Sam Stein was born on July 19th, 1924, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and died at age 98 on January 4th, 2023, in Fort Collins, CO. The youngest of four brothers, he left home at age 17 to complete training in electronics in Maine, and worked as an electronics technician for the Air Force before serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. After the war, he married Roselle Seiden, moved to California in 1948, and raised his four children, Bill, Gary, Hal, and Judie, in Los Angeles.
Without a high school diploma, after advanced electronics courses, Sam had a long and productive career as an electrical engineer. He specialized in sonar navigation for submarines. Having moved to Santa Barbara, he founded Sonatech, Inc. in 1972. He oversaw his company as it grew to over 240 employees and became recognized in the 1990s as the leader in acoustic navigation worldwide. Sam retired at age 70, to spend time with family, enjoy his beloved Santa Barbara, and to travel extensively with his second wife, Sarah, who died in 1999. Along with his late wife Sarah, he was very active in support groups for Muscular Dystrophy and Dystonia. He remarried once more, to Rose Wolfstadt, who he described as his last great love and very dear friend and companion. In declining health, he spent his last six months in Colorado with his son, Hal and
Hal’s wife, Joan.
Sam was kind, strong, analytical, adventurous, inquisitive, mischievous, and absurdly funny. He loved his family fiercely. He was a sweet and forgiving soul with a tremendous generosity of spirit. He was deeply cherished by family and friends alike.
He was buried at Mount Sinai Cemetery in Los Angeles on January 17th, 2023, next to his beloved wife, Sarah.
He is survived by his wife, Rose, his children; Bill, Gary, Hal and Judie, his stepchildren from both Sarah and Rose, 12 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Donations can be made to two organizations that he was passionate about: the Dystonia Medical Research Association at www.dystonia-foundation.org, and the National Spasmodic Torticollis Association at www.cdtorticollis.org.
His was a long and extraordinary life well lived, and may his memory be for a blessing.
