James Howard Leveque, Jr.

James Howard Leveque, Jr., aged 74, of Ellicott City, Maryland, passed away after a long illness on September 6, 2018.  Mr. Leveque is survived by his wife, Carolyn Faye Vaughn Leveque, of Ellicott City, Maryland; his children Renee' Michelle Leveque of Frederick, Maryland; Laura Lynn Samuels of Monrovia, Maryland; Stephanie Rose Leveque of Falls Church, Virginia; James Howard Leveque III of Highland, Maryland; and his step-daughter, Susan Ware Thompson of Sylvania, Ohio. He is also survived by his sister, Janet Marie Leveque, of Liberty Hill, Texas; nieces Ashleigh Dianne Fuller of Austin, Texas and Angela Noelle Engele of Denton, Texas; and his nephew Richard Michael Malone, Jr. of Liberty Hill, Texas. He is survived by his grandchildren Taylor Rose McFadden, Kenneth Lee Samuels, Natalie Isabel Leveque, and James Alfredo Leveque, his daughter-in-law Cintya Salazar Leveque, and his sons-in-law Patrick Michael McFadden, John Kenneth Samuels, and Garrett Gene Thompson. He is preceded in death by his parents and by his sister, Linda Virginia Wells. 

Mr. Leveque was born October 12, 1943 in Lake Charles, Louisiana to Ocie Belle (nee' Johnson) and James Howard Leveque, both amateur ham radio operators who fostered in their son an interest in radios from a young age.  He grew up in Glenmora, Louisiana where he was voted 'most likely to succeed' by his high school class and took top honors in the state in math and science before he set off to study electrical engineering.  He attended Louisiana State University and then Louisiana Tech University, where he graduated with a BSEE in 1965, followed by graduate-level electrical engineering courses at the University of Santa Clara, California. He married Ellen Jeannette Edwards of Longleaf, Louisiana in 1965 and later married Zoe Ann Cary of Tipton, Iowa. He and Jeannette had four children. 

Mr. Leveque dedicated his professional career to radio receiver design and radio frequency engineering. He was the holder of more than 10 patents. He started his career with NASA in Huntsville, Alabama. There, he worked on the booster stage of the Saturn V rocket – this was the same rocket used in the Apollo missions from 1967-1973. He also worked at Collins Radio, Corvis Corporation, AMAF, LinkPlus, and created his own engineering company, HF Communications.  

Mr. Leveque was a dedicated son, brother, husband, and father. He was a great fan of big band music, especially the composer and big band leader Jimmy Dorsey, and was an avid collector and player of period saxophones. He also loved WW II – era aircraft and hosted a flight simulator club on his home computer server. He also enjoyed playing amateur baseball while growing up in Louisiana. He loved to go fishing and enjoyed barbeque, banana pudding, and Louisiana's Community brand coffee. He enjoyed reading works by his favorite authors, the humorist Mark Twain and the adventure novelist Louis L'Amour; and enjoyed Civil War history. He was a great fan of the ornithologist, naturalist, and painter, John James Audubon.

His two devoted Australian Shepherds, Daisy and Buster, were a great comfort to him in his later years.  

A homecoming celebration for him will take place from 10 am -12 noon on September 11, 2018 at Harry H. Witzke's funeral home on Old Columbia Pike in Ellicott City, Maryland. He will be interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Marriottsville, Maryland. Cherished friends and family are welcome to attend. 

In lieu of flowers, please kindly make a donation to your favorite charity.

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