, he was awarded the CIA's Agency Seal Medal for having made significant contributions to the Agency's intelligence efforts. Upon his retirement from ESL/TRW he started his second career as a research analyst at the Center of International Studies and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. While there he lectured and advised graduate students in the Mars Program and researched and studied missile launches around the world. He loved his work at Stanford, nurturing and bringing along the next generation of scientists, and contributing to the pursuit of peace through nuclear disarmament.

Lew is survived by his wife Nancy of 60 years, daughters Debbie (Randy) Benke, Melissa (Andrew) Hadidian, and Amie Franklin; his sisters Marian Franklin and Pat Williford, and brother Robert ( Noreen) Franklin; and his granddaughters whom he loved and enjoyed very much: Molly (Tyler) King, Mary Benke, Olivia Hadidian, and Allison Hadidian.

It seemed that Lew could do anything he put his mind to: build a cabin from the ground up, drop an engine, play Beethoven sonatas on the piano, grow a large garden that overflowed with tomatoes, build fine cabinetry, and run marathons with his close running friends including New York and Paris. Whatever he did, he did 100%.

Lew shared his love for the mountains with his family. He loved to ski, hike, and backpack in the Sierras.   Music was also a large part of his life and played the piano along with other instruments.  He also loved to travel and took every opportunity to do so all over the world, including starting his career in Turkey, family trips in Europe and Mexico, archeological digs in Guatemala, trips with his running group to Peru and Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and Russia, along with many trips to visit family throughout the United States and the Olympics.

Lew had a smile for everyone, a strong commitment and love for his family, and was ready to help anyone. He will be sorely missed. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Sierra Club or the American Diabetes Association