site.btaJohn Vincent Atanasoff II, Son of Electronic Digital Computers' Inventor and Great Friend of Bulgaria, Passes Away

John Vincent Atanasoff II, son of the inventor of electronic digital computers and a great friend of Bulgaria, passed away earlier this month at the age of 90 years and 8 months, BTA learnt from his close friend Prof. Vladimir Getov of the University of Westminster in the UK.

Getov described Atanasoff II as "an exceptional person" and recalled that he had received a kalpak (traditional Bulgarian hat) as a present, and when asked if he felt Bulgarian, he would sometimes jokingly reply that officially he was 25% Bulgarian, but when he came to Bulgaria, he became 50%, and when he put on the kalpak he felt 100%.

Born in Ames, Iowa, on February 5, 1935, John was the youngest child of John Vincent and Lura Meeks Atanasoff. He graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Engineering and later earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Rochester, New York. Furthering his education, he received an advanced degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while working for Avco Systems Division. In 1981, John took a job as General Manager of EG&G Sealol, and in 1994 he was appointed CEO of Colorado MedTECH in Boulder, Colorado.

"As chairman of the International Initiative Committee for the recognition of his father's work around the world, John worked tirelessly to achieve this goal - he gave lectures, participated in public discussions, meetings and negotiations with influential figures from the professional community and state administrations both around the globe and in Bulgaria," Getov said. John Atanasoff II donated computer equipment to the Village of Boyadzhik, Southeastern Bulgaria, which is the birthplace of his grandfather Ivan Atanasoff.

In April 2012, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev conferred the Order of the Madara Horseman, First Class, on John Atanasoff II, for his especially great services to the promotion of the bilateral relations and cooperation between Bulgaria and the US. The honour was presented when John Atanasoff II and his sister Joanne Gathers visited Bulgaria in October 2013 for observances of their father's 110th birth anniversary. The two then gifted Plevneliev with a portrait of John Vincent Atanasoff done by Simmie Knox, an American painter who painted the official portraits of former President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton. An identical portrait of Atanasoff was displayed at the White House in Washington, D.C. 

"John loved tennis, was an avid reader, could hold his own in any conversation, and up until his final days analyzed everything in search of a more elegant solution. He believed in treating everyone fairly and never deviated as it was in his nature. He inherited his sense of humor and laughter from his mother Lura and loved to dress in bright fashionable colors whenever possible to the dismay of a few of his more conservative friends and relatives," his obituary in the Boulder Daily Camera reads.

John Vincent Atanasoff II passed away peacefully in Boulder, Colorado, on October 10, 2025. He is survived by his wife, four children, 12 grandchildren and  two great-grandchildren.