Alan O'Neil Sykes
May 19, 1925 ~ January 23, 2016
Alan O'Neil Sykes died peacefully at Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham, NC, on January 23, 2016 from complications due to a stroke and Alzheimer's disease.
Born May 19, 1925 in St Regis Falls, NY, Al was the second of three sons of Edwin Gilchrist Sykes and Dorothy (Dolly) Grace O'Neil Sykes. His older brother Frederic Brewer Sykes and younger brother Prof. Richard Eddy Sykes predeceased him.
Al graduated in 1942 from Canton High School, where he showed an early interest in science with his graduation speech "Science Looks Toward the Post-War Period". He served in the Navy teaching radar theory and operation from 1944-1946. He graduated from Cornell University in 1948 with an A.B. in Physics, and served from 1948 as a research analyst in underwater acoustics and vibration for the Navy Department at the David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, MD. There, he made many lifelong friendships and met his wife, Emily Jean Adams Sykes (deceased 2009). They were married in 1951. In 1958, they moved to their home in Vienna, VA, where they have befriended three generations of neighbors. In the mid-1960s, Al moved from the Model Basin to the Office of Naval Research, where he remained until he retired in 1985. He received his PhD in Physics from Catholic University in 1968 after nearly ten years of studying part time while working full time. Upon retirement, he founded Acoustical Research and Applications, and continued his research on transducers and vibration for another fifteen years. While he never stopped working, he became increasingly consumed as Emily's caregiver beginning with her diagnosis with Alzheimer's in 2001.
He was a supporter of numerous charitable causes, and maintained a lifelong interest in local and national politics. He enjoyed the North Country of New York State, in particular the Adirondacks. In 1984, he and two of his cousins, Roger O'Neil Austin and Patty O'Neil Cottrill, purchased the O'Neil Camp on Lake Ozonia after it had been out of the family for 50 years. It was built in 1903 by two of their uncles, and remains to this day a unifier of three generations of family. Al was an avid musician, playing the trumpet and harmonica, and singing songs from the '30s, '40s and '50s at his beloved Maplewood Grill in Vienna, VA, there making a new set of cherished friends. He also became interested in LGBTQ issues, and spent two+ years writing an essay on the subject.
Al is survived by: his son Alan O'Neil Sykes, Jr., his wife Maureen John Gorman and their children Madeleine Marie Sykes and Sophie Elizabeth Adams Sykes of Stanford, CA; his son Edward Adams Sykes and his partner Jerrold Albert Stiffler of Cary, NC; his sister-in-law Virginia Van Horn Sykes (husband Richard Eddy Sykes is deceased); his former sister-in-law Betty J. McGhie Sykes Riggleman (Fred's first wife, her second husband Radford J. Riggleman is deceased); his first cousin Patty O'Neil Cottrill (husband Richard Cottrill is deceased) and first cousin-in-law Phyllis Olivia Austin (husband Roger O'Neil Austin is deceased), his first cousin-in-law once removed Alice J. Young (husband J. Stanley Young is deceased); his second cousin Karen Amundson Griffith (husband Leonard Griffith is deceased); his third cousin-in-law once removed Virginia Newton (husband Bing Stevens Newton is deceased); numerous nieces and nephews; many other relatives and close friends; and a dear family friend LTC (US Army retired) Frances H. Berry of Seminole, Fl.
Al's sisters-in-law Mary Ellen Miller (first husband Carl T. Berry, second husband Francis C. Miller), Lyl Adams Smith (husband LTC US Army retired Don Smith) and Margaret (Peg) Adams Garvin (husband Henry O. Garvin), Fred's second wife Julia (Judy) Elizabeth Carlson Sykes, Fred's third wife Caroline (Carol) Mary Sharpstein Knowles Sharpe Sykes, Al's first cousin Stuart Austin (wife J. Ellen Austin), and first cousin once removed Nelda Young Smith (husband Wendell Smith) are all deceased.
The family expresses their sincere gratitude to Al's caregivers during his decline in health: Annie Delores Houpe, Regina Becton Williams, Loretta Brewington, and Judy Lewis Smith. Their love for, and dedication to, Al during his decline was immense and greatly improved his quality of life. The family also thanks the management and staff at the Hyatt House in Morrisville, NC for creating Al's home-away-from-home there, treating him with dignity and love throughout his stay.
A visitation for family and friends will be held on Saturday, May 14, at 11am, followed by a memorial service at 12 noon, at Money & King Funeral Home, 171 Maple Avenue W, Vienna, VA, 703-938-7440.
