White Oak Lab Alumni Update

White Oak Laboratory Alumni Association, Inc.

Alumni Update

Feedback from the Alumni

Misplaced Bomb

Dr. Bob Price called me to expand on the Ray Blair story of rescuing a misplaced
piece of ordnance. Bob was at Woods Hole at the time, and Ray was at NOL.
The two labs were doing a joint field test. The tests were being held in the
Vineyard Sound, which is off Martha Vineyard. The test was to drop a piece of
ordnance into the Sound and assess the effectiveness of the warhead, including
the fusing. Bob was studying surface effects from the detonation and could
determine the depth of detonation by analyzing the photos of the water plume.
Ray and Bob were involved in taking the pictures. Others had underwater
sensors to assess the shock, etc of the underwater detonation. (Bob didn't say;
but the ordnance may have been ASW depth bombs.) Bob said he was aware of
the aircraft not getting the ordnance in the test area. This would track with Ray
and others taking a boat to recover a round that landed on the land/island.

Deceased Alumni

Please inform Houston Cole of any information you have about deceased
alumni: phone (410) 489-2977 or email at hmcole2@verizon.net. Please check
the WOLAA web site at www.wolaa.org for more timely information than can be
provided by a quarterly newsletter.

Deceased Alumni Archives

Deceased Alumni Tributes

2011 Deceased Alumni

Robert W. Simmons. WOLAA was notified that Robert is deceased; no
details were provided. He worked at NOL in the Aero and Hydro design
and Facilities Branch in the Aero Department.

Bonnie C. Wright. Her daughter, Diane Wright Green, notified WOLAA
that Bonnie died on 1 October 2007. No other details were provided. She
worked in E Department’s Product Design Division.

Rodney Boyer. WOLAA was notified by Rod’s son that Rodney had died in
August 2010. A tribute to Rodney is provided by his son and is shown in
Supplement’s page S10. Rod worked in the Environmental Laboratory in
Building 20.

Julius C. Scalise. Julius C. Scalise, 87, a packaging engineer at the Naval
Surface Warfare Center from 1946 to 1979, died Sept. 13 at Suburban
Hospital in Bethesda of cardiac arrest. Julius Caesar Scalise was a District
Heights native and a 194o graduate of Maryland Park High School in Seat
Pleasant. He was a machinist at the Navy Yard during the early 1940s and
served in the Marine Corps during World War II. He had been a Rockville
resident since 1954. He was a member of the Shrine of St. Jude Catholic
Church in Rockville. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Mary Cardinale
Scalise of Rockville; three daughters, Diane Dunville of Princeville, Hawaii,
Linda Scalise of Rockville and Maria Scalise of Richmond; and a
granddaughter.

William Logan. WOLAA was notified that William died on 19 September
2010. No other information was provided. He worked in the Structures
Branch of the Air and Surface ME Division

Glenn Brown. WOLAA was notified that Glenn died in October 2010. No
other information is available. Glenn was a technician in the Weapons and
Mechanism Evaluation Branch (U43). He worked on most of the torpedo,
mine and missile projects in U Department.

Christel Augl. WOLAA was notified that Christel Died in October 2010.
She was the wife of Dr. Joseph Augl, who worked at WOL in the Non
Metallic Material Branch of R Department.

George Allison. George died of colon cancer on 17 October 2010. He is
survived by his wife of 34 years, Susan. He graduated from Old Dominion
University in 1976 and came to work at NSWC. He worked in U42 with
Bob Ridgway and was the developer of a simulation system to laboratory
test the Target Detection Device (TDD) 58 used by the Mk 65
QUICKSTRIKE mine. This was a very difficult task as three different type
sensors and their signal processing had to be modeled/simulated. He also
worked on the TDD 57, 70 and 71. He moved to Carderock when WOL
closed and worked in Code 752 re Magnetic Silencing. George worked on
ship measuring facilities and was on travel a lot. He was a 33 degree
Mason and served his community in many activities. He enjoyed being a
boat captain and there was a very interesting story of getting caught in a
severe rain storm.

Joseph A. Koenig. Joseph died on 11 November 2010. He was the
husband of the late Deborah, Lillian, and Mary Koenig. He is survived by
daughter, Martha Orletsky; two grandchildren; and two great
grandchildren. He worked in the Aerophysics Branch of the Aero and
Hydro Ballistic Directorate.

