In memorium: Control Engineering’s George Blickley dies

George Blickley, an active participant in the world of process control, instrumentation, and automation for more than 50 years, died Dec. 16, 2006, at age 82. His career as a writer and editor for Control Engineering spanned 20 years, covering process control and other topics vital to readers. A news story announcing his arrival at Control Engineering in 1984 said, Blickley “brings with ...

By Staff February 1, 2007

George Blickley, an active participant in the world of process control, instrumentation, and automation for more than 50 years, died Dec. 16, 2006, at age 82. His career as a writer and editor for Control Engineering spanned 20 years, covering process control and other topics vital to readers.

A news story announcing his arrival at Control Engineering in 1984 said, Blickley “brings with him some 30 years of experience in the engineering, sales, and marketing of control products. He held project engineering positions at Honeywell (Brown Instrument) and Compudyne, served as sales engineer at Swartwout, and held several positions, including assistant to the general manager at GPE Controls. More recently he has been chief engineer at SOR Inc. and at MEA Inc.”

Frank Bartos, Control Engineering consulting editor, says, “I worked with George at Control Engineering and highly valued that relationship. George was the ultimate engineer, a background that clearly carried over into his many notable articles. His prime expertise and favorite coverage area was process industries. George also was a valued source for sharing information about process topics. All of us at, and associated with, Control Engineering will miss him.”

As a senior editor until July, 1989, Blickley penned some of the best-read articles in Control Engineering ‘s archives. He was most enthusiastic about articles on process control and instrumentation. These include an often-reprinted interview with John G. Ziegler, one of the originators of PID tuning. His last published bylined piece in Control Engineering was Sept. 28, 2004.

Blickley held a BSEE from Penn State and an MBA from the University of Missouri. Among other accomplishments, he was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and a senior member of the Instrument Society of America, past president of the Kansas City section of ISA, and also had held the position of chairman, Pressure Switch Section, National Fluid Power Association. He was born in Philadelphia, PA, and served in the Army Air Corps during WWII.

“It’s so hard to sum a lifetime of professional passion,” noted Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering editor in chief, who worked with Blickley since 1994. “I’d like to think George is having a good time visiting with family, friends and colleagues who went before him, including John Ziegler and Nate Nichols.”

In the Dec. 18, 2006, obituary for Blickley in the Tucson “Arizona Daily Star,” his family suggested a contribution to the American Heart Association instead of flowers.