My first HP-35 and a happy end

[Mark Hardman]

(09-23-2014 10:50 PM)jebem Wrote:  And as a side note concerning the previous owner:

When I was opening the HP-35 calculator back cover, I noticed a metallic label stuck to the side of the battery compartment.
This label has the following information:
"Property of Richard T. Hawkins"

A quick search in the Google machine reveals a number of people with that name.
However, just one fits the typical user profile of such machine, epoch and age, and motivation to put a professional label in their equipment:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602

Searching just a bit more, I found this obituary:
A retired Brigham Young University organic chemistry professor Richard Thomas Hawkins passed from this mortal existence December 12, 2013, in Orem, Utah, at the age of 84.

And I bought this calculator less than one month ago from a large eBay seller in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

Too many coincidences for a random event.
I think I have found the original owner's name. May he rest in peace.
I will take good care of this nice piece of computer history for him.

It is a very small world Jose. I took Organic Chemistry from "Brother" Hawkins as an undergraduate at BYU in 1982. At the start of the semester, he was amazed that I was taking notes on my HP-75C and proudly produced his HP-35 for me to admire.

He was an excellent instructor and I remember enjoying his class.

As a side note, I severed as secretary/treasurer of the university's HP Calculator club during those years.