Francis “Frank”W. Farley. Frank died in his sleep at his apartment in
Riderwood at age 86. He is survived by his wife, Mary; sons, Francis W
(Jr.)., John F, Patrick R, and Michael J; and six grandchildren. He is also
survived by his brother William and sister Ann Cleary. Bill Vogel, who also
worked at WOL is his brother-in-law. A memorial service was held for
Frank at Riderwood on 23 November 2010. Frank worked at NOL for his
entire career. He worked in U43 as a System Assessment/T&E Engineer.
Frank had the lead for T&E for SUBROC and the Mk 48 Mod 1 torpedo.
Weekly meetings were held for both projects in the Chart Room and
Frank gave the update on the latest field tests. He was an excellent field
T&E engineer and had the ability to plan, implement, and report on tests.
He volunteered to be the Project Manager for CAPTOR late in the
development/production of CAPTOR. I asked him why he wanted the task
and in typical Frank style he said because there was a need. He had an
ability to meet with Submarine commanders and officers to explain what
was needed on a given test. They had great respect for Frank. He rode
submarines a lot during SUBROC; and he told me of being on a PERMIT
class boat once when the skipper decided to go to maximum operating
depth. Frank had an interesting description of this experience. His family
has many stories about the family farm in Maryland and his driving,
particularly a big old station wagon. Frank was highly intelligent and was
well read. He didn’t talk about it much but he was in the Army and was in
Europe from D-day at Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He
apparently frequently spoke his mind and this caused him to go up and
down in rank. His service to his country sets a high standard for all of us.

Margaret Emily Peterson. John Cheek notified WOLAA that Emily died on
29 November 2010 in Tucson, Arizona. No other information is available.
She worked in the Structure Branch of the Air and Surface ME Division.

William E. Gaines. Bill died on 4 December 2010. He is survived by his wife
of 62 years, Frieda; daughter Linda Scholer; five grandchildren; and two
great-grandchildren. His son Dr. Wayne Gaines is deceased. Art Johnson
wrote, “Bill was a NAVSEA employee who was in charge of the swimmer
weapons program - both R&D as well as production. We started working
with him from Charlie Young's SWS term through Joe Allulis', mine, and
Les Taylor's terms. Bill was a great guy, easy to work with, and because
of failing eyesight and living across the street from the lab, spent more
and more time at White Oak than downtown He retired from NAVSEA in
the mid-1980‘s.”

Thelma Veronical Simkins. Thelma died on 5 December 2010 at age 91.
She was the wife of the late John W. Simkins. She is survived by children,
Patricia Loomis, Nancy Runion, Susan Rose, and William Simkins; 19
grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren. Her son Robert Simkins is
deceased. Houston Cole noted: “John Simkins died several years ago and
was a draftsman supervisor at WOL. He was an excellent draftsman and a
fine person.”

Oscar Payne. Oscar died at age 78 in Martinsburg, W. VA. He is survived
by his wife Sara; children Julie Arrowood and Kevin Payne; step-children
Toni Silver and Bonnie Hiers; three grandchildren; and five step-
grandchildren. He was husband of the late Darlene Kingsbury Payne.
Oscar worked at NOL after getting out of the Navy as a draftsman and
supervisor draftsman. He was very active in the Beltsville Boys and Girls
club and coached boys and girls sports. Oscar loved people and made
friends with everyone. After he retired he worked with other NOL retirees
at EPOCH Engineering on warhead and sonobuoy projects. He was an
excellent design draftsman and had the ability to make a sketch better
and offered many suggestions which lead to an improve design or
enhanced the manufacturing of the device. Charlie Lewis wrote the
following: “Oscar was detailed from the central drafting area to provide
drafting services for U10. Specifically he worked for Bob Schmiech and
Charlie Lewis and the project engineers in their organizations. Oscar made
concept layouts of devices under development and aided the project
engineers in conducting dimension stack-ups before test samples were
sent to the shop for fabrication. He was one of the truly good guys at the
Lab and was always willing to do whatever was required to the job done.”

- Dave Grenier wrote the following: “I was in U11C having a problem with the
drafting room when it was transitioning to Computer Aided Drafting. John Renzi
was involved somehow and, as I remember, had a different agenda than mine
and projected getting my drawings finished way too late while costing way too
much. I was frustrated with the situation when Oscar showed up and sat down.
He had a commiserating style that had me laughing in minutes, and convinced
that everything would be just fine. I could count on him. I got my drawings on
time. He never would tell me what he did. Also, he was an accomplished
designer. Several times he suggested changes to our piece-part designs and
was always a member of the design team for the Mk 57 Explosive Destructor
(the 100lb bomblet for the Mine Neutralization System) and its Mk 37 Acoustic
Firing Device. I wish I could remember all the names of the other members of
that team.”

