John David Mudie

John David Mudie, 86, of Santa Barbara, CA, passed away on November 5th, 2024. He died peacefully in his sleep due to natural causes.

John was born on Jan. 9, 1939 to Walter Neville Mudie and Winsome Margaret Mudie (née Turner) in Durban, Natal, South Africa. He graduated from Kearsney College (Durban SA), then went on to earn BSc and MSc degrees from University of Cape Town in South Africa. He attended the University of Cambridge in England and was awarded a PhD in geophysics in 1963.

John married Petra J Mudie (née Whittle) on Feb. 14, 1963 at Cambridge. John and Petra had two children, daughter Helen and son David. John and Petra divorced in 1977 but they remained lifelong friends.

John and his family moved to the United States in 1963. John taught at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (San Diego CA) until 1975. He led several scientific expeditions using one of the first high-resolution “Deep Tow” magnetometers.

John fell in love with the computers used in his ocean research. He left academia to work as a software engineer at the Martin Marietta Corporation (Lompoc CA) where he contributed to the US Space Shuttle program.

Later in life, John worked for the Country of Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara CA) as a social services coordinator and addiction counselor. John was an active member of several Twelve Step fellowships in the Santa Barbara area. He held service positions on local and regional service boards for over thirty years.

In addition to his love of computers, John was fascinated by the human mind and the workings of the Autonomic Nervous System. He practiced a lifelong passion for aquatic activities such as swimming, rowing, and sailing.

John was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Peter, and his sister Mary. John is survived by former spouse Petra, their adult children Helen and David, and his longtime friend and companion Rosemary Holmes.