John L. From Jr., 82, a retired Navy nuclear submarine Captain who also helped a defense contractor develop underwater tracking systems, died of pneumonia March 19, 2004, at Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington. He lived in McLean, Virginia.
Captain From was a native of Norfolk and a 1943 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He received a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University.
He made six submarine war patrols in the Pacific during World War II and later commanded a diesel-electric submarine. In the 1960s, he commanded the George Washington, the first of a new class of Polaris missile nuclear submarines.
In his final assignment before retiring from active military duty in 1972, Captain From was commanding officer of the Naval Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor.
His military decorations included two awards of the Legion of Merit.
In retirement, he moved to McLean, where he worked 12 years for Science Applications International Corp. as vice president of research and development.
He was a member of St. John’s Catholic Church in McLean.
Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Mary Jane From of McLean; three children, Deborah J. Fletcher of Mill Valley, California, Tina L. Egge of Fredericksburg and Michael E. From of Seattle; a brother; a sister; and three grandsons.
FROM, JOHN LAWRENCE JR
CAPT US NAVY
WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM
- DATE OF BIRTH: 03/20/1921
- DATE OF DEATH: 03/19/2004
- BURIED AT: SECTION 68 SITE 331
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
FROM, MARY JANE
- DATE OF BIRTH: 04/14/1922
- DATE OF DEATH: 08/18/2005
- BURIED AT: SECTION 68 SITE 331
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY - WIFE OF FROM, JOHN LAWRENCE JR CAPT US NAVY
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard