Charles Alfred Blackburn

Charles Alfred (Al) Blackburn died unexpectedly on August 5, 2024 in Catonsville, Maryland. He was 98; the cause of death was cardiac arrest. Al was a warm, easy-going, kind, and gentle man of few words who thoroughly enjoyed his life and clearly demonstrated his appreciation and consideration of his loved ones, friends, and acquaintances every single day.

He was born in Washington, DC on May 27, 1926, the only child of Frederic Barton Blackburn and Mabel Pavey Blackburn. He grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland, and attended school at Takoma Park Elementary School and in the District of Columbia at Paul Junior High School and Calvin Coolidge High School, where he graduated in 1944.

Al enlisted in the US Navy immediately following high school and had the distinction of attending basic training twice, having been erroneously discharged during his initial session. He attended the Radio Technician Training program in Great Lakes, Illinois and Washington, D.C. He was serving as an instructor in that program at the Naval Research Laboratory when the war effectively ended in August of 1945.

Reluctant to accept an early discharge, having not yet experienced waterways any more significant than the Potomac River and Lake Michigan, Al volunteered to attend the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean. He sailed on the fleet tug, USS Sioux, from San Pedro to Pearl Harbor and flew on to Bikini where, on July 25, 1946, he witnessed the underwater test from the deck of the USS Saint Croix at about a dozen miles distance. That Pacific tour served as a memorable grand finale for his Navy service.

The following autumn Al enrolled in college, studying electrical engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York (BEE '50) and North Carolina State College in Raleigh, North Carolina (MS '52).

In Raleigh, during the autumn of 1951, Al was introduced to his future bride, Esther Miriam Breckenridge, by his classmate and life-long tennis partner, Charles Gates, who was married to Esther's twin sister. Esther and Al were married in Ames, Iowa in 1952 and enjoyed just over 60 years together until Esther's passing in 2013.

After first settling in Takoma Park, Maryland in 1956, Al and Esther moved into their new house in Allview Estates in Howard County, Maryland and would call that home for the next 46 years. They raised their two sons there and were both engaged in community organizations and activities. Both were founding members and served as elders of Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church; they were also founding members of the Atholton Swim Club where they swam frequently. Al coached AYRA youth baseball and basketball teams, volunteered at the Howard County Library, and served as an officer and member of other community organizations. On the home front, he enjoyed family activities and followed in his father's footsteps as an avid tomato gardener. He took pleasure as a home improver and maintainer, and as the accomplished designer and precision builder of an oversize compost bin and an elegantly fitted children's treehouse.

Al worked in the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory from 1952 until 1989 developing telemetry systems, geodetic satellites, navigation systems, and medical technologies. He contributed to the design of the Transit satellite navigation system, a precursor to GPS, which was employed by commercial and military shipping for over 30 years. He traveled to Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California for dozens of satellite launches. He worked on the control system for the first implantable insulin infusion pump used for diabetes treatment and on a transmitter carried by eagles and swans to allow Argos satellites to track their migration patterns.

In retirement, he pursued his interest in genealogy, instigating study field trips with fellow members of the Howard County Genealogical Society to visit the National Archives and libraries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 2003, Al and Esther moved to Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville, Maryland. Al was involved in the computer club, the radio club, and an Elderhostel program providing educational and performing arts programming.

Throughout his life, Al enjoyed physical activity, from baseball, softball, tennis, and jogging to lawn mowing and snow shoveling. In retirement and well into his eighties, he played on the Charlestown softball team and was a dedicated tennis player, frequently seen on the nearby courts of Catonsville Community College.

Al's spouse, Esther, died in 2013. He is survived by his two sons and a daughter-in-law, Bruce Frederic Blackburn, Robert Laurence Blackburn, and Lisé Nielsen Blackburn; and two grandchildren, Brecken Blackburn, and Mason Blackburn.

A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday November 2, 2024 at 12:30 pm in The Gallery, Charlestown Square, Charlestown Retirement Community, Catonsville Maryland.

Donations in Charles Alfred Blackburn's memory may be made to Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake at www.habitatchesapeake.org/donate/

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