Leslie Randolph Skidmore, Jr., who had raised his family in Pacific Palisades, died peacefully January 15 in Napa, California. He was 85. Born in Portland, Oregon, Skidmore grew up in Salt Lake City, where he attended the University of Utah before transferring to the U. S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1942. Following graduation, he became a gunnery officer aboard the U.S.S. Pensacola. His ship distinguished itself in Pacific Theater battles that included Coral Sea, Midway, Guadacanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Tarawa. The ship survived a torpedo attack in 1942 and returned to action through Armistice Day. Skidmore married Joyce Christensen on June 5, 1945. After the war he received a master’s degree in engineering from the Naval Academy in 1947 and a second master’s degree in physics from UCLA a year later. He worked at Pearl Harbor and the family lived in Kailua, Oahu, between 1951 and 1955. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1956 with a rank of Lieutenant Commander. He is remembered fondly and with deepest respect by his shipmates with whom he communicated regularly throughout his life. After the Navy, Skidmore spent his career as an electronics engineer at Deco Electronics, then Hughes Aircraft Company in Culver City. He assisted in developing early satellite transmission facilities in Perth, Australia, in the 1960s and managed classified defense programs including missile guidance and aircraft navigation systems ranging from early radar, sonar and laser research to guidance systems for the F-18 fighter jet. The Skidmores lived from 1958 to 1982 in Pacific Palisades, where Joyce was a well-known real estate agent. After Les retired from Hughes in 1981, the couple retired in Monterey, California, where they and their best friends, Martha and Bill Edlun, both built retirement homes. In 1999, Les and Joy moved to Napa. Skidmore will be fondly remembered for his generous spirit, humor and commitment to and love of his family and his country. He was a meticulous and skilled engineer who relaxed by applying the same attention to detail as a chef, gardener and woodworker. He lived his life in furtherance of American ethics-honor and loyalty to country, family and friends. In addition to his wife, Les is survived by his son, Randy of Napa; his daughter, Terri Skidmore Lantz (husband Stephen) of Pacific Palisades; and his grandchildren, Peter Skidmore, Patrick Skidmore Lantz, Geoffrey Skidmore and Katie Lantz. He was interred at Tulocay cemetery in Napa.
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