Samuel A. Meddaugh
Samuel Alan Meddaugh, who was valedictorian of East Hampton High School’s class of 1954 before going on to a career in the fledgling computer industry in the 1960s, died at home in Eagan, Minn., on Oct. 13 of complications from a rare heart disease. He was 78.
He was born at Southampton Hospital on May 23, 1936, to Samuel Alanson Meddaugh and the former Winifred Blanding. His family moved to East Hampton from Westhampton when he was 7, his daughter, Lynne Meddaugh, said. His father was the principal and math teacher of East Hampton High School for many years. The family lived on McGuirk Street. After graduating from high school, he attended Iowa State University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering.
After college, he worked in research for almost four decades for Universal Automatic Computer, or Univac, the pioneering company in main-frame computers. The company eventually became Unisys. Much of his work was classified, as he frequently worked on projects for the Department of Defense. He owned a couple of patents, his family said.
Mr. Meddaugh married Marianne Celeste Edwards in 1958. The couple had four children, three of whom survive, Ann Todd of Auburn, Wash., Mark Meddaugh of Hinckley, Minn., and Lynn Meddaugh of Seattle. His son Scott Meddaugh died before him.
Mr. Meddaugh and his wife divorced in 1979.
Mr. Meddaugh made his home in the Midwest, living first in St. Paul, before moving south of the city to Eagan. He loved the outdoors, and orienteering, in which you find your way through a wilderness area using a map and a compass, was one of his favorite sports. He also was a member of the Northstar Ski Touring Club, a cross-country ski group. He was treasurer for both the Northstar and the Minnesota Orienteering Club. He also loved kayaking and cross-country hiking.
Though he enjoyed the water of the Land of Lakes, he always missed the saltwater of East Hampton, his daughter recalled,.
He regularly visited his parents, and in their later years, as their health was declining, he spent time in East Hampton looking after them.
He passed his love of the outdoors to younger people by becoming a Boy Scout leader. “He was very much an environmentalist, and a naturalist,” his daughter said.
Besides his children, he is also survived by two sisters, Joan Jackson of Sacramento, and Gail Slocum of Williamsport, Pa., five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
A service for him was held at his home in Eagan, led by Kay Brown. He was cremated, and his ashes were dispersed in the woods on his property and on his son’s grave.
Donations have been suggested to the Nature Conservancy, 1101 West River Parkway, Minneapolis 55415, or Doctors Without Borders, 333 Seventh Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001-5004.