George Whiteman
George Lyman Whiteman, 72, of Santa Barbara, California passed away August 25, 2025 following a valiant fight with multiple medical issues.
George was born on October 10, 1952 in Bakersfield California, the son of William Whiteman and Bernice (Tech) Whiteman. He was born at Miss Freise’s Maternity Hospital, because Kern County General Hospital had been damaged in the 1952 earthquake and condemned. George and his family moved to Santa Barbara in 1965. He graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1970. George attended Santa Barbara City College, majoring in Chemistry. Through shear perseverance, he landed a job at Santa Barbara Research Center, where he worked on infrared detector research and development.
SBRC financed his continuing education at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, while working full-time. At SBRC, which later became Raytheon, George specialized in liquid phase epitaxy, a method used to produce semiconductor materials and their alloys. One well-known product of this work, was the Multispectral Scanner instrument onboard the Landsat 1 to 5 satellites, which allowed the first high resolution pictures of the Earth’s surface. George retired from Raytheon after 35 years.
When he wasn’t doing science, George enjoyed playing guitar and harmonica. He and his buddy, John Bibby did an excellent rendition of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”. Other interests included, wine tasting, travel, trains, and attending concerts. One highlight of his life was attending Railfair 1999 at the California State Railroad Museum; the last Railfair featuring large steam locomotives. For many years George drove his beloved Datsun 240Z; perhaps because of its low profile, it gained a reputation as being the most hit car in Santa Barbara. The local body shop kept his paint on hand. George also became a ham radio operator (back in the time when you needed to know Morse code to get your license), and enjoyed making his own antennas.
Always a handy guy, George could fix or build almost anything around the house. His expertise will be sorely missed. In his later years, George enjoyed reconnecting with family. In the autumn of 2024 he visited his cousins in Indiana. In February of 2025, he reconnected with the Whiteman side of his family at a reunion in Fort Meyers Florida. George also loved attending concerts (particularly at the handicapped-accessible Lobero Theater, where they knew him by name). In fact, while he was in the hospital, he got tickets to the November 16th Judy Collins and Tom Rush concert; we know he will be attending in spirit. George loved aviation history. Always looking to add items to his “bucket list”, one of George’s last trips was to Dayton Ohio to see the National Museum of the US Air Force. George retained his quirky sense of humor right up until the end. The nurses and doctors would regularly ask him where he was, and he would invariably reply, “The planet of the apes.” He had quite the reputation as a kidder at Cottage Hospital. George is survived by his wife, Eileen Hamilton, daughter, Teal Hamilton, and sister, Chris Barros.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 13th at 4:30 PM at the Flamingo Mobile Home Park (1210 Cacique). We will gather in the pool area to remember and celebrate George’s unique personality, interests, and achievements.
