David Harold Gobeli

David H. Gobeli July 18,1942-October 28, 2022 David Gobeli, a smart, creative, funny guy, died of Alzheimer’s at Regent Court Memory Care, Corvallis, Oregon. Born in Minneapolis to Arthur R. and Marcella H. Gobeli, Dave graduated from Marshall High School. He received an MSEE in 1965 from the University of Minnesota and started at Honeywell in the Aerospace Division, testing and evaluating designs using computer modeling for NASA’s Project Apollo. In 1968, he moved to Medtronic as a senior engineer and designed three generations of pacing products including the first mass-producible, implantable heart pacemaker in the industry. At Medtronic, he received seven patents, served as Director of Pacing Research and Development, Cardiovascular Research, and Long-Range Product Planning, and then became a Strategic Planner, developing new venture proposals including a major new implantable drug infusion product line. Intrigued by the challenges of management - people were far more complex than transistors - he began night courses at the University of Minnesota and received his MBA in 1978; in 1982 he graduated with a Ph.D. in Management and Marketing with a minor in Psychology. His thesis, “The Management of Innovation in the Pacing Industry,” reflected his engineering and management interests. His academic career began in 1982 in the College of Business (COB) at Oregon State University. During his 26 years affiliated with the university, he taught eight different courses in the COB, helped develop and teach a cross-disciplinary course with the Mechanical Design and Industrial Engineering Department, and developed a special cross-functional course on the Management of Innovation for MBA and professional Master’s in science programs. He also taught in the Honors College, the Oregon Executive MBA program, the University of Minnesota Executive Development Center, and the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany. In the 1990’s he team-taught weeklong seminars in the Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. In addition, Dave served as Director of the Small Business Institute program (13 years), Director of the Oregon Productivity and Technology Center (9 years), and the faculty advisor for thesis projects of eight Hewlett Packard executives working on master’s degrees through the National Technological University. In his spare time, he conducted research, wrote academic papers, and served on numerous committees. For his work, he received awards for teaching, research, and service. Dave’s creativity and curiosity extended to his leisure activities. His joy was in learning something new, reading about it, practicing it, encouraging his wife Corry to join him, then moving on to something new. He enjoyed all types of music, from folk to opera and over the years he took lessons on the accordion, piano, banjo, guitar, and flute. He decided to make his own stereo cabinet so took up woodworking, and designed and built desks, bookcases, and rebuilt four decks. He enjoyed exploring the outdoors, and in Minnesota, that meant cross-country skiing, canoeing, and sailing. He built two small sailboats and owned larger boats, including a Luders 33 that he and friends sailed 800 miles from Lake Michigan across Lake Superior to Bayfield where he and Corry explored the Apostle Islands, and he captained a yearly trip to Isle Royale. In Oregon, he took advantage of the mountains and he and Corry hiked, backpacked, and cross country skied in the Cascades and canoed and kayaked on Cascade and coastal lakes. He did have one long-time passion – bicycling. His love affair began as a child, when he built his first bike from parts he scavenged in his neighborhood. Bikes, even in Minnesota winters, were his primary mode of transportation during college. When he moved to Oregon, he rediscovered his love of cycling, exploring local bike routes, completing many Cycle Oregons, several RAWS, and STPs. And he again built bikes, this time, with titanium frames. After years of biking singly, he finally convinced Corry to join him as the stoker on a tandem. Together they completed Cycle Oregon, numerous weekenders, OBR, three RAGBRAIs , numerous Northwest Tandem rallies and eight tandem tours in Europe enjoying the country sides of England, France, Italy, and Germany with Pennywise Cycle, and making cycling friends from around the country. Last, but not least, Dave had a hearty appetite, especially for chocolate. He will be remembered by the Gourmand Group for his chocolate desserts, especially the three-tier chocolate volcano cake. Dave was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Leo. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Corrine; sisters Alice (Falconer), Linda (Daniel), Genevieve, and brother Kenneth plus cousins, nieces, and nephews. He is also remembered lovingly by the May, Olson/Peterson, Terry, and Redman families. Thank you to friends and to staff at Regent Court and Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care who provided support during this difficult time. At his request there will be no memorial service. Instead, we encourage you to gather with your friends and family to reminisce about your good (and challenging) times, and to plan for future memories. Memorials may be made to Greenbelt Land Trust, Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care, or to the charity of donor’s choice.

David Harold Gobeli

July 18, 1942 - October 28, 2022