William J. "Bill" Darr

William Joseph Darr, of Bethel Park, husband of the late Geneva Fournier Darr and son of the late Francis M. and Margaret L. Darr of Kansas City, MO, passed away at age 90 on Sunday, February 19, 2023 in St. Clair Hospital. He is survived by sisters-in-law Claire Fournier Wilson and Barbara Dixon Darr. William's love of technology began at age twelve, with intense interest in electronics and amateur radio (W0EQQ). After high school graduation, he worked as a production engineer for the Wilcox Electric Company, a leading manufacturer of avionics equipment. William also represented the Kansas City Athletic Club in swimming and four-wall handball tournaments. With the Korean War, William joined the US Navy where he attended two years of intensive electronics training and, on graduation, chose the Destroyer Tender "Frontier" (AD-25), where he serviced every type of advanced radar, sonar, and electronics equipment. William also competed, as a member of the Treasure Island Naval Base Judo Team, in West Coast Judo Federation competitions. Discharged honorably in 1955 as ET1, he applied to and in 1959 graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's degree in Physics, as well as a wife-to-be. Immediately hired by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, he simultaneously pursued post-graduate studies and married his beloved Geneva. Moving back to Boston, William completed his post-graduate course of studies at MIT while consulting for The MITRE Corporation. He and Geneva then relocated to Bethel Park, PA, where he was employed at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory until he retired as a Fellow Scientist in 2004. After retirement, William continued to consult and was pleased that his career had included almost every area of physics, from nuclear physics to biophysics to atmospheric physics. Friends received Sunday, February 26 from 6-8 p.m. and Monday, February 27 from 10-11 a.m. at the GRIFFITH FUNERAL HOME, INC., 5636 Brownsville Road, (at 6th St.) South Park Twp. (412) 655-4600, where a Blessing Service will be held on Monday at 11 a.m. followed by interment in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies with military funeral honors. Condolences may be offered at www.GriffithFH.com

William J. "Bill" Darr

January 12, 1933 - February 19, 2023