KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gary Burrell, the co-founder of Olathe, Kansas-based Garmin, died Wednesday, the company said in a news release. He was 81.
Burrell co-founded Garmin with Min Kao in 1989. He retired from the technology company in 2002 and continued to serve as co-chairman until 2004, when he was named chairman emeritus.
“Gary Burrell has been my friend, mentor and partner for more than 30 years,” Kao said in the news release. “His vision, values, engineering skills and commitment to serving our customers have been the foundation for the growth of our company. It has been both a great privilege and a blessing to have known this amazing man and I know his legacy will live on.”
Before founding Garmin, Burrell held leadership positions at marine and aviation electronics companies, including Lowrance Electronics, King Radio Corporation and AlliedSignal, according to Garmin.
He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Wichita State University and his master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
