Lembit Salasoo

Lembit Salasoo of Niskayuna passed away at age 68 on August 17, 2024 surrounded by his loving family.

 Lembit is survived by his beloved wife, Ester, his loving children, Imbi and husband Zubin Joy, Markus, and Kristjan and wife Megan Goodrich, his beautiful grand daughter Aalia, his parents Inno and Tiiu in Sydney, his brother Olev, wife Anni and dear nephews Aleks and Niki in Stockholm, and brother-in-law Tim Feustel and dear nieces Ingrid and Endla. He is preceded in death by his sister, Aita.

Lembit was born in Sydney, Australia on March 10, 1956. As a child he was taken on many bush camping trips with his parents who had an avid interest in botany. They nurtured his interest in science at an early age - he loved paging through his dad’s chemistry books. 

 At his high school science lab, teacher supervision was lax. Lembit, together with friends, experimented with chemicals, sometimes evading disaster, sometimes not! His best high school experience was attending International Science School at Sydney University in the summers, organized by the esteemed Harry Messel. Lembit said that there he learned to be an undergraduate by spending all day in classes immersed in challenging science topics.

 He earned a combined Bachelor of Science (1976) and Bachelor of Engineering with First Class Honors (1978) from Sydney University. He completed a Master of Engineering (1983) and PhD. (1986) in Electric Power Engineering at RPI in Troy, New York. He enjoyed being challenged at RPI and said it led to a level of confidence that he could tackle anything.

 Lembit worked at GE Research for 36 years, significantly contributing to an array of fields like MRI magnets, hybrid electric transit buses and locomotives, underground mining trucks, and analyzing the climate effects of aviation. He enjoyed a challenge, and gave advice to his children, all engineers, that sometimes you need to be a little brave in researching new things. Lembit published 68 patents and was awarded two Dushman Awards.

 Lembit continued a three generation family tradition of active membership in the Estonian University Fraternity Fraternitas Liviensis, and was Vice President of the USA chapter. Lembit reveled in the camaraderie of Estonian youth in Sydney in the 1970s, where together they published an Estonian magazine, created Estonian films, participated in choir and Estonian folk dancing. Lembit remained active in the global Estonian community throughout his life.

  It was at one of the Estonian festivals in Australia that Lembit met his wife Ester, “his reason for living,” he would more recently tell medical staff. Their happy marriage lasted 36 years, and they raised their three loving children in Niskayuna, NY.

 He loved playing the piano at home for his family, and was organist for the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul for Schenectady-Albany for two decades. 

 He was an avid reader and writer. Words were chosen meaningfully whether writing personal cards or research papers. Words matter, he would say. 

 Lembit loved attending concerts and theater and organizing adventurous road trips with his family. His intellect, card game skills and dry humor will be dearly missed by his family, as will his culinary skills in baking birthday kringels and BBQing ribs. 

 Lembit was an extraordinary man with great humility. To be a friend to Lembit felt very special, and he cherished and maintained old friendships. 

 Friends and family are invited to join a Memorial Service on Saturday August 24th at noon at the New Comer Cremations & Funerals, 343 New Karner Road, Colonie, NY. Visitation will be held from 10am-12pm.

 The family extends their gratitude to the doctors and medical teams at Albany Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - https://giving.mskcc.org

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