Tracy Austin’s Father Passes Away

Written by: Staff on 16th December 2011

Tracy Austin's Father Passes Away |

A memorial service will be held for George E. Austin on December 23 at 1 pm at Green Hills Memorial Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Austin, 91, whose career as a nuclear physicist with TRW spanned 45 years, died on November 22 following a long illness.

Austin was best known for his ever-steady support and conscientious record-keeping chronicling the unparalleled success of his five tennis-playing children, who collectively won more than 1,000 titles and four of whom competed at Wimbledon.

Born in Boston, MA on September 28, 1921, Austin attended M.I.T. and graduated from UCLA before entering the U.S. Air Force where he served for 20 years and retired as Lieutenant Colonel.

Early in his career, Austin worked on developing radar as a meteorological tool, and the specific radar that he had been assigned to explore, played a crucial role at the Anzio beachhead in Southern Italy in early 1944. At the end of World War II, a number of top German scientists were brought to the United States under the so-called “Paperclip Project,” and in 1948 four scientists were assigned to report directly to Austin. Austin was later assigned as the project chief for the development of the first nuclear-powered satellite.

Following his retirement from the Air Force, he continued his work for TRW, including assignments on the design of a plutonium-powered implantable heart assist pump for the National Institutes of Health (NIH); work on the MIRACLE program which entailed high energy lasers operating from satellites as a defense against hostile missile launches; and responsibility for the onboard soil testing laboratory on the Viking mission to Mars seeking latent life forms.

Austin was an avid photographer and enjoyed working with computers, winning several awards for software development.

Austin and his wife Jeanne, who predeceased him in 2010, raised five children in Rolling Hills Estates, CA at the same home where he passed away due to complications from prostate cancer.

Austin is survived by his children, Pam Austin, of Brea, CA, who was an original player on the Virginia Slims Tennis Tour, Jeff Austin, of Alexandria, VA, who competed on the ATP pro tour, Doug Austin, of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, a varsity player for Long Beach State, John Austin, of Scottsdale, AZ, who won the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles championship with his sister, Tracy Austin, of Rolling Hills, who also is a two-time US Open winner and former world No. 1. In addition, he is survived by 10 grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and a sister, Harriet Comar.

In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2440 South Sepulveda Blvd. # 15, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Topics: George Austin, Tracy Austin