Rodney D. Palmborg ’66 was born in Connecticut, November 22, 1939, Rod passed away very unexpectedly with a massive Brain Hemorrhage on December 28th. Rod had an Aortic Valve Replacement procedure that had promised to give him years to live. The procedure went awry during the surgery when Rod awakened mid-surgery. Immediately after the procedure, Rod suffered short term memory loss which never returned and forced him to retire from his business of 45 years in the High Tech Industry.
Rod leaves his devoted wife of 48 years, Sally, his children, Kirsten, Kara & Joe, along with their spouses and (4) Grandchildren.
Rod had ambition from a young age as his mother encouraged him to work hard and save for college. He needn’t have worried as he earned a full-ride scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. He graduated with a BSME degree. He was solicited out of college by a large Engineering Firm, with a promise of a Draft Deferment if he joined. Rod didn’t appreciate the thought of being a Draft Dodger and instead enlisted with the Navy and went to Officer’s Candidate’s School in Newport, RI.
He was sent to his first post at NAS Moffett Field in Mountain View, CA, and enjoyed his time there. He used that time well and earned a night school MBA from Santa Clara University.
After (5) years he left the Navy and was hired by a local firm, Varian Associates as a Marketing Engineer in Palo Alto, CA. He went on to open a Field Office in Bellevue, WA for Varian. He decided to start his own business, Palmborg Associates, Inc. in 1977 in the Seattle area and is still in business to this day.
Sally and the rest of his family are inconsolable as Rod was the ‘Rock’ we all looked up to. His son, Joe, who he mentored through the years, joined his flourishing business and has since taken the helm at Palmborg Associates.
Rod’s loves were his Family, Boating, Biking, Pickle Ball, RVing, and his beloved Dogs. Pumpkin, a beautiful Samoyed, no longer wags here tail without her favorite master who walked her and she loved to smother with doggie kisses for their time spent together daily.
Rod was an organ donor and the family will spread his ashes, per his request in Shallow Bay near Sucia Island in the San Juan Islands, later this summer. He’s gone but never forgotten….