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Günter Sabionski 1932 - 2006

Gunter Sabionski was born on May 1, 1932 in Aachen, Cologne County, NRW Germany. He was married to Ingetrud (Rudolph) and they later divorced. He had children Kimberly Ireland and Christopher Sabionski. Gunter Sabionski died at age 73 years old on February 24, 2006.

Gunter Sabionski

May 1, 1932

Aachen, Cologne County, NRW, Germany

February 24, 2006

Germany

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Günter Sabionski Gunter Sabionski (1932 - 2006)

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Gunter Sabionski's History: 1932 - 2006

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Introduction

On Friday, Feb. 24, 2006 Günter Sabionski died at the age of 65 in his native Germany following a long battle with cancer. He was 73 years old. He is survived by his two adult children. A man of many interests, talents, and accomplishments, Sabionski held multiple key positions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and was well-respected in his field. He was also a trained chef, accomplished pilot, world-traveled photographer, scuba diver and recognized underwater videographer, highly skilled carpenter, pianist, model train enthusiast, and competitive bridge player. Sabionski began his career as a chef first in the German army and then on cruise ships and at top hotels in Germany, England, and the United States. Beneficiaries of his culinary skills included President Eisenhower, the Shah of Iran, Queen Elizabeth, and Chancellor Adenauer of Germany. In fact, when Sabionski first came to the United States, he was the head chef at the Hartford Golf Club. After 12 years as a chef, Sabionski decided to pursue a degree in mathematics and computer science. He enrolled at the University of Hartford, where he excelled, earning a bachelor’s in mathematics, the Best Mathematics Student Award, and a listing in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. He was also the technical director for the University Players theater group, and a member of the International Relations Club, Chess Club, and the honor society Gamma Sigma Nu. He graduated in 1965. During his 28 years at NASA Sabionski helped develop Apollo guidance programs and managed Apollo Command Module flight software and flight control during lunar landings. He managed the Digital Imagery Laboratories for the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and was recognized as a NASA expert in computer graphics and 3D animation. He also headed the software design section for Space Shuttle systems, where he worked on the remote manipulator arm and helped train astronauts. During his final years at NASA, Sabionski served as manager of the Digital Imagery Laboratories, initiating concepts for further exploration of the moon and Mars, which included the conception of a manned landing on Mars in the year 2019. Upon his retirement from NASA, Sabionski returned to Germany and continued to pursue his many interests and hobbies. His love of photography and underwater video production led to trips to Fiji, the Great Barrier Reef, Guam, and Papua New Guinea, among many other exotic destinations. He also enjoyed his self-constructed model train setup with a complex, multi-featured landscape and 17 computer-driven trains. Sabionski was also a generous benefactor of the University of Hartford. Prior to his death he established the Gu¨nter R. Sabionski Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund with a $350,000 gift. The scholarship provides financial assistance to selected computer science majors who have made the Dean’s List and intend to pursue a degree in Computer Science. In a 2005 visit to campus, Sabionski was reunited with two favorite professors: Edward Friedman, now professor emeritus of electrical engineering, and Cecilia Welna, professor emerita of mathematics. He commented that both these faculty members had been instrumental in his undergraduate career.
05/1

1932

Birthday

May 1, 1932

Birthdate

Aachen, Cologne County, NRW Germany

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Günter's family was from Germany
Nationality & Locations

Günter was born in Aachen, Germany
Early Life & Education

Günter graduated from The University of Hartford in 1965. There is a Gunter R. Sabionski Endowed Memorial Scholarship awarded at the University of Hartford in Boston. According to Hartford's website: The Gunter R. Sabionski Endowed Memorial Scholarship was established by Gunter R. Sabionski, class of 1965. Gunter Sabionski managed the Digital Imagery Laboratories for the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and was recognized as a NASA expert in computer graphics and 3D animation. During his 28 years at NASA, Gunter Sabionski managed the Apollo Command Module flight software, was involved in the European Space Lab computer interface design and worked on the shuttle computer. One of his larger projects was the conception of a manned landing on Mars in the year 2019. His hobbies and activities included underwater video production, videography, non-linear editing, duplicate bridge, and travel. While a student at the University of Hartford, he loved the great faculty, small classes, individual attention from his professors and Gamma Sigma Nu. After receiving a generous donation from Mr. Sabionski, the Department of Computing Sciences is able to award these scholarships.
Religious Beliefs

