H eadlines
Neil Gorchow, Computer Programming Pioneer
Who Worked With NASA, Dies at 95
OB ITUARY
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
NEIL GORCHOW, a former
Sperry Univac executive who
helped create software used on
NASA missions, died of heart
failure at his home in Sarasota,
Florida, on Dec. 26. He was 95.

The former Rydal resident
partnered with NASA when
Sperry Univac was chosen to
develop the software used on the
Gemini and Apollo programs.

He knew the astronauts on both
missions and was invited to
attend several launches.

Gorchow was born to Joe and
Doris Gorchow in Sioux City,
Iowa. He served in the Navy
during World War II and was
one of the first entrants in the
Navy’s V-12 Program, a college
course to train commissioned
officers for the war. He served
as a lieutenant, junior grade,
aboard the destroyer USS Eugene
A. Greene and was honorably
discharged in July 1946.

He earned a bachelor’s
degree in business adminis-
tration from the University of
Iowa after the war. He returned
to Sioux City to join his family’s
coal distribution business
and served as chairman of
the United Jewish Appeal and
commander of the Jewish War
Veterans of the United States.

Gorchow married Roslyn
Wein in 1955. They moved to
St. Paul, Minnesota, where
he joined Sperry Univac as a
software systems analyst in
1956 and later advanced to
director of software systems.

Early in his 30-year career
at the company, he helped to
develop software for the U.S.

Census and UNIVAC, the world’s
first commercially produced
electronic digital computer.

He became vice president
of product strategy in 1965
and lived with his wife and
four children in Rydal while
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Neil Gorchow in Navy uniform
Neil Gorchow
Courtesy of Jonathan Gorchow
With all of his significant accomplishments
and achievements, he never talked about
himself.” Business) and was a founding
board member of the Hebrew
Free Loan Society. He was a
member and president of
Beth Sholom Congregation in
Elkins Park, where he enjoyed
attending morning minyan,
and had leadership roles
with the affiliated Solomon
Schechter Day School (now
Perelman Jewish Day School).

His children were proud
to join him on the bimah for
Shabbat morning services
during their summer breaks.

“He expected us to take
Hebrew school seriously, or as
seriously as our regular school
studies,” Jonathan Gorchow
said. Gorchow-Stuart said her
father was traditional in many
ways, but always willing to be
flexible and supportive.

“When I was in college
— I went to college locally at
Haverford — I brought a whole
group of my girlfriends home
for seder one year, and I brought
home a feminist Haggadah.

And he cheerfully helped me
lead a feminist seder,” she said.

Neil Gorchow and his wife
moved to Sarasota in 2008. The
couple traveled widely, and he
pursued his passion for golf
with family and friends until
the pandemic.

In addition to Jon Gorchow
and Gorchow-Stuart, he is
survived by his wife, children
Julie Levine and Bruce Gorchow
and 14 grandchildren. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
JONATHAN GORCHOW
working from Sperry Univac
headquarters in Blue Bell.

His son, Jonathan Gorchow,
described him as a strict but
loving father who always put
his family first.

“He was a wonderful role
model in every way: as a father,
as a business professional and
as a religious and charitable
man. He was very easy to love
and admire,” he said.

J. Presper Eckert, co-devel-
oper of the first electronic digital
computer ENIAC, and Grace
Hopper, computer scientist and
naval officer, reported to Neil
Gorchow during his career. He
helped develop Disneyland and
Disney World animation systems
and created early software for the
French National Railway Systems
and Lufthansa Airlines.

Jonathan Gorchow said his
father advocated to make his
field more accessible. He was
an early champion of women
in the computer industry,
known to recruit coders from
the corporate secretarial pool.

He spoke at conferences and
called for companies to make
computer software more
user-friendly. He was struck by his father’s
humility throughout his career.

“With all of his significant
accomplishments and achieve-
ments, he never talked about
himself. Even when we would
ask him questions, he would
understate his role in whatever
he was doing, and give credit
to others, and that’s something
we all learned from and greatly
appreciated,” he said.

Neil Gorchow’s daughter,
Sheryl Gorchow-Stuart, agreed
that he didn’t talk much about
his accomplishments, but
remembered being allowed to
stay up late to watch the space
launches he helped orchestrate.

She said her father’s volun-
teer work and commitment
to education inspired her to
pursue careers in the nonprofit
industry and higher educa-
tion. Neil Gorchow served on
the advisory board of Temple
University’s Graduate School
of Business (now Fox School of
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JANUARY 14, 2021
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