"Life is a combination of lucky breaks and hard work."

Berin was born and raised in Glendale, California. He grew up in a low-income part of town, far from school. He walked or rode his bicycle to school. He fondly recalls spending many days walking and hiking through the Hollywood Hills. In his junior year of high school he played football, but his passion was in track where he was on the varsity team throughout his high school years. During his junior year he ran in the All-Southern California track meet and his team won the 800 meter relay. He was President of the Boys League and Spanish Club. He graduated before he was seventeen, then enlisted in the US Navy. The Navy sent him to school to study electronics. World War II ended as he graduated from electronics school. After he was discharged, he soon met an alumnus of Stanford University who recommended he apply to Stanford University. He did and was accepted. He played one year of freshman football and spent four years on the track team, specializing in the long jump. While at Stanford he majored in Electrical Engineering and joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He worked in the kitchen at the fraternity which gave him money to help pay for the school fees which weren't covered by the GI Bill. During his sophomore year he met Patricia, his future wife, at an impromptu Halloween party. They married during their senior year at Stanford. Berin continued on at Stanford to earn a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering. Upon completion of the Master's Degree, he was hired by General Electric to work in their Advanced Laboratory in Syracuse, New York. While in Syracuse, Berin and Patricia welcomed their twin girls, Debbie and Carolyn, and soon thereafter a son, Gregory. GE decided they wanted to expand to the west coast and asked him to help with the new location which was in the Stanford Industrial Park. Upon his return to Palo Alto, he worked for GE while also earning a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford. He and Patricia welcomed their second son, Christopher. Berin was quite busy going to school, working full time, and helping Patricia raise their four children.

While Berin and Patricia were living in Palo Alto, they purchased a lot in Los Altos Hills. After living in Palo Alto for 10 years, they designed and built a home on their lot in Los Altos Hills. The family moved into the home in 1965. Berin loved the house and lived in it until his death.

He spent his first years at GE in Advanced Development of Millimeter Traveling Wave tubes. After fifteen years of millimeter wave research, he then worked to develop new semi-conductors utilizing the III-V materials. Berin spent twenty years of his career working on developing new millimeter wave sources utilizing the III-V materials for semiconductors. General Electric was bought by Varian Associates. He retired in 1993.

After he retired, he took classes and learned how to speak Chinese. He delighted in speaking with people in either Chinese or Spanish! He also volunteered with the Los Altos Hills County Fire Department and became a Commissioner. He served on the Commission from March 1998 through April 2015, and was President in 2002 and 2008-2009. He was involved with developing numerous projects to aid in providing fire protection for Los Altos Hills residents and he helped form the Emergency Neighborhood Network. Under his leadership the Fire Department increased the CERT trailers equipped with rescue, first aid and shelter supplies, and added an ARK stationary command center. The Town of Los Altos Hills awarded him the Mick McDonald Volunteer of the Year Award in 2009.

He developed a routine of running through Los Altos Hills and playing competitive tennis. He and Patricia enjoyed trips to the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, New Zealand, China and Europe.

He was preceded in death by his wife Patricia. He is survived by his four children, two daughters-in-law and two granddaughters.

Donations may be made to the Stanford Buck/Cardinal Club or Mission Hospice and Home Care (www:MissionHospice.org).

"For a kid who grew up on the wrong side of the railroad tracks, I did pretty well."