Sarah Cali. John Greene wrote the following about Sarah who died in
September 2010: “I noted with sadness the passing of Sara in the Fall
newsletter. I was reminded of the time when President Carter ordered all
classified documents be personally signed for. At the time I was in charge
of the GenSer library in the STILO. Sara watched over me while I signed
the cards. Sara and I spend more than three straight days signing the
cards for each and every document we had. As I remember it was over
7,000. My hand and fingers were sore for days after. I believe the
presidential order was rescinded within a year. We only had a problem
with one document out of that whole group.”

Betsy McFerren. Elizabeth Fulton Jones, her Grand-daughter, wrote
WOLAA to indicate Betsy had died in 2007 at age 94. She had been living
with her Mother, Elizabeth Mc Ferren Fulton, at the time of her death. Ms
Jones indicated that Ms Fulton is now in poor health. Betsy was the
Secretary for Earl Langenbeck, who headed the Engineering Service
Department.

Ed and Betty Seymour. WOLAA was informed that Ed and Betty Seymour
are deceased. Ed worked at the WOL in the Systems Evaluation Branch
(U42) and the Explosive Dynamics Branch in R10. He retired in the early
70’s and moved to Florida for his retirement years.

Eugene Rosen. WOLAA was informed that Eugene died on 5 January
2010. He was living in Leisure World. He worked in the 1950’s for Bob
Stotz in DP (Planning and Progress), which was on the Technical Director’
s Staff.

Ruth B. Arnn. Ruth’s daughter called WOLAA and informed us that Ruth
died on 17 July 2010. She was living in Riderwood. Ruth worked in Supply
Department in Purchasing Division.

Lee E. Probst. Jim Woodhams provided WOLAA the following obituary:
LeeProbst (80 died on Christmas Day, 2010, in Tucson, Arizona. Lee
served as the Head of the College Recruitment Division in the Personnel
Department of the Naval Ordnance Lab (NOL) in the 1960s, and was
responsible for initiating NOL’s college recruitment program. Lee left NOL
in September 1967 to become the new Placement Director at the
University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, but returned to NOL in June 1968.
In March 1969, he again left NOL to go to the US Civil Service
Commission, and later worked for several Department of the Navy
headquarters offices before eventually finishing his 35 year Federal career
with the Department of Justice. Lee and his wife, Bobbie (Roberta) moved
from Northern Virginia to Tucson several years ago, where he continued
his interests in World travel, photography, history and various other
pursuits. Jim provided the following additional information, “I am attaching
a brief obit for Lee Probst, former NOLer who passed away on Christmas
Day. Although I attended his memorial service in Fairfax, VA, last
weekend, there has not been an obituary prepared that I know of except
brief notes in one of the Tucson papers and in the Washington Post. I
dug out some information on his employment at NOL but, since he has
been gone from NOL/NSWC for so long, I doubt that there are very many
NOLers who would remember Lee. His wife is spending time in Fairfax and
Tucson and will be moving back to Northern Virginia in the near future.

Larry W Johnson. John Kelley provided WOLAA the following: “I am
saddened to report the sudden, untimely death of IHD employee and
former White Oak Laboratory Technician Mr. Larry W. Johnson.
Reportedly, Mr. Johnson had succumbed to lung cancer. Prior to the
closure of WOL and his transfer to the Patterson Pilot Plant of NSWC
Indian Head, Mr. Johnson was a member of the WOL Research
Department (Energetic Materials Division, Code R10) under Dr. Julius
Enig, Mr. James Proctor, and Dr. Kurt Mueller, where in WOL's "600-Area"
he largely contributed to the development of advanced Navy plastic-
bonded explosives (PBX's). Mr. Johnson also was a talented saxophonist
who favored Gospel music, of which he recorded several albums. In
addition to his recordings, his music was much in demand for Church
functions and at religious gatherings. He will be missed.”

Dr. David M. French. John Kelley provided WOLAA the following: “As first
learned from his son, George, we are saddened to report the untimely
death of White Oak Laboratory Senior Scientist Dr. David M. French. Prior
to his retirement, Dr. French was employed as a Senior Polymer Chemist
in the Research Department of the White Oak Laboratory (Energetic
Materials Division, Code R10; Indian Head Detachment) under Drs.
Manfred Cziesla, Julius Enig and William McQuistion, Messrs. Gerald
MacKenzie, James Proctor, and Dr. Kurt Mueller. Dr. French, a student of
P. J. Flory, was intimately involved in the development of Navy strategic
and tactical solid-rocket propellants and plastic-bonded explosives
(PBX's), for which his research efforts principally focused upon the
development of advanced backbone polymers and binder-systems. His
obituary, published in The Washington Post on January 7, 2011, follows.

- David Milton French (Age 96) David Milton French, a long-time resident of
Alexandria, Virginia, died January 1, 2011 at Fairfax Inova Hospital of injuries
suffered in an automobile accident. David was born in Alexandria in 1914, the
only child of David French and Jean Brent. After the untimely death of his 42-
year old father in 1927, David enrolled in Episcopal High School, where he
graduated in 1932. He received an undergraduate degree and Ph.D. in
Chemistry from the University of Virginia in 1936 and 1940, respectively. He
was hired by the U.S. Rubber Company at Passaic, New Jersey, where he did
work in support of the war effort, on the development of synthetic rubber, of
which he was very proud. While in Passaic, he married Margaret Craven and had
a son, David Milton French. That marriage ended in divorce. A new period of his
life began when, while living in Greenwich Village in New York City, David met
and, in 1955, married Mary Emlen Smith. He and Molly would enjoy more than
55 years of marriage. They had two sons, George Emlen French and Robert
Brent French. After a period of employment at the Wyandotte Chemical
Company near Detroit, David returned with his family to Alexandria in 1959. He
worked at the Naval Surface Weapons Center in Indian Head, Maryland for the
rest of his career. David published many papers on polymer chemistry in
professional research journals and patented a number of processes for the
development and treatment of synthetic materials. David became a Branch
Head at Indian Head and mentor to a number of young scientists. He was an
emeritus member of American Chemical Society and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, and an active member of the Alpha Chi Sigma
fraternity of chemists. His return to his Alexandria roots kindled David's
passion for genealogy. His manuscripts included the copiously researched
histories "The Brent and Carroll Families of Colonial Maryland," "The
Descendants of John and Martha French of Virginia and Related Families," and
"The Other Smiths of Burlington." Some of these writings can be found in the
Virginia Room of the Alexandria Library. David's survivors include his wife Molly,
their sons George and Robert, their grandsons Johnston, Hugh and Duncan,
and their daughter-in-law Sarah; his former wife Margaret, their son David,
their daughter-in-law Alice, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
David's family remembers with love a man who was quiet and unassuming, ever
curious about the world, good natured and a bastion of affection and support.
They will miss him deeply.” John Kelley noted, “Dr. French, a mentor and friend
to many of us, is sorely missed.”

Michael E. DeGraba Mike, 86, a Navy Department employee who retired in
1986 from what was then the Naval Surface Weapons Center and helped
conduct research on battery technology, died 8 January 2011 of kidney
failure at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. Mr. DeGraba spent 35 years
with the White Oak Laboratory, initially as a sheet metal worker. Michael, a
Kensington resident, was born in Pittston, Pa. During World War II, he
served in the Army in Europe and participated in the Normandy invasion.
After his retirement, he worked as a starter and pro-shop employee at
Sligo Creek Golf Course in Silver Spring and the Naval Surface Weapons
Center golf course. He was a member of St. Catherine Laboure Catholic
Church in Wheaton, where he was a member of the Holy Name Society.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Lucille Ardoline DeGraba of
Kensington; four children, Michael J. DeGraba and Lucille DeGraba-Brown,
both of Germantown, Patrick J. DeGraba of Rockville and Thomas J.
DeGraba of Potomac; two sisters; and seven grandchildren.

Dorothy McKinley Horner. Dorothy died at age 95 on Thursday, January
20, 2011 at her home in Silver Spring, in the care of her family. She was
born on November 1, 1915, in Washington, DC. A fourth generation
Washingtonian, she was the child of the late Margaret McClellan and Lowell
McKinley of Georgetown. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in
the District of Columbia where she was a member of Lambda Chi Sorority,
and after further business studies, she managed the Western Union
offices in Georgetown and at Union Station. Subsequently, she was a
personnel specialist at the Federal Housing Administration and the Naval
Ordnance Laboratory from which she retired. Beloved wife for 52 years of
the late Andrew Annan Horner, who died in 1990; loving mother of Marcia
Nilson and John Horner.

