Graeme Addie

Graeme Addie

Martinez, GA – Graeme Robert Addie died peacefully at home on November 16 in Augusta, Georgia, at the age of 76.
Graeme is survived by his wife of fifty-one years, Jenifer Addie; children: Andrew Robert Addie, Robyn Kathleen Addie (Harry Abernathy), and Emma Addie Slater (Brian); grandchildren: Alison Addie, Dorothy Addie, Colin Addie, Chloe Addie, Graeme Slater, Addie Slater; his brother: Ronald Geoffrey Addie of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He is preceded in death by his father: Robert White Addie of Eltham, Victoria, Australia; his mother: Dorothy May Addie (née Pain) of Eltham, Victoria, Australia; and his brother: John William Addie of Ringwood, Victoria, Australia.
Graeme was born on June 17, 1941, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to Dorothy May and Robert White Addie. Graeme graduated from Box Hill High School in Melbourne, Australia, in 1959. He began working for Cameron and Associates in 1965 in Melbourne, Australia. He married Jenifer Jones, whom he met at a dance, in 1966. He graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1967 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Upon receiving his degree, he began working for Kelly & Lewis as a design draftsman. He remained there for ten years, the last four of which he worked as Chief Engineer. Graeme became a member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, in 1971. After moving to Augusta, Georgia, in 1976, Graeme began working for Georgia Iron Works as Chief Engineer. In 1980, Graeme earned his Professional Engineer license and was named Vice President of Engineering, a position he held until his retirement in 2010. His children remember him as a kind, caring, dedicated father who encouraged them to pursue their goals.
Graeme was an accomplished Professional Engineer, Computer Scientist, car mechanic, and sailor. Graeme grew up using a slide rule, but quickly learned computer programming. He invented a system of testing pump performance using computers. He also created a computer program for 2-Dimensional finite element stress analysis of slurry pumps. He is the author of sixteen USPTO patents for slurry and centrifugal pumps. He was the Chairman of the Hydraulic Institute committee that wrote the first slurry pump standard and also served on six committees charged with creating American National Standards for rotodynamic pumps. He has addressed thousands of pump users worldwide, and has authored/coauthored over 80 publications on Slurry Pipeline Transport, Pump Design, Performance and Wear, including coauthoring the book “Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps.” In 2004, Graeme was named Hydraulic Institute’s Member of the Year.
Graeme was frequently involved in ambitious and innovative escapades. An early example of these was the secret placement of a large sign saying “merry Christmas Mole” (Mole was the nickname of the school headmaster) on the roof of his two-story High School. Other escapades included building a gyrocopter (which fortunately never flew), a tandem trailer, a boat trailer, and a supercharger for one of his four Morgan sportscars. Graeme was a great enthusiast for home manufacture. In his professional life, these skills were greatly appreciated when he created a large computerized laboratory for experiments in pumping slurries developed at a time when computer control was in its infancy.
Graeme’s most characteristic quality, however, was his strong and lasting friendships. He had many close friends with whom he continued to communicate, meet, and engage in a great variety of social activities in Europe and Australia as well as at home in the U.S. As a close friend and colleague noted, “It was a pleasure and honour to know and work with you. You made a difference to more than just GIW and, importantly, we had fun doing it. The world will be poorer without you and my life would have been poorer without knowing you.”
He was a dedicated Morgan car enthusiast who loved his antique cars and was passionate about keeping them running in pristine condition. Graeme supported his children and their various sports endeavors, building swimming touch pads and serving as the president of the CSRA Swim League in 1981. He was an active and dedicated member of the Augusta Sailing Club and served as commodore in 1984. Graeme enjoyed backpacking and camping with his wife and children. He has camped in the Snowy Mountains in Victoria, Merimbula, New South Wales, and the Great Smoky Mountains in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
There will be a visitation, on Monday, November 20 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors on Davis Road in Martinez, Georgia. Funeral services will be Tuesday, November 21 at 11:00 am in the chapel of Thomas Poteet & Son, with a reception to follow at the family home, 3547 Bellerive Circle, Martinez, Georgia. Sid Gates will officiate the ceremony. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Graeme’s life. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta at 1442 Harper Street, Augusta, GA. The family would like to thank Paul Smith and Teresa Babatundé for their care and dedication to Graeme.
Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com