My younger brother Pete passed away on July 7th. I miss him.
more below the break
Many people contributed to his obituary – I will just let them speak here…
Peter (Pete) Fohl, 48, of Solvang, CA passed away Friday, July 7, 2017 at 10:17am at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, CA after a relatively brief battle with an illness during which he developed an extreme infection.
Pete was born on October 4, 1968, in Boston, MA, the son of Nancy and Timothy Fohl of Carlisle, MA.
He married Tenley Jane Allensworth on October 26, 2003.
Pete was raised in Carlisle, MA and graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School in 1986, and then attended the University of California, Davis graduating in 1991 with a BS in Physics. Next he attended the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1995 – 1998 when he received an MA in Geography with an emphasis on Computer Mapping, Modeling and Computation.
Starting in January of 1998 – 2005 Pete was employed by The Isera Group, LLC, becoming the Chief Architect/Senior Software Engineer. He then became a Senior System Engineer for Envisage Technologies Corporation from 2005 – 2011, developing training management and scheduling software for law enforcement, homeland security and the Department of Defense. Beginning in 2011 until June 2017, he was a Senior Staff Software Engineer in the Atomic Force Microscopy Nano Surfaces Division of Bruker Corporation, Santa Barbara, CA.
In 1985, as a high school junior, Pete was a student leader of a group of local students who went to Armenia to make an animated movie with a group of Armenian students. The movie still exists and is named “A Bit of Honey.” They later went to Moscow where Pete gave a talk in Russian on Russian TV. The trip was sponsored by the Armenian community in the Boston area and was one of the first attempts to create a cultural bond that penetrated the Iron Curtain prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Being gifted with an agile and curious mind, Pete was an explorer of the art of knowing and doing things. He explored and grew through being a home machinist, a model maker of all sorts, kayaking, rock climbing, robotics, go-karting, beer making, playing guitar, and volunteering for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Department. Perhaps most of all, he was deeply passionate about cooking. Remembered by the family, one of the favorite quotes from Pete as a toddler was “I can do it Mom!”
Pete’s greatest joy in life was spending time with his wife and daughter and enjoying the Santa Ynez Valley.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 14 years, Tenley Allensworth Fohl, Solvang, CA; daughter Margaret Allensworth Fohl, Walnut Creek, CA; parents Nancy and Timothy Fohl, Carlisle, MA; brothers Nicholas Fohl, Carlisle, MA and Jeffrey Fohl (Meghan), Santa Rosa, CA; aunt Susan Hattox, New Milford, CT; brother-in-law Douglas R. Allensworth (Melissa), Novato, CA; sister-in-law Chelsea Allensworth Smith (Richard), Bozeman, MT; nephews and niece, Rolland Smith (Amanda), Washington, DC; Douglas Smith, Seattle, WA; Mason and Owen Fohl, Santa Rosa, CA; Emily Allensworth, Novato, CA.
Following Pete’s wishes there will be no service. He will be cremated. Memorials may be made to Arts Outreach which is dedicated to “bringing art to life and life to art.” Its annual fundraiser, “Real Men Cook,” combines some of Pete’s favorite things in life: good food, good wine, and good friends in service of a good cause.
Donations may be made to Arts Outreach, P.O. Box 755, Los Olivos, CA 93441, or to www.artsoutreach.com.
Pete’s family wishes to thank long time family physician, Dr. Alan Hersh, and the nurses of both Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara Cottage Hospitals for the wonderful care he received.