John Roman

John Roman (1923 – 2018)

John Roman, 94, of Frederick, MD, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 15, 2018 at Country Meadows Retirement Community.

Born on May 30, 1923 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, John was the son of the late George and Anna (Tutek) Roman.  John was one of four children—two girls, Anne and Maria, and two boys, John and Robert.  He grew up in the Dunmore-Scranton area, where he attended St. Michael’s Byzantine Catholic Church and was a Boy Scout.  He graduated from Dunmore High School and then attended Scranton Keystone Junior College in La Plume, PA, from 1941 to 1943.

He joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 and served in War World II as a 1st Lieutenant navigator/bombardier on a B-25 bomber with the 38th Bomb Group, 5th Air Force in the Pacific theater.  His crew flew missions to islands all over the Pacific, including missions over Japan while he was stationed on the island of Okinawa. After peace was declared, he served as a special courier in Tokyo, Japan.

After the war John attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a B.S. degree in Physics. As an electrical engineer he worked for RCA, Welex Electronics Corp., International Electronics Manufacturing, and York-Shipley, Inc. before joining the the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. During his career with NAVSEA, he worked on radio interference projects for ships.

He met his wife, Dorothy Jane Stewart, while working in the Norfolk-Portsmouth, VA, area after the war. They were married in 1955 and moved first to Washington, D.C., and then to the Lanham-Seabrook, MD area in 1957 where they raised their five children, Johnny, Susan, Jimmy, Jane Ann, and Billy.  John and his family attended St. Gregory of Nyssa Byzantine Catholic Church in Beltsville, MD, as well as St. Mathias Roman Catholic Church in Lanham, MD, where his children also attended school.  John was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather who loved playing golf and taking his family on vacations to the beach. He was happily married for 42 years until the death of his beloved wife, Jane, who passed away in January 1997.  He then took loving care of his older sister, Anne, until her death in 2004.

John moved to Country Meadows of Frederick Retirement Community in August 2007 where he enjoyed many activities, including the computer lab, newspaper committee, bingo, giant crossword puzzle, and the “Great Courses” lecture series.  He also made many friends among the other residents and appreciated the hospitality and help of the Country Meadows staff.

John is preceded in death by his two sisters, Anne Roman, Maria Hoyert, and brother, Robert J. Roman and his oldest son, John Michael Roman.  He is survived by his daughters, Susan Fox (Stephen), Jane Ann Nudge (Jamie), sons James Roman (Bonnie), William Roman (Shelly), granddaughter (Rachael Roman), and grandsons (Connor Fox and Alfred Roman).

The family will receive friends from 10-11am on Friday, April 20, 2018 at Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11am. Interment will take place at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery on Tuesday, April 24th at 11am.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Catholic Charities USA.