Dr. Samuel J. Raff. Sam died on 27 January 2011. He was husband of
Barbara Raff, the late Lillian Raff, and former husband of Anna Pryce. Sam
is survived by his children, Melvin, Brian, Nina Winters-Raff, Terri Hurley,
Sara Manson and Franklin; eight grandchildren, and one great-grand-
daughter. He graduated in 1943 from CCNY with a BSME. He went to
work for GE in Schenectady, NY; but within a year the Navy worked with
GE to send a group of the GE engineers to the Navy Yard in DC to work
on the war effort. He remained at NOL for the next 17 years, earning his
masters and PhD in physics through the NOL graduate student program.
Sam had leadership roles as section chief, branch chief, and head of the
Physics Research Department. After leaving NOL, Sam spent a year as the
TC of the Navy’s Missile Office in BUWEP; and then two years as Head of
the Systems Analysis Group which was located at NOL and was staff to
the Undersea Warfare R&D Planning Council. This Council consisted of all
the CO’s and TD’s of the main government and university laboratories
involved in undersea warfare. In 1964, Raff Associates was formed as a
study and analysis group. It grew to 17 employees and was bought by
GRC International. In 1974, he became PM for the National Science
Foundation, retiring in 1978. Dr. Raff participated in the Bikini Atomic
Bomb tests and many of the WOL projects described in the WOL Legacy
book. He began the Journal of Computers and Operations Research,
which he edited for many years and taught EE at GWU. Sam was one of
the five authors of the WOL Legacy book. He spent many hours and
many meetings defining, writing, and editing the book. It was a labor of
love for Sam and all the authors. Dr Raff noted he raised six children,
none of whom showed the slightest interest in the physical sciences that
was his career.

Viola Buhrow Haymes. Viola died at age 95 on 2 February 2011. She lived
at Leisure World in Silver Spring and worked at the WOL. She was wife of
the late Jack Haymes and James Stargel. She is survived by son Jay
Stargel and Sherry-Lynne Stargel and grandson Scott Stargel. Jean
Sellers noted Viola started working at the WOL in the 1980’s at an age
when most of us were planning retirement or were retired. She worked in
M22 in Bldg 3 on the third floor. M22 was the Systems Programming
Branch in the Data Processing Division.

Dr. Fred Fisch. WOLAA was informed that Dr. Fred Fisch from NSWC
Carderock was killed in a 1-car accident last Wednesday, while on his way
to Carderock from his home in Timonium. Apparently, he suffered some
sort of medical emergency and lost control of the vehicle, which flipped
and crashed. He was in the ICU for a day or so before he died. Fred was a
ship vulnerability guy that many of us worked with, on programs such as
the SSVP. Fred had retired from Carderock, and had returned part time
as a contractor. Note: Fred never worked at WOL but worked with staff
from the WOL, especially E21, Environmental Branch.

Maurice Murphy. Jean Goertner notified WOLAA that she received the
following: “Hello Ms. Goertner, I am Maurice Murphy's son John. My Dad
passed away on 9 February 2011 at age 91.” Maurice worked at WOL as a
chemist in the Chemical Engineering Division. He had been a long-time
resident of Beltsville and most recently lived in Burtonsville. “Mr. Murphy
started with the Naval Ordnance Laboratory at White Oak in the early
1940s and later did pyrotechnics work with the Naval Sea Systems
Command in Arlington County. He returned to White Oak for the last 13
years of his career, retiring around 1994. Maurice was born in Milwaukee
and received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Marquette University in
his home town. Maurice was a member of the Catholic Church of the
Resurrection in Burtonsville. Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Marthe
Chausse Murphy of Burtonsville; two children, John Murphy and Anne
Ricciardi, both of Burtonsville; and two grandchildren.”

William Barnum. Bill passed away on 4 March 2011. He had a stroke and
was discovered in his apartment when his co-workers at ATR checked on
him when he didn’t report for work. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital
for treatment, and then to their hospice where he died. Bill has a brother
who lives in Montana. Bill worked at the WOL as a ME in the Mechanical
Systems Branch in U Department. He moved to E Department in the mid-
70’s to Head the WOL Shops. Upon retirement, he worked for ATR. Bill is
also survived by his dear friend Betty Covell. His ATR and WOL friends
held a “wake” for Bill to share their good memories of him. (Betty had
suffered a stroke and had fallen recently. She is living in a nursing home
at this time. Bill was caring for her pet dog and her home as well as
visiting Betty daily. Betty has no surviving family.)

Eleanor G. Kayser. Eleanor’s brother Henry notified WOLAA that Eleanor
died on 21 February 2010. She is survived by her brother, a niece, and
two nephews. “Lore” worked at NOL in the Chemistry Department. She
was a Notre Dame graduate with a degree in Chemistry. She had several
patents and was honored as a “most influential woman.”

Bernard and Margaret Thomas. WOLAA was notified that Bernard died on
5 February 2005 and his wife Margaret died on 26 August 2010. Bernard
worked in the Technical Shops at the WOL.

