Gary Burrell

Gary Burrell, who co-founded Garmin and shepherded it as it grew into one of the Kansas City area’s most recognized and successful business ventures, died Wednesday at the age of 81, the Olathe-based company announced Thursday morning June 12 2019. Burrell, together with fellow engineer Min Kao, formed the company in 1989 to build products enabled by the then-emerging technology of Global Positioning System, or GPS. They named it Garmin by joining the first three letters of each founders’ first names together. One of the leading innovators of integrated avionics, Burell founded Garmin in 1989 with Min Kao to make navigation devices for aviation and boating. Name 'Garmin' comes from the two founders' names - Gary and Min. Original office: 2 folding chairs and a card table. U.S. Army servicemen loved GPS units during Gulf and Iraq wars but Garmin never had a military contract. Took the newfangled Global Positioning System, used till then for satellites and developing military navigation, to directionally-challenged drivers on US highways in 1998. Fortunes soared, spouses stop bickering. Burrell retired in 2002 and continued to serve as Garmin’s co-chairman until 2004, when he was named chairman emeritus. Before launching Garmin, Burrell worked at several marine and aviation electronics companies including Lowrance Electronics, King Radio Corporation and AlliedSignal. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Wichita State University and a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.