James Cornelius McCollom

James C. McCollom (Age 99) Former President of McCollom Associates, Inc., which resolved policy and technical issues for residential housing, died on October 17, 2020 from sepsis at Adventist Health Care White Oak Medical Center. Before retiring from the Government, after 35 years of service, he had held a transportation management position starting with the Navy's Military Sealift Command, the Air Force Systems Command, NASA, and retired in 1986, from the Department of Housing and Development.

Mr. McCollom was a 1941 graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and he held an unlimited Ocean Masters license, issued by the U.S. Coast Guard. He was a retired Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve. During World War II, he served as an officer in the US Merchant Marine in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean theaters. During the war, in 1941, his cargo ship sank in four minutes, after being torpedoed and he successfully navigated an overloaded lifeboat for 10 days, landing on a remote South African village. In 1944, he survived another submarine torpedoing off Normandy, France, when one-third of the crew of the ship was killed, but still delivered required cargo over to the beach. He was decorated with a combat medal, with 2 stars, representing direct enemy action, and a combat medal from the Soviet Union.

Mr. McCollom was a 1951 graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He was also the past president of the Washington. Massachusetts Maritime Club; a member of the Washington, DC King's Point Club, and the Georgetown University Alumni. He was the recipient of several awards including the Meritorious Award from the Air Force.

Jean B. McCollom (Age 96) Passed away in her home on July 21, 2019. Jean was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1923. She was employed during World War II as a secretary in San Antonio, at the Army Air Force base. Later she moved to Washington, DC and served in the White House during the Nixon administration. She also served with the State Department as the secretary to very high international policy executives. Her husband, James McCollom made note that, "It wasn't all work though, she never met a meal she didn't like." Above all her passion was painting, and she was very gifted, selling several scenes of light houses and jungle animals. She also had a passion for travel and culture, and she loved to travel - principally to Europe. Jean loved her children very much, and she kept a migrating family close to her heart so that they knew they always had a home. During her late years in life she had dementia, though she never complained and despite this huge challenge, right to her last moment, she was "a Queen," and will remain so in the hearts of her family and loved ones.

James and Jean McCollom are survived by their son Bryan McCollom, of Baltimore, MD; daughter Therese Clark of Los Angeles, CA; daughters Heather McCollom and Kathleen McCollom of Silver Spring, MD; and Granddaughter Jamie Paiko of Los Angeles, CA.

Services will be held at a later date.

Published by The Washington Post on Jun. 13, 2021.