Saturday, November 18, 2006
John F. "Jack" Youngworth Jr.Naval Engineer
John F. "Jack" Youngworth Jr., 69, an engineer who designed the electrical and mechanical systems for a number of Navy ships, died Nov. 12 of renal failure at his home in Woodbridge.
Mr. Youngworth was born in Quincy, Mass., and received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University in the late 1950s. An apprentice engineer from 1964 to 1972 at Bethlehem Steel's Fore River Shipyard, he worked on the USS Long Beach and the USS Bainbridge, among the Navy's first nuclear-powered surface ships.
He then joined Litton Industries in Los Angeles, where he played a leading role in the design of a state-of-the-art destroyer, the USS Spruance. As a member of the electrical system design group, he was involved with the development of the "ring bus" electrical system design, a design technique still in use.
From 1976 to 1987, Mr. Youngworth was a senior engineer at Ingalls Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Litton Industries, in Pascagoula, Miss. He was the systems engineer for the first Aegis cruiser, the USS Ticonderoga. He led a major upgrade of ships in the Aegis class, reducing shipboard weight by more than 600 tons and thus allowing for the installation of a vertical-launched missile system.
In 1987, he moved to the Washington area, where he joined Techmatics Inc. as chief engineer and later became vice president for engineering. He retired in 2004.
In Mississippi, Mr. Youngworth helped establish a girls softball league. In Washington, after contracting kidney disease that required dialysis and a five-year wait for a transplant, he was an active spokesman for organ donor awareness. He also was a member of the American Society of Naval Engineers.
His marriages to Judith Youngworth and Dianne Youngworth ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 21 years, Ramona Youngworth of Woodbridge; five children from his first marriage, Veronica Hemphill of Griffin, Ga., John Youngworth III of Londonderry, N.H., James Youngworth of Raynham, Mass., Susan Youngworth of Colorado Springs and Jennifer Schatzl of Braintree, Mass.; a stepson from his second marriage, Victor Cross of San Luis Obispo, Calif.; two stepchildren from his third marriage, Cathi Wentworth of Smyrna, Ga., and Chrissi Cox of Springfield; three sisters; and 11 grandchildren.
Patricia PerdueCapitol Hill, AmeriCorps EmployeePatricia Filipczyk Perdue, 53, longtime Capitol Hill executive assistant who was a finance officer at AmeriCorps from 1994 to 1998, died Nov. 14 at Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge. She had breast cancer.
Mrs. Perdue worked for the U.S. House Post Office and Civil Service Committee from 1973 to 1994.
She then joined the newly created Corporation for National and Community Service, commonly called AmeriCorps.
She was born in the Alexandria part of Fairfax County and was a 1971 graduate of what is now the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
She was a Woodbridge resident and a member of the Polish National Alliance, a heritage group.
Survivors include her husband of 35 years, Paul Perdue Sr. of Woodbridge; a son, Paul Perdue Jr. of Manassas; three sisters, Benia Grygent of Point Pleasant, N.J., Tania Baldauf of Port Orange, Fla., and Maria Smith of Alexandria; two brothers, Ben Filipczyk of Chevy Chase and Mike Filipczyk of the Alexandria part of Fairfax County; and three grandchildren.
R. Blair Richards Jr.Defense Department OfficialR. Blair Richards Jr., 56, a Bethesda resident who since 2003 had been supervisor of the printing and production staff at the Defense Intelligence Agency, died Nov. 8 at Casey House hospice in Rockville. He had cancer.
Before joining the Defense Department, Mr. Richards spent four years as director of art and production at PostNewsweek Tech Media, a company that publishes Government Computer News and other magazines for government employees.
Earlier, he was involved in design and production work at the National Geographic Society in Washington, Hallmark Cards Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., the Phillips magazine publishing group in Potomac and the American Trucking Association in Alexandria.
Robert Blair Richards Jr. was born in Washington and raised in Bethesda, where he was a 1969 graduate of Walt Whitman High School.
He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Randolph-Macon College in 1973, where he was in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity, and a master's degree in printing and technology from the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology in 1984.
