Obituary of James Woodward Lannon

James W. Lannon, 74, of Herndon, VA, passed away on Monday, September 12, 2016 at 2:36pm. Born in 1941 in Dewitt, NY he was the son of the late Robert Lannon and the late Marian Lannon. Jim Lannon served in the United States Federal Government for over 47 years. He began his career as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of State. He was selected to join the Special Assignments Staff and was assigned to Special Investigations, for which he later assumed command. He went on to serve as Acting Chief of the Special Assignments Staff and served as Regional Security Officer in Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic. During his next assignment as Chief of the Counterintelligence Staff, he worked on investigations with several other government agencies, co-founded the Overseas Counterintelligence Group, and received the Alben W. Barkley medal for distinguished service. Jim was then assigned as an exchange officer with the Intelligence Division working with other government agencies. He then went on to become the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA). During his years with ACDA he received a Superior Honor Award and a Meritorious Honor Award. After the closing of ACDA, Jim co-created a program for the Department of State that would later be designated The Weapons of Mass Destruction Countermeasures Division. Jim was particularly proud of his division and their mission; to save as many lives as possible if terrorists using weapons of mass destruction attack a diplomatic facility. Working towards this mission, Jim initiated a project which resulted in the creation of a protective escape mask now used in a number of departments and agencies across the government. He was recognized as the Diplomatic Security Civil Service Employee of the Year in 2002 and received a Superior Honor Award. At the time of his death, Jim Lannon was Division Chief, Weapons of Mass Destruction. He is survived by his wife, Carol, his sons Michael and Timothy, his brothers Grant and Rick, and 6 grandchildren. The family will receive friends from 5:30PM until 8:00PM on Thursday, September 29, 2016 at Adams Green Funeral Home in Herndon, VA. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, September 30, 2016 at St. Veronica Catholic Church in Chantilly, VA. Expressions of condolence can be added to this obituary page or emailed to rememberingJWL@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or The American Diabetes Association.