Atheist
Military Service

Günter served in the German Army as a chef
Professional Career

Aerospace Engineer at NASA
Personal Life & Family

A man of many interests, talents, and accomplishments, Sabionski held multiple key positions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and was well-respected in his field. He was also a trained chef, accomplished pilot, world-traveled photographer, recognized underwater videographer, highly skilled carpenter, pianist, model train enthusiast, and competitive bridge player.
02/24

2006

Death

February 24, 2006

Death date

Cancer

Cause of death

Germany
Death location

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Gravesite & Burial

mm/dd/yyyy
Funeral date
Germany
Burial location
Obituary

On Friday, Feb. 24, 2006 Günter Sabionski died at the age of 65 in his native Germany following a long battle with cancer. He was 73 years old. He is survived by his two adult children. A man of many interests, talents, and accomplishments, Sabionski held multiple key positions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and was well-respected in his field. He was also a trained chef, accomplished pilot, world-traveled photographer, scuba diver and recognized underwater videographer, highly skilled carpenter, pianist, model train enthusiast, and competitive bridge player. Sabionski began his career as a chef first in the German army and then on cruise ships and at top hotels in Germany, England, and the United States. Beneficiaries of his culinary skills included President Eisenhower, the Shah of Iran, Queen Elizabeth, and Chancellor Adenauer of Germany. In fact, when Sabionski first came to the United States, he was the head chef at the Hartford Golf Club. After 12 years as a chef, Sabionski decided to pursue a degree in mathematics and computer science. He enrolled at the University of Hartford, where he excelled, earning a bachelor’s in mathematics, the Best Mathematics Student Award, and a listing in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. He was also the technical director for the University Players theater group, and a member of the International Relations Club, Chess Club, and the honor society Gamma Sigma Nu. He graduated in 1965. During his 28 years at NASA Sabionski helped develop Apollo guidance programs and managed Apollo Command Module flight software and flight control during lunar landings. He managed the Digital Imagery Laboratories for the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and was recognized as a NASA expert in computer graphics and 3D animation. He also headed the software design section for Space Shuttle systems, where he worked on the remote manipulator arm and helped train astronauts. During his final years at NASA, Sabionski served as manager of the Digital Imagery Laboratories, initiating concepts for further exploration of the moon and Mars, which included the conception of a manned landing on Mars in the year 2019. Upon his retirement from NASA, Sabionski returned to Germany and continued to pursue his many interests and hobbies. His love of photography and underwater video production led to trips to Fiji, the Great Barrier Reef, Guam, and Papua New Guinea, among many other exotic destinations. He also enjoyed his self-constructed model train setup with a complex, multi-featured landscape and 17 computer-driven trains. Sabionski was also a generous benefactor of the University of Hartford. Prior to his death he established the Gu¨nter R. Sabionski Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund with a $350,000 gift. The scholarship provides financial assistance to selected computer science majors who have made the Dean’s List and intend to pursue a degree in Computer Science. In a 2005 visit to campus, Sabionski was reunited with two favorite professors: Edward Friedman, now professor emeritus of electrical engineering, and Cecilia Welna, professor emerita of mathematics. He commented that both these faculty members had been instrumental in his undergraduate career.

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Günter Sabionski lived 1 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 73.

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18 Memories, Stories & Photos about Gunter

Daniel Pinna

10.5k+ favorites

02/07/2021

WOW! What an accomplished man. Fascinating life journey...

Comments

Dave Sharp

75 favorites

09/06/2022

Non-NASA Guntur

Guntur was very helpful in the VERY early days of the Houston Computer club. He was designing and building a Digital Group computer to which he added a set of AMD2900 bit slice processors to produce what we allbelieved to be the first truly polyphonicmusic system that would have been in 1973 or 1974. There were about 40 pioneers at what Became Hal-PC. Guntur was one of the brightest stars there. I for on.v e miss him and am saddened by the news of his passing.
Dave Sharp

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