Lu Packard (née Salter) was involved in HP from the beginning. In 1938, newly married Dave and Lu moved to 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, where they worked with Bill Hewlett to establish Hewlett-Packard Company. Lu’s full-time position at Stanford’s Registrar’s Office — she and Dave had met as students at Stanford — helped to sustain her household and her husband’s fledgling business. She also handled HP’s bookkeeping, marketing and communications and eventually oversaw human resources. Lu was even known for personally giving baby shower gifts to new parents, a practice she continued until the company’s ranks grew too large. Throughout it all, she also raised four children with Dave.

After Flora Hewlett (née Lamson) married Bill in August 1939, she too provided important support to the young company. A Berkeley-educated biochemist, Flora’s full-time job as an editor of the Annual Review of Biochemistry provided her household with a financial lifeline. Flora also took on administrative tasks for the company, even working for a short time in the Addison Avenue cottage, which became HP’s first dedicated office. Flora juggled these responsibilities with motherhood, having five children with Bill.

Aside from their practical contributions, Lu and Flora’s influence shaped the humane and caring workplace culture that came to define the company. Ray Wilbur, who became HP’s first personnel manager, acknowledged Lu and Flora’s legacy in relation to the company’s values: “Through their interest in our people, policies and practices they certainly had an impact on the HP way.”

Flora Hewlett passed away in 1977 at age 62. Lu Packard passed away in 1987 at age 72. Today, the company recognizes both women for their generous characters and their work to make Hewlett Packard a singular success.