It is with great sadness that VSPE mourns the passing of two true friends of our society, and champions for engineers in our state – Ray Powell and Richard Nettleton.
Raymond Francis Powell (Feb. 27, 1943 – June 23, 2019)
Raymond Francis Powell passed away at home June 23, 2019 in Woodstock, VA.
He was born February 27, 1943 in Stapleton, NY, the son of Harry Emerson Powell Jr. and Lillian Christine Wallander Powell.
In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by three brothers, Richard Francis, Charles Francis, and Robert Francis Powell and a nephew, Harlan Charles Powell.
Ray was a loving husband and father. He leaves his wife of 48 years, Judith Vough Powell. He is also survived by three children and three grandchildren.
From the very start, Ray was a hard worker. Even at the age of 14, he worked to earn money for college by breeding, training, and selling miniature Sardinian donkeys for college tuition.
He graduated from Newton High School, Newton NJ, where he was the local FFA Chapter president, NJ state FFA president, and received numerous awards.
Ray worked for the NJ State Conservation Service while attending Rutgers Univ College of Engineering and received a BS in both Agricultural and Environmental Science.
Following Army ROTC at Rutgers, Ray was commissioned into the U.S. Army.
Ray was a true patriot. He served two one-year tours of duty in Vietnam, earning his Senior Army Aviator wings. He spent one year in the 1st Cav Div flying CH-47 Chinooks. He then served this second year in the 1st Armored Div flying the UH-1 Huey helicopter and the U-6 Beaver airplane.
After his tours, he earned a MS in Engineering Management from the Univ of Missouri-Rolla.
He was Chief of Doctrinal Literature Management at the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, KS. He instructed Officer Education (ROTC) & was guest Professor of Engineering at Princeton Univ. He was Director of Engineering & Housing in Ansbach, W. Germany and an Assistant Commander in the Europe Division of the Corps of Engineers in Frankfurt, W. Germany.
He received the individual Federal Energy Management Award in 1985 from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, awarded by the Secretary of the Army. He completed his career as Chief of Engineer Facility Plans at Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, VA and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers.
After 23 years of active duty, Ray first worked at NASA Goddard Space Center as a Project Manager and Senior Facilities Engineering Consultant and authored the NASA Facilities Maintenance and Energy Management Handbook. He then joined MAI as a Senior Engineer and Project Manager, providing contracting & facilities management support for the Army, Navy, and Air Force at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. He provided Technical & Cost Source Selection consultation for the Air Force, Navy, USGS, USDI, and provided facilities consulting to the University of VA, District of Columbia and Knox County, TN.
After MAI, he established his own private engineering & contracting consultant business and served as president of the Fairfax Chapter of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers before retiring to Woodstock, VA in 2005.
He and Judy joined the Woodstock Presbyterian church in 2006. Ray served selflessly in many capacities including church treasurer, co-chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, co-leader of the Mens’ Group, and co-coordinator of the church Fellowship Hall addition. With other men of the church, he was an instrumental part in creating the adult ESL classroom at the Woodstock Presbyterian Church.
Ray served actively in numerous organization to include treasurer of the Woodstock Lions Club, member of Lions International, Life Member and treasurer of the Shenandoah Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 936, treasurer of the Woodstock American Legion Post 199, Judge Advocate and Life Member of the Edinburg Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2447, and Life Member of the National Future Farmers of America Alumni Association.
His love and respect for his country was evident during the Shenandoah County Fair in which he conceived and initiated the “Veteran’s Day Tribute at the Shenandoah County Fair” for 10 years starting in 2009. He established a long-range plan to continue the tribute annually to honor veterans and bring awareness to the community of their devoted service.
