Dr. Eugene D. Savoye passed away in Lancaster, PA on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 93 years of age.

He is survived by his loving wife of 41 years, Rennie Revell Savoye. They were married in Lancaster, PA on September 25, 1982. Dr. Savoye and his first wife, Margie Ann Savoye, were divorced in 1976.

He was of Native American ancestry, and an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Bayfield, WI.

Dr. Savoye is lovingly remembered by his surviving extended family, including his children: Thomas Jean Savoye, Laura Marie Savoye, Ann Marie (Savoye) Neff and Rebecca Marie (Savoye) Thomas; his stepchildren: Elizabeth Bradshaw (Early) Krantz and Jessica Revell (Early) Moran; his brother, Kevin Wayne Savoye, his sisters: Marline Gloria (Savoye) Heng, Jeannine (Savoye) Meyer, Brenda (Savoye) Lampman and Barbara (Savoye) Roberts, and by his fourteen grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his father, Jean Maurice Savoye, his mother, Marie Louise (Hollander) Savoye, his brothers William Clyde Savoye and Maurice Lenard Savoye; his sister, Noel Ann (Savoye) Forbrook; and his eldest son, Jon William Savoye.

Dr. Savoye was born in Minneapolis, MN on November 27, 1930. He graduated from Le Sueur High School in 1948 and joined his father in establishing the Noel Ann Bakery, first in Belle Plaine MN and then in Le Sueur, MN.

Dr. Savoye joined the United States Marine Corps in 1950 and served in combat in Korea as a forward observer with the USMC First Division ANGLICO (Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company).

After his discharge from the Marine Corps, in 1953 Dr. Savoye enrolled in college, first at Mankato State and then at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his BS, MSEE, and Ph.D. Degrees. Upon graduation, he joined the RCA Research Laboratories in Princeton, NJ and later transferred to the RCA Electro-Optics Division in Lancaster, PA. Here he conducted and directed research and development of electronic imaging devices aimed primarily at Television Broadcasting Systems. This work was very successful and resulted in the development of the world's first all-solid-state TV cameras, for which Dr. Savoye and his co-workers received the EMMY Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement. In 1987, after the demise of RCA, Dr. Savoye joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Research Laboratory, where he originated and directed research and development programs aimed at advanced electronic imagers for space surveillance, visible and x-ray astronomy, and color night vision systems. Dr. Savoye retired from MIT in 1997 and continued his work in the development of electronic imaging devices as a consultant for the next ten years. During his professional career he published and presented numerous scientific papers and was awarded more than twenty U.S. Patents.

In addition to his scientific accomplishments, Dr. Savoye had a broad range of interests and activities. These included: pottery, particularly wood-fired ceramics with native clays and glaze materials; glassblowing, both Venetian-style hot glass blowing and also torch work for jewelry making; sculpture, with clay and the bronze/lost wax process; painting with egg tempura and drawing from the figure. His hobbies included chess, reading, golf and recreational mathematics.

A Celebration of Dr. Savoye's life will be held at Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory, on Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA, at 11AM with Reverend Dr. Ann Osborne officiating on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Dr. Savoye's cremains will be interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, KY, where he will share eternity with his wife, Rennie. A graveside service will take place at a later time to be determined by family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to NMAI, Smithsonian, Washington, DC.: www.americanindian.si.edu .