He was on Randolph-Macon's swimming team and later participated in triathlons supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic.
Survivors include his parents, R. Blair Richards and Maxine Richards, of Gaithersburg; three sisters, Genevieve Gilday of Kensington and Leslie Wright and Barbara Casey, both of Bethesda; and three brothers, John Richards of Bethesda and Stewart Richards and Kim Richards, both of Silver Spring.
John Henry MendenhallArmy Officer, PsychologistJohn Henry Mendenhall, 80, a retired Army colonel, clinical psychologist and computer programmer, died Nov. 1 of failure to thrive at Redstone Village, an assisted living facility in Huntsville, Ala. He was a former resident of Vienna and Montgomery County.
Col. Mendenhall was born in Baltimore and grew up in Orlando. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served 14 months aboard the cruiser USS Helena. He was discharged in 1946. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Duke University in 1948, a master's degree from the College of William & Mary and a doctorate from Georgia State University, both in psychology. He worked as a clinical and school psychologist.
He received an Army commission in 1951 and flew medevac helicopters for two years in Vietnam. He received the Bronze Star and a number of other medals and retired in 1976.
While at Fort Wolters, Tex., Col. Mendenhall learned computer programming. After retiring from the military in 1976, he became a systems analyst with civilian government contractors, including Mitre Corp. He also taught computer programming as an adjunct instructor at George Mason University and other Washington area schools. He retired again in the early 1990s and moved to Huntsville.
His marriage to Carol M. Mason ended in divorce.
A son from his second marriage, Robert Douglas Mendenhall, died in 2003.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Marjorie Mendenhall of Huntsville; two children from his first marriage, Michael Mendenhall of Spring, Tex., and Lisa M. Heaven of Marshall; and three grandchildren.
Robert Wayne SayerHigh-Tech ConsultantRobert Wayne Sayer, 67, a Washington-based government affairs consultant who specialized in international and domestic issues affecting the high-technology industry, died Nov. 3 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. Mr. Sayer, an Alexandria resident, had arterial hypertension and vascular disease.
Mr. Sayer founded R. Wayne Sayer and Associates in 1986, when the tech sector was in its infancy. He was one of the first high-tech lobbyists in Washington and was known for his understanding of the nexus between the tech industry and public policy and for urging lawmakers to strengthen the country's competitiveness.
"He promoted high-tech in Washington before anyone else realized its significance or the impact federal policy could have on this industry," said Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.).
Mr. Sayer was born in Elberton, Ga., and graduated from Millersburg Military Institute in Millersburg, Ky. He attended the University of Virginia and studied at American University and the University of Chicago. At Harvard Business School, he completed an advanced management program.
He served in the Air Force, including a tour of duty in Turkey, and then worked for Precision Scientific, a scientific instrumentation company. When Precision Scientific was acquired by GCA Corp. of Bedford, Mass., in 1965, Mr. Sayer stayed with the new company and served in a variety of senior sales and management positions, including head of the firm's European sales. He opened the company's Washington office, where he began his involvement with public policy and government affairs.
At the time of his death, he was senior government affairs consultant to Applied Materials Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.
Mr. Sayer was a founding member of the Industry Coalition on Technology Transfer and served as executive director of the Coalition for Intelligent Manufacturing Systems. He was also a member of an industry trade advisory committee in the U.S. Commerce Department.
During his Washington career, Mr. Sayer was involved with Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, the American Electronics Association, Scientific Apparatus Makers Association and several other trade associations.
A man of wide interests, Mr. Sayer was known as a lover of all types of music, cinema, opera, theater, art, photography, literature, travel and fine food. He was a founding member of Blues Aid, a charitable group that helps provide for the medical care for ailing blues musicians who are unable to afford health care. He was also an original member of the Emil Verban Memorial Society, a group of always-optimistic Chicago Cubs fans.
His marriage to the former Jane Seyffert ended in divorce.
Survivors include a daughter, Lauren Sayer of Reston, and a sister, Pat Fusco of Mill Valley, Calif.