His dedication to education was evident by the numerous programs and scholarships he oversaw within the school system. He worked tirelessly for 25 years and served as chairman of the Northern Virginia regional middle school mathematics competitions known as MathCounts. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Engineering Education Fund. He was Boy Scout Troop 43 Committee Chairman for 16 years and was actively involved with the Lions Club’s Sight and Hearing Screening for children. He was the chairman of the Scholarship Committees for the Lions, American Legion, VVA, and VFW, administered the oratorical and essay competitions, arranged for judges, and presented scholarships and awards to middle and high school students. Two VFW scholarships have been established to be awarded in perpetuity in Ray’s honor.
Ray was a country man at heart and went back to his roots, participating in the Massanutten Antique Tractor and Gasoline Engine Club and tending to his sizable vegetable gardens. He always shared his plentiful harvest with the community.
He was recognized as 2008 Legionnaire of the Year, 2015 VFW Comrade of the Year, and 2018 Shenandoah County Volunteer of the Year. He was recently honored with a tribute by the session and congregation of Woodstock Presbyterian Church and a Resolution of Respect from the Shenandoah Board of Supervisors for his service to the community.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to the Woodstock Presbyterian Church or the National Future Farmers of America Foundation.
Richard Nettleton (Dec. 13, 1953 – May 31, 2019)
Richard Nettleton, born December 13, 1953, was taken from this life on May 31, 2019. His father Rexford Nettleton preceded him in death on April 1, 2010. Left behind to hold him close in memory is his loving wife Sarah of 23 years, his sons Richard Jr. and Robert Nettleton, step-children Byron and Mary Elizabeth Browne, his mother Teresa Nettleton, 7 siblings and spouses, Diana and Bill, May and Mike, Sue and Carl, Eric and Donna, Mary and Marc, Dora and Don, Peter and Cheryl and many nieces and nephews. Despite the distance of time and miles, they were all held close in his mind and heart.
Richard was a dedicated Virginia Beach Design and Construction Manager in Public Utilities. Richard loved being an Engineer and loved his family. He was a steadfast, calm, committed man of action in his family life, in his military career, and in his municipal service.
Growing up around the country in a military family, Richard was the oldest of 8 children. His American father met his mother while stationed in Taiwan. Richard was proud of his Chinese Heritage on his mother’s side. Richard later followed in his father’s path serving his country and finished his 10 years of service as a Captain in the US Army’s 84th Engineering Battalion. He moved to Norfolk with his family in 1987. In 1991 he began his service to the City of Virginia Beach.
Richard had a Masters in Engineering from UNH, an MBA from ODU, and was a member of the NSPE and the ASCE. He was a strong supporter of the Minority Business Expo and believed in professionalism, diversity and reaching out to all in the community. He looked forward to finishing his PhD so that he could teach others after retiring. He was hopeful for family times in retirement, traveling, working on cars and watching the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox. Many remember him as just a really nice guy.
Coworkers have shared that he was a great leader who was highly regarded as one who put himself last on the list when others had a need. Rich always strived to be the better person and include everyone. He was all about the city and the best possible outcome for the citizens and was exceptionally proud of the engineers and the staff with whom he worked. He especially enjoyed mentoring other Engineers and treated everyone with fairness and kindness.
Richard’s son Rick remembers his Dad as a kind, friendly and caring man. I remember on a company picnic with my brother and me, he smiled, waved and said hello to everyone that he saw…I now realize that we need more people in the world like him, that we should all strive to be more like the man he was. His wife Sarah remembers her husband: He was our strong, steady presence during every family challenge. He provided me with a safe place to land and never complained. Richard and Sarah were looking forward to his retirement years where they could grow old together just doing the simple things they loved, walking at Botanical Gardens, day trips, visiting New Hampshire and continuing their love story that began 23 years ago. “”He was my rock, my protector, best friend and the love of my life.””
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the ODU Engineering Scholarship Fund. Checks should be made out to the “Old Dominion Educational Foundation” with “In memory of Richard Nettleton” on the memo line. Send to: Old Dominion University Development Office, 4417 Monarch Way 4th Floor, Norfolk, VA 23529.