Obituary of Vladimir George Gelnovatch

VLADIMIR (Walt) G. GELNOVATCH of Belmar, formerly of Wall and Manasquan, died on March 1, 2024. Before retiring in 1997, he was an electronic engineer and worked for the U.S. Army for 40 years at Fort Monmouth as the Director of the Electronic Technology and Devices Laboratory. He was the son of Nobel Russian émigré family (Lt. Gen. F.F. Abramov). He was a graduate of New York University Graduate School of Engineering obtaining a MSEE followed by course work at NYU’s doctoral program. Following retirement, he worked as an independent consultant to the Army and industry until 2008. He spent 10 years as a visiting professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Virginia. He was born in Manhattan, NY in 1938 and moved to New Jersey in 1952 where he lived until his death.

He was a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and its predecessor, the Institute if Radio Engineers (IRE). During his professional career he enthusiastically contributed to and supported his professional society, the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, serving as President in 1989. He was elected to the grade of Fellow of the IEEE in 1982 for significant engineering achievements. Over the course of his career, he obtained 8 patents and published upwards of 60 professional research papers. He was considered an international Microwave technology expert and a pioneer of many early microwave research topics and techniques. He traveled to the Soviet Union on an exchange program in 1974 between the IEEE and the Russian Popov Society where he presented his early work on Computer Aided Design of Microwave Circuits in Russian. He was an associate editor of the Microwave Journal for over 20 years and a member of the Department of Defense Advisory Group on Electron Devices. He managed the Army’s portion of the very successful $1 Billion MIMIC program which opened the way for the development of microwave IC’s and their eventual introduction into the consumer cell phone and satellite TV markets.   He received both the U.S. Army’s first and second highest ranking award for civilian service, the Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Meritorious Civilian Service Awards. He served his country on active duty in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1956 to 1959 and was posted to West Germany with the 102^nd Signal Battalion (MW&RR) at Hohenstadt Radio Station, an isolated microwave radio relay station where he met his wife of 62 years, Dorit Ortmann of Goeppingen, Germany. The 102^nd Signal Bn. provided class A radio telephone service throughout Europe via microwave radio relay networks. He was an avid amateur radio enthusiast, licensed as W2WLX by the FCC. He was also a scholar of world history, and he loved photography, it was his favorite hobby dating back to the purchase of his first Leica camera in the 1950’s. He enjoyed watching his children and grandchildren playing soccer. He was also a car enthusiast. His love of cars began in the 1950s. He enjoyed weekends at automotive events with friends and family reminiscing about the American cars of his youth and the European cars he fell in love with later in his life.

Mr. Gelnovatch was predeceased by his parents, Captain George and Mary Gelnovatch; his maternal grandparents, Colonel Peter and Gabrielle Abramov; and his grand uncle, Lt. General Fedor F. Abramov, all of the Russian Imperial Army and Don Cossacks. He is survived by his wife, Dorit; his three sons, George (wife Melissa) of Charlottesville, Va, Walter (wife Nancy) of Key West, Fla., and Michael (wife Catherine) of Stafford, NJ; seven grandchildren, Sean, Cory, Jake, Sunny, Truman, Brett, and Paula; and his sister, Maria. He is a communicant of St. Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Howell, New Jersey.

A Pannyhida will be held at St. Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral, 200 Alexander Avenue, Howell at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Relatives and friends are invited to attend his 11:00 AM funeral service at the Cathedral on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Interment will follow in St. Vladimir’s Russian Orthodox Cemetery, 316 Cassville Road, Jackson, New Jersey alongside his family. All arrangements are under the direction of the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, Freehold Township. For information, directions, or to leave condolence messages to the family, please visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com