# Norm Winningstad

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{{Short description|American engineer and businessman}}
{{Infobox person
|name          = Norm Winningstad
|image         = Norman Winningstad 2008.jpg
|image_size    =  
|caption       = Winningstad in 2008
|birth_name    = C. Norman Winningstad
|birth_date    = {{Birth date|1925|11|5|mf=yes}}
|birth_place   = [Berkeley, California](/source/Berkeley%2C_California), U.S.
|death_date    = {{Death date and age|2010|11|24|1925|11|5|mf=yes}}
|death_place   = [Newport, Oregon](/source/Newport%2C_Oregon), U.S.
|occupation    = [Entrepreneur](/source/Entrepreneur), engineer
|alma_mater    = [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley)<br/>[Portland State University](/source/Portland_State_University)
|children      = 3
}}
'''C. Norman (Norm) Winningstad''' (November 5, 1925 – November 24, 2010) was an American engineer and businessman in the state of [Oregon](/source/Oregon). A native of [California](/source/California), he served in the U.S. Navy during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) before working at what is now [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory](/source/Lawrence_Berkeley_National_Laboratory). After moving north to Oregon, he started working for [Tektronix](/source/Tektronix) before starting several companies in what became the [Silicon Forest](/source/Silicon_Forest) in the [Portland metropolitan area](/source/Portland_metropolitan_area). He founded or helped to found [Floating Point Systems](/source/Floating_Point_Systems), [Lattice Semiconductor](/source/Lattice_Semiconductor), and [Thrustmaster](/source/Thrustmaster). Winningstad and his wife were also noted philanthropists in the Portland area, with a theater at the [Portland Center for the Performing Arts](/source/Portland_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts) named in his wife Dolores' honor.

==Early life==
C. Norman Winningstad was born in [Berkeley, California](/source/Berkeley%2C_California), to Chester and Phyllis Winningstad on November 5, 1925.<ref name="nnt">{{cite news|url=http://www.newportnewstimes.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=25471&page=74|title=Obituaries: C. Norman Winningstad|date=December 1, 2010|work=[Newport News Times](/source/Newport_News_Times)|accessdate=5 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927211606/http://www.newportnewstimes.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=25471&page=74|archive-date=27 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> He grew up in California and then served in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) during World War II as an electronic technician's mate.<ref name="obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/11/post_49.html|last=Tobias|first=Lori|author2=Mike Rogoway|author3= Richard Read|title=Norm Winningstad, high-tech pioneer and philanthropist in Oregon, dies at 85|date=November 24, 2010|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref> After the war Winningstad continued in the electronics field when graduated from the [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley) with a degree in [electrical engineering](/source/electrical_engineering).<ref name="obit"/>

He graduated in 1948 as an expert in [vacuum tube](/source/vacuum_tube)s, which was the same year [Bell Labs](/source/Bell_Labs) developed the [transistor](/source/transistor).<ref name="obit"/> As the transistor would replace vacuum tubes in most applications,<ref name="obit"/> Winningstad later joked that he "graduated technically obsolete".<ref name="obit"/> He then worked at the [Lawrence Radiation Laboratory](/source/Lawrence_Radiation_Laboratory) in his hometown for a few years.<ref name="obit"/> He was married to Dolores, and they had two sons, Richard and Dennis, along with a daughter Joanne.<ref name="Rogoway"/>

==Oregon==
thumb|Lattice Semiconductor's headquarters
Winningstad moved north to Oregon in 1958, settling in the [Portland metropolitan area](/source/Portland_metropolitan_area).<ref name="obit"/> There he worked for technology company [Tektronix](/source/Tektronix) (Tek), near the city of [Beaverton](/source/Beaverton%2C_Oregon).<ref name="obit"/> While with Tek, he was later described as "one of its leading brains during its 1960s heyday".<ref name="Rogoway">{{cite news|url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2010/11/contemplating_norm_winningstad.html|title=Norm Winningstad's passing ends an epoch in Oregon tech|last=Rogoway|first=Mike|date=November 27, 2010|work=[The Oregonian](/source/The_Oregonian)|publisher=OregonLive.com|accessdate=2 December 2010}}</ref> Tek manufactured [oscilloscopes](/source/oscilloscopes), and later diversified into areas such as printers and even television production equipment.<ref name="Rogoway"/> Winningstad continued his education with a degree from [Portland State University](/source/Portland_State_University).<ref name="pbj"/>

