A gentleman remembered

Francis T. Laurin, president of Laurin Publishing, passed away on April 28 after a long illness.

After college and military service during World War II, Mr. Laurin obtained his professional engineering license and pursued a career as a design engineer and exporting coordinator with paper-making machinery producer E.D. Jones of Pittsfield, Mass.

In 1974, Mr. Laurin took early retirement from Jones – now Beloit Corp. – and joined his wife Teddi C. Laurin at what was then Optical Publishing, a company founded by Mrs. Laurin.

Mr. Laurin oversaw the daily operation of Laurin Publishing and kept a sharp eye on its finances. During the 1970s and 1980s, he also oversaw the sales operations. The company, thanks to Mr. Laurin’s guidance, now publishes three magazines, a four-volume Photonics Directory, electronic newsletters and the most-visited photonics Web site, photonics.com, along with numerous other reference works dealing with the photonics industry.

Active in the photonics community, Mr. and Mrs. Laurin hosted many events, including the sponsoring of trade shows, conferences and industry awards.

Mr. Laurin, whom we at Laurin Publishing always called Fran, will be deeply missed, not just by us, but by all those in the photonics community whose lives he touched.

Goodbye, old friend. May you rest in peace.