Margaret Penelope Parks Humphrey. Peggy died on 27 October 2010. Her
daughter Penny Hulbert notified WOLAA. Peggy was the wife of Sam
Humphrey who worked at WOL as a ME, Project Manager of CAPTOR and
NSAP advisor to COMINEWARFARE in Charleston, SC. Sam and Peggy
moved to Charleston and bought a historical house there when Sam was
a NSAP advisor. They loved the area, and their home, and remained there
for many years after his retirement. Sam and Peggy had two daughters.
Sam died several years ago while living in Ohio near their daughter. Peggy
was a warm and friendly person. She loved to visit court rooms to hear
the banner of the lawyer, judges and witnesses. A memorial service is
planned on 18 June at 1000 at the Northwood UP Church at 1200
University Blvd in Silver Spring, MD. A luncheon follows at Mrs K’s
Tollhouse at 1100. RSVP to Penny at (801) 340-4444.

Elizabeth Schwartz Roberts. Betty died at her home on 10 January 2011
after a long struggle with lung cancer. She was a lifetime resident of
Silver Spring and was 82 years old. She worked for the Federal
Government for 37 years, most of the time at the WOL. She was
working as Supervisory Budget Analyst at the time of her retirement in
1983. She was the Branch Secretary for the Mechanical Evaluation
Branch headed by Don Sullivan and then Division Secretary for the
Underwater Evaluation Division headed by Jim Martin. Betty was an
excellent secretary and budget analyst, and respected by all. After
retirement, she volunteered at both the Smithsonian and Brookside
Gardens. “Betty’s love of ‘hand-on’ flower gardening was a major source
of joy throughout her life. Pots of lush and colorful flowering plants
always ordained her porch and deck. Her special project was the design
and creation of a garden sanctuary in her backyard that she filled with
plants, tress, flowers carefully collected and nurtured over the years.”
She is survived by her husband of 64 years, John W. Roberts; her
daughter Jane Roberts Coughlin; and grandchildren, Jennifer Coughlin,
MD, Thomas Coughlin III, CFA; and Elizabeth Reid Coughlin.

Helen M. Berry. WOLAA received the following letter: “Ladies and
Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that Helen M. Berry formerly of Silver
Spring, MD, passed away on 20 January 2011, the day before her 98th
birthday. We thank you for the many communications which she
received. She was blind in her later years and enjoyed having them read
to her. Sincerely, Julian A. Berry, Jr.” Helen worked in the Purchase
Division of the Supply Department and was very well respected for her
competent work and her interaction with her “clients.” Helen had moved
to Huntsville, Alabama.

Joseph Fleischman. Joe died on 27 March 2011. He was suffering from
alzheimers and was in a hospice house. He lived in Parkville, MD. Joe was
in the Planning Section of the Technical Shops. He is survived by his wife
Lenora; children, Joanne, Joseph, and Thomas; stepchildren, Gaye, Lynn,
and Janne; and five grandchildren. His first wife, Anne is deceased.

Owen McGlynn. Owen died at age 76 from lung disease. He lived in
Rockville, MD. He was born on 21 April 1934 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. He was
the son of the late Owen and Carolyn McGlynn. Mac began his career with
the Navy Gun Factory in 1953. From 1956 until 1958, he served a tour of
duty in the U.S. Army. In 1959, he accepted an appointment to the Naval
Surface Warfare Center (known as the Naval Ordinance Lab) as an
engineering draftsman in 1959. On July 14, 1993, Mr. McGlynn retired
from the Navy Department. During his more than 40 years of service,
Mac received numerous Special Act awards. In addition, he worked on
numerous projects, which included Advanced Sea Mines, MK 48 Torpedo,
CAPTOR Mine MK 60, Surface Ship Torpedo Defense, Submarine Launch
Mobile Mines and the layout of the AEGIS Building. Mac will be missed by
his life-long friends, Glenn W. and Christine Forester.

Will Filler. WOLAA was notified that Will had died. Will had been living in
Seal Beach, CA. No details were provided. He worked in the Research
Department in the Air Ground Explosive Branch. Will worked on internal
blast research projects with Jim Proctor. Will also developed, at White
Oak, the prototype for the large Shock Tube that was located in Dahlgen.
After use for explosive research, the tube was mothballed. In the 1980’s,
U Department used the tube’s structure to simulate a Soviet double hull
submarine to assess the ability of a Mk 50 Torpedo warhead to penetrate
the double hull and do severe damage within the inner hull.