John P. CavanaughNavy Commander, EngineerJohn P. Cavanaugh, 79, a retired Navy lieutenant commander who was a pilot and later became an electrical engineer, died Nov. 13 of congestive heart failure at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He was a Severna Park resident.
Cmdr. Cavanaugh was born in Manchester, N.H., and grew up in Concord, N.H. He received a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1950, completed flight training in Pensacola, Fla., and graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., in 1958 with a degree in engineering electronics. During the Cuban missile crisis, he flew seaplanes out of Bermuda. He also flew B-17 Flying Fortresses and Super Constellations at the Patuxent River Naval Air Test Center and P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft over Vietnam while stationed in Japan. He retired in 1971 and moved to Severna Park.
He began a second career with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in the tactical electronics warfare division. After Hurricane Agnes in 1972, he was placed in charge of hiring local civil engineers to rebuild bridges and dams destroyed by the storm. He retired again in 1992.
Cmdr. Cavanaugh was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Association of Old Crows, Fleet Reserve in Annapolis, Naval Alumni Association and American Legion Post 24. In recent years, he volunteered at the Historical Electronics Museum in Linthicum.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Anita J. Cavanaugh of Severna Park; a daughter, Clari James Cavanaugh of Crownsville; and a sister.
Marcella Earle WhiteComputer OperatorMarcella Earle White, 54, who worked at Scan International for more than 30 years as a computer operator and assistant buyer, died of cancer Nov. 4 at her home in Laurel.
She was born Marcella Geraci in Washington and graduated from Montgomery Blair High School.
Mrs. White taught aerobics at several health facilities for many years. She was a member of the Seabrook Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lanham.
Survivors include her husband, Donald White of Laurel; a son, Flint White of Laurel; her mother, Marjoray Geraci of Silver Spring; six sisters, Betty Elwood of Hagerstown, Shirley Martin of Beltsville, Frances Tavenner of Paris, Va., Linda Shaw of Crownsville, Paulette Ireland of Silver Spring and Brenda Phillips of Laurel; and five brothers, Joseph Geraci of Clear Spring, Md., Richard Geraci of Belgrade, Mont., Douglas Geraci of Hagerstown, and Michael Geraci and Thomas Geraci, both of Silver Spring.
Ruth AndressLegislative ResearcherRuth Andress, 76, a legislative researcher for Northern Virginia companies, died Nov. 12 at the nursing unit of the Fountains at Washington House in Alexandria. She had Alzheimer's disease.
Ms. Andress, an Arlington resident, worked for Federal State Reports from 1971 to 1983 and then for DeHart & Darr Associates until 1987. After holding secretarial and administrative jobs at Arlington County law firms, she did freelance legislative research through the 1990s.
She was born in Fairfield, Ala., and in the early 1950s hosted a children's television program, "Wonder Stories," on WBRC-TV in Birmingham. She settled in the Washington area in 1962.
Her marriage to O. Wendell Maddrey ended in divorce.
Survivors include four children, Lee Fallon of Annandale, John Maddrey of Raleigh, N.C., Wendell Maddrey of Montclair, N.J., and Mark Maddrey of Arlington; a sister; and six grandchildren.
Helen S. ThatcherD.C. Public School TeacherHelen Sprucebank Thatcher, 99, a Chevy Chase resident who taught elementary school in the District from the late 1920s through the 1930s, died Nov. 15 at Suburban Hospital. She had congestive heart failure.
Mrs. Thatcher taught at Hyde and Hayes elementary schools, among others. She then was a homemaker, a member of the Silver Spring Kiwanis Club women's auxiliary and a member of Chevy Chase United Methodist Church in Maryland.
She was a native Washingtonian, a 1925 graduate of Central High School and a 1927 graduate of Wilson Teachers College.
Her husband, Thomas B. Thatcher, whom she married in 1937, died in 1994.
Survivors include two children, Joan Lovato of Colorado Springs and Harry E. Thatcher of Wheaton; nine grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-granddaughter.