Category "Sciences"
Inaugural inductee
In 1942, John's family moved to Kennewick, where John attended Kennewick High School graduating in 1943. After graduation, he attended the University of Washington while serving in the Navy ROTC. He then attended Ohio State University. Upon returning to the Tri-Cities, John married Bettye Jean Watkins in 1948.
The nuclear industry was John's chosen career path, where he worked as a mechanical engineer for General Electric Atomics International and Battelle NW and was a licensing examiner for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission until his retirement in 1987. While working for Battelle Northwest, John designed and invented several devices, including a device to help clean up aquatic oil spill in Santa Barbara in 1969/70 and a method and apparatus for extraction of Oils from Sorbents.
John was the proud owner of a Cessna 150, volunteering for air search and rescue and donating his time and use of his airplane to the Experimental Aircraft Association. In translating his love of flight John gave free flights to over 135 children. As one of his many projects, he designed and built an amphibious biplane including the development of a specialized glue made from curds.
Finally, John donated his body after passing away in October of 2008 to the U.S. Transuranium Registry to contribute to the study of the effects of high-dosage, long-term radiation exposure.