Beatrice Ungar. Beatrice Ungar, retired supervisor in the small purchases
section of the Supply Department, died of cancer on April 19, 2011. Bea
worked at White Oak for 27 years before retiring in 1984. She is survived
by her husband, Lou Ungar, who before his retirement in 1976 worked as
an S&T photographer in the wind tunnel and the 400 ranges. Bea is also
survived by a daughter, Denise Alison Ungar of Silver Spring.

Jesse Rosenberg. Jesse died on 28 April 2011. WOLAA had been told
that Jesse had fallen and had been severely injured. He is survived by his
wife, Jean; children, Ellen Deckelbaum, Helene Bethel, and Larry
Rosenberg; and grandchildren who adored their “Pops,” Sara and
Benjamin Bethel and Joshua and Charlotte Deckelbaum. Jesse worked in
the Mechanical Evaluation Branch in U40. He worked out of a laboratory
in the basement of Building 4. His group did the air drops for mines,
depth bombs, etc. They used the very high quality movies of the drops
shot by the very skilled WOL field photographers to measure entry
angles, velocity, etc. Jesse had to work with the Navy pilots, FAA, and
airport folks to get the clearance to use the Ft. Lauderdale airport to load
the ordnance and go over the test flight plans. I was always impressed
with Jesse getting clearance to fly A-6’s, A-7, F18’s North-South along
the Ft. Lauderdale beaches as commercial airlines were taking off on a
East heading over the Atlantic Ocean. This got really exciting when doing
the high speed and low altitude drops. Needless to say, Jesse was on
travel a lot. It also amazed me on what he how he could convince the
Navy pilots to do interesting maneuvers with their jets when doing the
drops.

Waverly “Preacher” Langston. Preacher died on 22 May 2011, just two
weeks after his eighth birthday, after a battle with cancer. He was born in
Goldboro, NC and was in US Marine Corp during the Korean War. He was
awarded two Bronze Stars and other honors. He worked at NOL/NSWC
for 33 years. Most of these years at Ft. Monroe as a valued technician
and then several years at WOL. He is survived by his wife of 53 years,
Peggy; two children: Lori Ferguson and Kerry Langston; and four
Grandchildren. He enjoyed traveling and camping with his family: all 50
states, Europe, Asia, and the Holy Land. He built two homes for his
family with his own hands and helped his children build their homes.
Preacher was extremely active in the James River Baptist Church. He
started and lead many programs for his church, primarily for veterans and
the religious education of his children. “He will be remembered for his
many kind acts, his quick wit, his wonderful smile and his many
contributions to his family and church.

Van L. Kenyon, III. Van died at age 74 on 2 March 2011 at the
Manchester Health Care in Tennessee. Van was born in Greensboro, NC.
After the WOL closed, he worked for AEDC, which is the Air Force’s
organization which is in charge of their Nuclear Simulators. He worked at
the WOL in H Department, and was a technical expert in Nuclear
Simulators and Simulation. He was very creative. It was decided to install
the extra EMP pulsor in Building 132. The space was limited, and a shield
was needed for the pulsor. He found a circular metal corn crib used by
farmers that was just the right size and provided excellent shielding. I
can imagine what the person in the Supply Department thought when
they received that procurement request. In the 90’s, he lead the
NSWC/WO effort to design and compete for a super new Nuclear
Simulator to be built at the WOL. We were told that we had the best
technical proposal; but the work went to the Air Force. I was told that
the Air Force eventually used a lot of Van’s design when their design had
issues. Van is survived by his son, Douglas Kenyon; daughter, Emily
Everaers; and five grandchildren. Editor Note: Van and I came to NOL on
the same day in 1958 and were processed into NOL by Betty Beebe.
Thus, Van was the first person I met at NOL.

William Hawkins. William died on 21 May 2011. He had moved to Florida
for health reasons; he is survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, and
his mother, Alberta Hawkins. Alberta worked at WOL in the Records
Section of E Department.

George C. Keller. George, died May 4 at Gilchrist Center in Towson after a
stroke. He was 85. He was a NASA engineer for three decades who
worked on missions including the first weather satellite and the space
shuttle program. George, a Columbia resident, retired from NASA in
1992. Previously, he had worked at the Naval Research Laboratory in
Washington, where he helped develop aircraft-arresting gear for carrier
landings, and for the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in White Oak, where he
designed missile-guidance systems. At NOL, George worked in the
Structures Division of Air and Surface. In retirement, he was a consultant
on a NASA-manufactured Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite. He also volunteered with a Goddard Space Flight Center retirees
organization.

