SWE - Winter 2009 - (Page 70) IN MEMORIAM Mabel R. Esteves Velazquez, P.E. March 21,1950 – October 29, 2008 S WE Fellow Mabel R. Esteves Velazquez, P.E., died suddenly on Oct. 29, 2008, in Roseville, Calif. Born in Puerto Rico on March 21, 1950, she was 58, and had recently retired from Hewlett-Packard. A charter member and charter president of the Sierra Foothills Section, she received the Society’s Distinguished Service Award in 2001. Esteves was a devoted member of SWE, beginning in 1975 when she joined as a student at the University of Puerto Rico. Following graduation, she became a charter member of the Puerto Rico Section. After moving to California in the fall of 1988, Esteves transferred her membership to the Sacramento Valley Section. Early in her career, Esteves became a life member of SWE. She was named a Distinguished New Engineer in 1980, and became a Fellow in 1993. She served as vice president of resources on the FY02 and FY03 board of directors. She chaired the Society’s national minority concerns committee, forerunner to the multicultural committee, which she also chaired. She also served as coordinator of the space camp committee. In addition to her SWE honors, Esteves was a recipient of the Hewlett-Packard Technical Women’s Conference Leadership Award in 1992, and the 1995 Sacramento Valley Engineering Council’s Outstanding Service to the Engineering Profession Award. Holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, Esteves held numerous positions with Hewlett-Packard, including materials engineer, quality engineer, hardware reliability engineer, product regulations manager, ISO internal audit program manager, and quality Web mistress. Before joining HP, she received a patent for one of her electromechanical designs. She has another patent pending for a dual path thermal system. Her dedication to SWE and the engineering profession made Esteves a tremendous role model for women engineers. She made a profound impression on those who knew her personally and professionally. A Web site created to celebrate her life brims with tributes alluding to both her technical expertise and her personal warmth and kindness: She demonstrated that you could be an excellent engineer and a warm human being at the same time; and Her positive attitude and “can do” spirit led her to see potential in all of us around her. A memorial fund in Esteves name has been set up with Wells Fargo Bank, and Region A is setting up a national memorial scholarship, also in her name. For more information on the scholarship, please contact Jennifer Kootstra, Region A treasurer, or Elizabeth Hurley, Region A governor. Esteves raised two nephews, Enrique and Emmanuel. A funeral mass was held November 14 at St. Francis of Assisi in Sacramento. At the reception that followed, many SWE members spoke, including Debbie Clingingsmith, Nancy Nelson, Vicki Tsang, Virginia Squire, and others, who described it as, “a beautiful walk down memory lane, recalling the life-and-times of Mabel.” Ken Larson from HP also spoke, and included several quotes from the memorial Web site. To pay your respects and celebrate Esteves life, please visit www.mabel-memorial.org. Jacqueline Juillard SWE recently learned that SWE Fellow and member at large Jacqueline Juillard of Geneva, Switzerland died in December, 2007. She joined SWE 50 years ago. Juillard attended the first International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists in New York in 1964, and a number of subsequent ICWES meetings as the Swiss delegate. An expert in atomic energy, she became a SWE Fellow in 1986. 70 SWE WINTER 2009 http://www.mabel-memorial.org
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