Janis Gunars Ziedonis

Janis Gunars Ziedonis, 80, passed away peacefully in his home on Saturday, January 31, 2015 with his loving wife at his side. Janis was born in Riga, Latvia, on October 18, 1934, to Arvids and Marija Ziedonis. He came to America in 1951 with his family. He attended McCaskey High School in Lancaster, PA then went to Muhlenberg College, where he graduated in 1959 with a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics. He received an M.S. in Physics from Polytechnical Institute of Brooklyn. After graduating from college he married his sweetheart, Zenta, and he then joined RCA in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. While at RCA, Janis worked in the electron tube division where they designed special cameras for American Space Projects such as Apollo, Ranger, Nimbus and others. Additionally, he worked for Jet Propulsion Labs in California, and consulted for NASA in developing equipment to assist with lunar landings and designing new equipment for the space shuttle. Janis joined Hoffmann La Roche, Princeton, NJ in 1969. While there he developed an ultrasonic transducer product line still used in medical applications today, specifically for maternal-fetal monitoring in labor and delivery. He invented equipment to measure ultrasonic force, which was the first of its kind in the medical industry. This was adapted and duplicated by the FDA in Washington, D.C. This equipment is still used today worldwide. After leaving Hoffmann La Roche in 1974, Janis stated his own company, Medical Accessories, Inc. where he continues his work in this field. Mr. Ziedonis has 18 patents and published many articles in the field of medical ultrasound. In addition to his work, Janis enjoyed his family camping trips and travels with his wife and 4 children. He was inventive not only at work but also at home and anywhere he went. While traveling he would often have ideas to make our trips more interesting, such as turning a rickety rowboat in to a sailboat on a windy day, or his famous line, “Come see this, we can make it ourselves!!” He loved music and played the violin and piano, but his real specialty was the accordion, which he brought along on many trips and always to family gatherings. He was an active member of the Lion’s Club in West Windsor, NJ. He loved the outdoors and took his young sons fishing and his family on hikes. Janis was a good athlete. He enjoyed tennis, golf and a waltz on the dance floor. Football games in the backyard with the kids and their friends was always fun. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Zenta; his son and daughet-in-law, Igor and Nancy Ziedonis, sons: Dorian and John Ziedonis, daughter, Dr. Jennifer Ziedonis Hinojosa and son-in-law, J.R. Hinojosa, along with grandchildren, Christopher, Caroline, Alex, and Emma; sisters: Ludmilla Stote and Ilga Johnson, and a brother Rev. Arvids Ziedonis, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and other much beloved family. Friends and family are invited to a Memorial Service on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at The Groffs Family Funeral Home, 528 W. Orange Street (corner of Orange & Pine Sts.) Lancaster, with Pastor Ruth S. Ziedonis officiating. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the service. Interment will be in Millersville Mennonite Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Janis’ name may be made to Alzheimer's Association, www.alz.org.

Janis Gunars Ziedonis

February 2, 2015