Clark W. Dovell. Clark died at age 87 on 14 May 2011. He lived in
Potomac, MD. Clark worked as a mechanical engineer at NOL in the
Mechanical Engineering Division. He worked on many mine programs. He
served as a corporal in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945. His units
were the Army Specialized Training Program, 106th and 422nd Infantry
Division. He participated in the Battles of the Ardennes and Rhineland.
Clark was held as POW in the Stalag IVB. He is survived by his wife,
Thelma. Their daughter, Donna April Graybill is deceased. He will be
buried at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

Richard L. “Dick” Knodle. Richard L. "Dick" died 17 June 2011 at age 89
at a nursing home in Verona, N.J. He had brain cancer. From 1947 until
he retired in 1977, Dick worked on explosives at NOL; he was a nuclear
electrical engineer. In 1953, he received the Navy Department's Superior
Performance Award. He was a native of Elgin, Ill. and served in the Army
Air Forces during World War II. He received a bachelor's degree in
electrical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1947 before moving
to the Washington region. He lived in Hyattsville before moving to New
Jersey in 2005. Dick was a member of the IEEE and a volunteer with the
American Red Cross. He had no immediate survivors.

Matt Brown. Dr. Matt Brown died on 19 June 2011 at Suburban Hospital
in Bethesda, MD after heart surgery at age 72. Matt was a research
physicist at the WOL working in R41; he did research in composition and
structures of materials using particle accelerator based technology. After
the WOL closed, Matt moved to the NSWC/Carderock and managed a
radiation testing division there. He received his BS, MS, and PhD in
physics from U of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1972. He was born in
Chattanooga, TN. Matt is survived by his wife of 43 years, Linda Lambert
“Lin” Brown; children, Julia Flaherty of Braintree, MA and Louis Brown of El
Paso, TX; his Mother, Christine Steele; and two Grandchildren. He was
very active in the community of Bethesda, “….served on the board of
neighborhood associations. He did volunteer work at Ayrlawn Park in
Bethesda removing invasive plants and helping restore areas of the
woods. He also volunteered with Project Reboot, an organization that
restored used computers and gives them to low-income families and
needy organizations.”

James Ronald Chatham, Jim, 76, of Laurel, died Sunday, July 17, 2011,
at Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster, from complications of vascular
dementia and other medical conditions. Born Feb. 9, 1935, in St. Louis,
Mo., he was the son of the late Ira T. and Marie Chatham. He was the
husband of the late H. Sue Chatham, his wife of 45 years. He was a 48-
year resident of Howard County. He graduated, with an electrical
engineering degree, from the University of Missouri in 1957. Jim worked
at NOL for 34 years in the Air and Surface Department. Jim was a key
engineer on the team who developed the guidance system for SUBROC.
He spent his retirement years performing handyman work of all varieties
and volunteering at Howard County General Hospital. He was a founding
member of St. John United Methodist Church in Columbia, participating in
numerous service projects and serving on many committees. He was a
member of several choirs including the St. John Choir, the Alleluias, the
Howard County Interfaith Choir, the Village Voices and the Columbia
Choral Society. He served many years as a Howard County Board of
Elections poll judge, was a Boy Scout in his youth and an official Girl
Scout as an adult, supporting his wife who was a troop leader. He
enjoyed time with his family and cats, numerous camping trips and other
travel experiences and helping others. His hobbies were music, home
improvement, gardening, duplicate bridge and other pastimes. Surviving
are daughters Becky S. Chatham, of Knoxville, Tenn., and Deborah A.
Chatham, of Westminster.

Karl Wayne Reed Wayne, age 69, of Waldorf, Maryland, passed away at
Southern Maryland Hospital in Clinton, Maryland, on July 31, 2011 of
pancreatic cancer. He was born in Ohio on August 11, 1941, to the late
Velma and Robert Reed. He graduated in 1966 from Toledo State
University with a degree in Engineering Physics. He went to work for the
Naval Ordnance Laboratory in White Oak, Maryland the same year. He
subsequently completed all course work for a Master’s Degree in Physics
at the University of Maryland, College Park. When the Navy Lab at White
Oak closed in the late 1990’s, he was reassigned to the Indian Head
Division. As a physicist for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, he provided
forty-four exemplary years of service before retiring last year as Senior
Scientist. He will be remembered as a mentor, an innovator, and as
someone who delighted in exploring endless possibilities. Wayne is
survived by his wife Sue Reed and daughter Lora Palmer (Stephen).
Wayne worked in the Explosive Division of the Research Department. He
worked on the warhead/explosives for torpedoes.