LarryBarr

Dear Joan Cowell,

I don't think we ever met, but I knew Larry Cowell very well during many
of the years he worked at Kitt Peak. I first knew him well when I began
managing the Stellar Engineering Group in about 1972. He was already
regarded as one of the best designers in the Drafting Room and further
confirmed that in his work for me. He was the principal designer on
such projects as the AutoGuider for the 4-m Mayall Telescope and later
for layouts for the Next Generation Telescope. There were many others
and I valued his talents greatly. Indeed, he was our "standard" for
measuring other designers at the annual meeting for evaluating
performances, a "semi-confidential" meeting of supervisors and managers
where everyone in Engineering was considered. Larry was always one of
the best in a group of very capable people.

I always wondered if his interest in building airplanes wasn't going to
kill him first, but it didn't. He must have built good airplanes.

I left Kitt Peak (NOAO) in 1989, but it is a measure of Larry's ability
that he stayed on and even continued part-time after his own
retirement. For people like me who depended on the talents of others to
get a job done, Larry was a winner. I extend my sincere regrets for the
loss of a fine man.

With best regards,

Larry Barr