John Lee Barnum was a pioneer in the electronics business in the Silicon Valley and owned his own company in the defense electronics field. Daughter Christine Barnum Earl has saved business cards and articles from the San Jose Mercury News, Defense Electronics Magazine and other sources for future family genealogists.
He and his family lived 1967-1975 in Cupertino, California. During 1976-2001 they lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains, near Los Gatos, where they survived numerous mudslides, a fire and the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake (7.1 on the Richter Scale), which required the total rebuilding of their home.