He left Tektronix in 1970 to help start [supercomputer](/source/supercomputer) company [Floating Point Systems](/source/Floating_Point_Systems) in Beaverton.<ref name="Rogoway"/><ref name="ABC">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12244245|title=Oregon Technology Pioneer Norm Winningstad Dies|agency=The Associated Press|date=November 25, 2010|publisher=ABC News|accessdate=2 December 2010}}</ref> At his new company, he received assistance from his old company in the way of simulations and early production of prototypes.<ref name="obit"/> Winningstad grew the company to 1,600 employees and annual revenues of $127 million, though he left and came back to resurrect the company before Floating Point went bankrupt in the early 1990s.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="Rogoway"/>

Winningstad continued his entrepreneurial ways by helping to found [Lattice Semiconductor](/source/Lattice_Semiconductor) in [Hillsboro](/source/Hillsboro%2C_Oregon) in 1980 and [Thrustmaster](/source/Thrustmaster) in 1990, also in Hillsboro.<ref name="obit"/> These, Floating Point Systems, and Tek helped create the Silicon Forest, which Lattice trademarked in the 1980s.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="pbj">{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2010/11/25/norm-winningstad-dies-at-age-85.html|title=Norm Winningstad dies at age 85|last=Smith|first=Rob|date=November 25, 2010|work=[Portland Business Journal](/source/Portland_Business_Journal)|accessdate=2 December 2010}}</ref><ref name="editorial board"/>

In 1985, he was a supporter of a proposed [sales tax](/source/sales_tax), which ultimately failed.<ref name="editorial board"/> He moved to the [Oregon Coast](/source/Oregon_Coast) in 1989, settling in [Newport](/source/Newport%2C_Oregon).<ref name="pbj"/> He maintained a home in the Portland area, and flew his helicopter between his homes.<ref name="obit"/> His business ventures provided him with the wealth to own the helicopter, and at one time four [Ferrari](/source/Ferrari)s.<ref name="obit"/>

==Later years and death==
[[File:PCFPA.JPG|thumb|Portland Center for Performing Arts's [Antoinette Hatfield Hall](/source/Antoinette_Hatfield_Hall), which includes the Dolores Winningstad Theatre]]
He wrote ''The Area of Enlightenment: "Don't Confuse Me with the Facts, I've Already Made up my Mind"'' with [ghostwriter](/source/ghostwriter) Carla Perry, which was published in 2005.<ref name="obit"/> Winningstad, as a veteran himself, was a supporter of veterans and would attend memorial services to show his support.<ref name="editorial board">{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/11/c_norman_winningstad_1925-2010.html|title=C. Norman Winningstad, 1925-2010|author=The Oregonian Editorial Board|date=November 26, 2010|work=The Oregonian|publisher=OregonLive.com|accessdate=2 December 2010}}</ref> He also supported cultural institutions in the Portland area, such as the [Washington County Museum](/source/Washington_County_Museum), the [Oregon Symphony Orchestra](/source/Oregon_Symphony_Orchestra), and the [Portland Center for the Performing Arts](/source/Portland_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts), which includes the Dolores Winningstad Theater, named after his wife.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="editorial board"/>

On November 24, 2010, Norm Winningstad died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 85.<ref name="ABC"/> He killed himself at his home in Newport after suffering from an undisclosed illness that had caused him great physical pain.<ref name="obit"/><ref name="ABC"/> Winningstad had started a company near his death to develop one of his last technologies.<ref name="pbj"/> The technology was a product to record police interactions after they pulled someone over.<ref name="editorial board"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081121074800/http://www.aofe.org/author.htm Area of Enlightenment]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winningstad, Norm}}
Category:Businesspeople from Oregon
Category:People from Newport, Oregon
Category:2010 deaths
Category:UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni
Category:Portland State University alumni
Category:1925 births
Category:Suicides by firearm in Oregon
Category:Businesspeople from Berkeley, California
Category:United States Navy sailors
Category:People from Washington County, Oregon
Category:Tektronix people
Category:American technology company founders
Category:Philanthropists from Oregon
Category:Engineers from Oregon
Category:Engineers from California
Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:20th-century American philanthropists
Category:2010 suicides

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Norm Winningstad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Winningstad) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Winningstad?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.