Please do not send flowers. If the spirit moves you, please make a donation to your favorite charity or to the Alzheimer's Foundation, in Al's memory: Alzheimer's Association, National Capital Area Chapter, 11240 Waples Mill Road, Suite 402, Fairfax, VA 22030.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
Born May 19, 1925 in St Regis Falls, NY, Al was the second of three sons of Edwin Gilchrist Sykes and Dorothy (Dolly) Grace O'Neil Sykes. His older brother Frederic Brewer Sykes and younger brother Prof. Richard Eddy Sykes predeceased him.
Al graduated in 1942 from Canton High School, where he showed an early interest in science with his graduation speech "Science Looks Toward the Post-War Period". He served in the Navy teaching radar theory and operation from 1944-1946. He graduated from Cornell University in 1948 with an A.B. in Physics, and served from 1948 as a research analyst in underwater acoustics and vibration for the Navy Department at the David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, MD. There, he made many lifelong friendships and met his wife, Emily Jean Adams Sykes (deceased 2009). They were married in 1951. In 1958, they moved to their home in Vienna, VA, where they have befriended three generations of neighbors. In the mid-1960s, Al moved from the Model Basin to the Office of Naval Research, where he remained until he retired in 1985. He received his PhD in Physics from Catholic University in 1968 after nearly ten years of studying part time while working full time. Upon retirement, he founded Acoustical Research and Applications, and continued his research on transducers and vibration for another fifteen years. While he never stopped working, he became increasingly consumed as Emily's caregiver beginning with her diagnosis with Alzheimer's in 2001.
He was a supporter of numerous charitable causes, and maintained a lifelong interest in local and national politics. He enjoyed the North Country of New York State, in particular the Adirondacks. In 1984, he and two of his cousins, Roger O'Neil Austin and Patty O'Neil Cottrill, purchased the O'Neil Camp on Lake Ozonia after it had been out of the family for 50 years. It was built in 1903 by two of their uncles, and remains to this day a unifier of three generations of family. Al was an avid musician, playing the trumpet and harmonica, and singing songs from the '30s, '40s and '50s at his beloved Maplewood Grill in Vienna, VA, there making a new set of cherished friends. He also became interested in LGBTQ issues, and spent two+ years writing an essay on the subject.
Al is survived by: his son Alan O'Neil Sykes, Jr., his wife Maureen John Gorman and their children Madeleine Marie Sykes and Sophie Elizabeth Adams Sykes of Stanford, CA; his son Edward Adams Sykes and his partner Jerrold Albert Stiffler of Cary, NC; his sister-in-law Virginia Van Horn Sykes (husband Richard Eddy Sykes is deceased); his former sister-in-law Betty J. McGhie Sykes Riggleman (Fred's first wife, her second husband Radford J. Riggleman is deceased); his first cousin Patty O'Neil Cottrill (husband Richard Cottrill is deceased) and first cousin-in-law Phyllis Olivia Austin (husband Roger O'Neil Austin is deceased), his first cousin-in-law once removed Alice J. Young (husband J. Stanley Young is deceased); his second cousin Karen Amundson Griffith (husband Leonard Griffith is deceased); his third cousin-in-law once removed Virginia Newton (husband Bing Stevens Newton is deceased); numerous nieces and nephews; many other relatives and close friends; and a dear family friend LTC (US Army retired) Frances H. Berry of Seminole, Fl.
Al's sisters-in-law Mary Ellen Miller (first husband Carl T. Berry, second husband Francis C. Miller), Lyl Adams Smith (husband LTC US Army retired Don Smith) and Margaret (Peg) Adams Garvin (husband Henry O. Garvin), Fred's second wife Julia (Judy) Elizabeth Carlson Sykes, Fred's third wife Caroline (Carol) Mary Sharpstein Knowles Sharpe Sykes, Al's first cousin Stuart Austin (wife J. Ellen Austin), and first cousin once removed Nelda Young Smith (husband Wendell Smith) are all deceased.
The family expresses their sincere gratitude to Al's caregivers during his decline in health: Annie Delores Houpe, Regina Becton Williams, Loretta Brewington, and Judy Lewis Smith. Their love for, and dedication to, Al during his decline was immense and greatly improved his quality of life. The family also thanks the management and staff at the Hyatt House in Morrisville, NC for creating Al's home-away-from-home there, treating him with dignity and love throughout his stay.
A visitation for family and friends will be held on Saturday, May 14, at 11am, followed by a memorial service at 12 noon, at Money & King Funeral Home, 171 Maple Avenue W, Vienna, VA, 703-938-7440.
Please do not send flowers. If the spirit moves you, please make a donation to your favorite charity or to the Alzheimer's Foundation, in Al's memory: Alzheimer's Association, National Capital Area Chapter, 11240 Waples Mill Road, Suite 402, Fairfax, VA 22030.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
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