1961
Ivan
2022
Ivan Collazo
December 20, 1961 — January 30, 2022
Ivan Collazo, age 60, died at home, Sunday, January 30, 2022, after an eight year battle with colon cancer. A funeral mass will be held Saturday, February 5, 2022, at 10:00 am at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
Ivan was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, the son of Maria del Carmen Lopez Pujols and Francisco Collazo Gonzalez. He is preceded in death by both of his parents. He grew up in Lares, Puerto Rico, helping work at his family’s gas station and auto parts business. He graduated with high honors from the Domingo Aponte Collazo High School. He especially enjoyed math and physics and making his own science experiments and explosions. He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras in 1983, earning a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in physics and mathematics. He then worked at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, known for its famous radio telescope. He then studied at Michigan State University, earning two Masters of Science degrees in Physics and Applied Math. After that, he earned a Masters degree in Nuclear Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, then a PhD from Georgia Tech in 1996. His thesis was titled: Data Modeling and Analysis for the TFTR Differential Phase Reflectometer with Applications to ICRH. Most of his research for this was done at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Ivan married the love of his life, Stephanie May MD, on May 14, 1994, in Ypsilanti Michigan. They met in the physics help room of Michigan State University: Ivan was a teaching assistant and Stephanie was taking pre-med physics classes.
After earning his PhD, Ivan worked for Tracor (aka Marconi, aka British Aerospace Engineering Systems) in Fort Walton Beach Florida. He worked there four years, where his son Daniel was born. He then worked at Lockheed Martin in Orlando for two years, where his daughter Jessica was born. He and his young family enjoyed visiting Disney, Sea World and Universal Studios in their spare time. He liked to say, “I’ll meet you for dinner in Paris,” meaning the Paris in Epcot! At Lockheed Martin in Orlando he worked with radar and was awarded a patent for, “Rain versus Target Discrimination for Doppler Radars.” Ivan then continued his career at Lockheed Martin in Littleton Colorado for four years, then at Raytheon in Tucson in 2009, where he worked until his retirement.
Ivan enjoyed teaching as a physics teaching assistant at Michigan State University, as a part time math teacher at Okaloosa Walton Community College, and as a firearm safety instructor for the Boy Scouts. He taught many friends how to target shoot and hunt. His enthusiasm encouraged many people, especially in his love of firearms and hunting.
Ivan enjoyed caving and was a member of the East Tennessee Cave Rescue Team. He enjoyed camping, Jeeping, sky diving and riding his motorcycle (initially a Honda Interceptor, then a Buell, then a Harley Sportster). He was an eager scuba diver. He appreciated traveling and seeing different parts of the country. He enjoyed being a part of the Boy Scouts and was very proud to help his son earn his Eagle Scout award. He was the only father active in his daughter’s Daisy Girl Scout troop. He was also an involved member of the Civil Air Patrol in Fort Walton Beach and Littleton, earning the rank of Major. But most of all, Ivan enjoyed spending time with his children and wife.
Ivan is survived by his wife of 27 years, Stephanie May-Collazo, his son, Daniel Richard Collazo, his daughter Jessica Jennifer Collazo; his brother Humberto Collazo and sister-in-law Luz Velez, his brother Francisco Collazo and sister-in-law Rosemary Nieves and many beloved nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass will be held Saturday February 5 at 10:00 am at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, on Tanque Verde Loop Road. The family will greet friends after the mass as well as at Sensible Cremations and Funerals on Grant Road, on Sunday February 6 from 2-4:00pm. Masks and social distancing are requested. For those who are unable to attend the funeral, a livestreamed version of the service will be available at 10:00 AM Arizona time at this YouTube link:
https://youtu.be/aNZcXMRCgBY
Ivan was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, the son of Maria del Carmen Lopez Pujols and Francisco Collazo Gonzalez. He is preceded in death by both of his parents. He grew up in Lares, Puerto Rico, helping work at his family’s gas station and auto parts business. He graduated with high honors from the Domingo Aponte Collazo High School. He especially enjoyed math and physics and making his own science experiments and explosions. He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras in 1983, earning a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in physics and mathematics. He then worked at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, known for its famous radio telescope. He then studied at Michigan State University, earning two Masters of Science degrees in Physics and Applied Math. After that, he earned a Masters degree in Nuclear Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, then a PhD from Georgia Tech in 1996. His thesis was titled: Data Modeling and Analysis for the TFTR Differential Phase Reflectometer with Applications to ICRH. Most of his research for this was done at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Ivan married the love of his life, Stephanie May MD, on May 14, 1994, in Ypsilanti Michigan. They met in the physics help room of Michigan State University: Ivan was a teaching assistant and Stephanie was taking pre-med physics classes.
After earning his PhD, Ivan worked for Tracor (aka Marconi, aka British Aerospace Engineering Systems) in Fort Walton Beach Florida. He worked there four years, where his son Daniel was born. He then worked at Lockheed Martin in Orlando for two years, where his daughter Jessica was born. He and his young family enjoyed visiting Disney, Sea World and Universal Studios in their spare time. He liked to say, “I’ll meet you for dinner in Paris,” meaning the Paris in Epcot! At Lockheed Martin in Orlando he worked with radar and was awarded a patent for, “Rain versus Target Discrimination for Doppler Radars.” Ivan then continued his career at Lockheed Martin in Littleton Colorado for four years, then at Raytheon in Tucson in 2009, where he worked until his retirement.
Ivan enjoyed teaching as a physics teaching assistant at Michigan State University, as a part time math teacher at Okaloosa Walton Community College, and as a firearm safety instructor for the Boy Scouts. He taught many friends how to target shoot and hunt. His enthusiasm encouraged many people, especially in his love of firearms and hunting.
Ivan enjoyed caving and was a member of the East Tennessee Cave Rescue Team. He enjoyed camping, Jeeping, sky diving and riding his motorcycle (initially a Honda Interceptor, then a Buell, then a Harley Sportster). He was an eager scuba diver. He appreciated traveling and seeing different parts of the country. He enjoyed being a part of the Boy Scouts and was very proud to help his son earn his Eagle Scout award. He was the only father active in his daughter’s Daisy Girl Scout troop. He was also an involved member of the Civil Air Patrol in Fort Walton Beach and Littleton, earning the rank of Major. But most of all, Ivan enjoyed spending time with his children and wife.
Ivan is survived by his wife of 27 years, Stephanie May-Collazo, his son, Daniel Richard Collazo, his daughter Jessica Jennifer Collazo; his brother Humberto Collazo and sister-in-law Luz Velez, his brother Francisco Collazo and sister-in-law Rosemary Nieves and many beloved nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass will be held Saturday February 5 at 10:00 am at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, on Tanque Verde Loop Road. The family will greet friends after the mass as well as at Sensible Cremations and Funerals on Grant Road, on Sunday February 6 from 2-4:00pm. Masks and social distancing are requested. For those who are unable to attend the funeral, a livestreamed version of the service will be available at 10:00 AM Arizona time at this YouTube link:
https://youtu.be/aNZcXMRCgBY
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