Albert Charles Sadilek

Albert C. Sadilek, 79 of Elkridge, passed away January 20, 2019.

He was born on July 21, 1939 to Albert J. and Elsie Sadilek in Baltimore, MD. After graduating from Sparrows Point High School in 1957, Albert served for a short time in the army, stationed at Fort Knox. After the army, he went to work as a machinist apprentice in the local steel mills. A lifelong passion of working on cars led him to working for Wallace Engine Company, where he worked on engines for race cars and aircraft. Deciding to pursue his education, he attended the Evening College Program at Johns Hopkins University for engineering. During this time he was also hired by Westinghouse Underseas Division to work in an engineering liaison office.

Wanting to accelerate his education, Al quit Westinghouse after two years to attend night school full time. He worked on cars during the day and attended school at night. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1973 and his Master’s of Science degree in engineering in 1976. He was hired by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab where he worked for 29 years. He worked in several areas of APL, depending on where the funding was. The majority of time was spent working on spacecraft, but he also worked on at-sea experiments for the SSBN submarine program. If that program was also without funding, he worked on biomedical programs. Al helped develop the Implantable Programmable Infusion Pump, to dispense insulin, and the Automatic Implantable Defibrillator. After being retired for about a year, Al did not like the feeling of losing track of the days. He began working at the United States Naval Academy, first as a contractor, and then as a research professor. For seven years, Al worked with midshipman on a project with measured orbital debris.

In his spare time, Al enjoyed camping, boating, and tinkering with anything mechanical. Visiting Maine was one of his favorite yearly destinatinations. He worked has a volunteer at the National Aquarium in Baltimore for many years. He enjoyed sharing his love of science and the sea with all of the school groups and tourists who came to the aquarium. He was also very active in the Kittamaqundi Community Church.

Al was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sherry, and his parents. He is survived by his two step sons, Kevin (Bev) and Dave (Ella), as well as grandchildren Kara, Mallory, Will and Sean. He is also survived by his sister Patricia Barto and a niece and a nephew. He will be missed by his many friends, church community and extended family.

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