Obituary of John Patrick Toohey

JOHN PATRICK TOOHEY

02/26/1928 – 11/28/2023

 

 

The Toohey family is sad to announce that on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, John Patrick Toohey, loving husband and father, passed away at the age of 95 at his home in Great Falls, VA. John was born on February 26, 1928, in Northampton Massachusetts, to Patrick and Catherine (Walsh) Toohey. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1946, graduated with honors in Electrical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts in 1961, and worked for the US Government at the Central Intelligence Agency for 42 years as a senior RF engineer under the Directorate for Science and Technology. On November 18th, 1967, John married his wife of 55 years Alma Lou Kearns raising one son, Patrick John.

 

John had a passion for reading, learning, and working with his hands. In 1948, at the age of 20, he designed, built, and erected a self-standing 20 x 22-ft 2 car garage on his family’s homestead sourced mostly from materials discarded at the local Pro Brush factory where most of the family worked. In the late 40’s he started a radio repair business and assembled the family’s first television from a kit making them the first on the block with a TV. John went onto working with advanced electronic and optical systems at Kollmorgen Corporation, where he designed assembled and installed the periscope drive system on the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine. In 1962, John came to Washington DC to work for the Central Intelligence Agency as an engineer until retirement in 2003. John undertook many classified technical assignments, often studying research advancements, applying his natural ingenuity and employing his engineering talents to create new tools for US National Security. John enjoyed lively conversation, baseball, basketball, and music with an affinity for Polish polka bands that encouraged dancing. He was known for being socially outgoing, analytical, honest, and a lifelong faithful Catholic.

 

John was preceded in death by his sister Mary Elizabeth Toohey and brother Donald Joseph Toohey. He is survived by his wife Alma Lou, his sister Alice Josephine Toohey, his son Patrick: wife Patti, and 2 grandchildren, Carrie Elizabeth and John Patrick. A public visitation will be held on Saturday, December 9th 2023 at Adams Green Funeral Home in Herndon, VA from 12:00-1:00 PM with a memorial service to follow at 1:00 PM.