Robert Meloy Ady was the second of three children born to Presbyterian missionaries Merrill and Lucile Ady in Canton, China in 1927.
In his early years he was home schooled, and later attended CKS School and Shanghai American School. He lived in Yeung Kong and Cheung Chau and was sent home to the USA with sister Carolyn just after turning thirteen, so avoiding the Japanese invasion in 1941. His family were not so lucky.
In America, he lived with an aunt in Dekalb, Illinois, then moved to Omaha in 1943 after his parents and brother Don were released from Stanley prisoner-of-war camp in Hong Kong.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1945, studied Physics and Philosophy at Monmouth College, and later earned master's degrees in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from San Jose State and Stanford.
Ady enjoyed a long career in electronics and systems engineering, spanning underwater acoustics to satellite systems, and played a key role in the development of GPS.
With his wife Bobbie, he participated actively in the Human Potential Movement, leading groups at Venture in Palo Alto during the 1960s and 70s.
An accomplished swimmer, scuba diver, and enthusiastic tennis player, he also loved to travel, including two years living in North Yorkshire.
He died peacefully at home in 2020.
Source: Trident Society - with family photos inc the postwar reunion.