James Allan Painter

He was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, on May 19, 1929. He served with the Army Occupation Forces in Japan in 1946 and 1947, fought in Korea from 1951 to 1953, and remained with the Army Reserve until 1971, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for “outstanding meritorious service as a citizen soldier of the U. S. Army Reserve” in November 1977.

He earned bachelors’ and masters’ degrees in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD in computer science from Stanford University. In the 1950s, when he joined IBM, software development was in its infancy and was conducted in great secrecy and under tight security. It was there that he worked on developing the first computer software.

He later worked at the Technical Support Directorate of the Defense Department from 1973 till 1980, and then as head of the employee relations section of the Marine Corps from 1980 to 1990.

His first wife, Ramona Early Painter, died in 2008. He is survived by his wife of the past10 years, Anne Horan Painter, of McLean, Virginia; a son, Douglas Painter of Las Cruces, New Mexico; a daughter, Stephanie Minor of Hague, Virginia, and two grandchildren, Steven Painter of Tucson, Arizona, and Julie Brunson of Las Cruces. Another daughter, Sherry Painter, died in 2013.

Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, June 18th at 1 p.m.