Obituary of Robert Paul Kowalski

Robert "Bob" Paul Kowalski, Sr., passed away peacefully after a long illness on Monday, January 10th in Oakland, California. He was 80 years old. Bob was born in Syracuse, New York in 1941. He graduated from Baldwinsville High School in 1959, and went on to attend Mohawk College. After earning an AA in Electrical Engineering Technology in 1962, Bob started his career at General Electric. He worked in Alaska and Turkey monitoring the Soviet space program. In the late 60s, Bob left GE for Xerox in Rochester. In 1971, Bob was tapped to serve as one of Xerox PARC's 50 founding members. Bob worked at PARC for over 35 years, until his retirement in 2008. Bob was invited to PARC by Gary Starkweather, the inventor of the laser printer. He and Gary are the two inventors listed on the initial patent for the laser printer, filed on November 27, 1972. (US3922485A, Flying Spot Scanner with Scan Detection). In 2017, when asked if a team had invented the laser printer, Gary said "Not really…. Bob Kowalski…. [and I] were a team of two, working on my invention. There were no task forces or anything." Bob loved his work and was awarded seven patents in total. His wife Ann, who passed in 2012, often said he was the only person she knew who was excited to go to work in the morning. In addition to his work, Bob was an avid outdoorsman, woodworker, and aviator. He owned a Cessna 170 and later a Piper Arrow and flew as many weekends as he was able. He is survived by brother Richard, son Robert Jr. (Kristen) of Portland, OR, daughter Jean Parekh (Raj) of Hillsborough, CA and grandchildren Tara Parekh and Rohan Parekh. He is predeceased by his brother Frank and by his wife of 48 years Ann (Peck) Kowalski. Friends and family are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from 9:30 am until 11:30 am on Saturday, February 5th, 2022 at Falardeau Funeral Home, 93 Downer St., Baldwinsville, New York. A service will begin at 11:30 am. Burial will then follow at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Bob's name to the MPN Research Foundation www.mpnresearchfoundation.org or to the Alzheimer's Association alz.org.