Robert Michael Francis

FRANCIS, Robert Michael, 58, of Chesterfield, formerly of Chantilly, was called to be with his Lord and Master on July 22, 2012, after a battle with cancer. A cherished, loving and devoted husband and father, Michael is survived by his wife of almost 25 years, Lynn Francis; an only son, James Francis, 23; mother, Carole Parr of Concord N.C.; brother, Jeffrey Francis of Myrtle Beach S.C.; and another brother, Randy Francis of Concord N.C. Michael was born in Gaffney, S.C. on August 24, 1953. Prior to his death, he served as Director with the Dept. of Defense, Defense Contract Mgmt Agency (DCMA), EVMS Div Chester, Va. Prior to joining DCMA in 2011, Michael and his family resided in Northern Virginia where he held positions as a federal civilian intelligence professional supporting national and military intelligence missions for the U.S. Marine Corps and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Michael retired from the U.S. Navy with a rank of Commander, after serving 21 years of active and reserve duty. His service included tours in Guam where he served as Officer-in-Charge of SPAWAR electronic field activity supporting communications in the western Pacific including Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hawaii. While in Guam, he also served as Asst. Chief of Staff for Commander, Naval Forces Marianas. Other tours include Engineering Officer and Chief Proj. Engineer for a major DOD program for Defense Info Services Agency (DISA); Asst Combat Sys Officer Charleston Naval Shipyard; Project Engineer for SPAWAR Sys Center Charleston, S.C.; and Electrical Officer for USS Proteus. During his naval career, he received 5 Navy commendation medals, 1 Navy achievement medal, 3 humanitarian service awards and 2 meritorious unit awards. After successfully completing his military service, Michael worked in the telecom and IT industry at Verizon and Harris Corp. In both positions, he was a key technical contributor for multi-year, multi-million dollar programs, providing improved telecommunications capabilities for military and national intelligence activities. In 2008, he was awarded U.S. Patent 7383582, Systems and Methods for Electronic Surveillance. Michael completed his Bachelor’s degree in Physics/Lasers Electro-Optics from the Univ. of Houston, his Bachelor’s degree (BSEE) and Master’s degree (MSEE) in Electrical Engineering from Naval Postgraduate School, and his doctoral studies in Information Security (all but dissertation) from George Mason Univ. He also held professional certifications in federal acquisition, program mgmt., systems engineering, network engineering and information systems security. Michael is a life member of the National Rifle Assn. and a Master Mason. He enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking and watching old history movies. He is a wonderful husband, a loving and caring father. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. The family will receive friends and visitors on Saturday, August 4, 2012, from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Huguenot Chapel of Woody Funeral Home, 1020 Huguenot Road Midlothian, Va. 23113. Funeral service follows at 2 p.m. Interment services at 3:30 p.m. Dale Memorial Park, 10201 Newbys Bridge Road, Chesterfield, Va. 23832. Refreshments follow at Woodland Pond Clubhouse, 10611 Woodland Pond Parkway Chesterfield, Va. 23838. In lieu of flowers, tax-deductible contribution may be made in his memory to Fisher House Foundation, http://www.fisherhouse.org. Online condolences to WoodyFuneralHomeHuguenot.com.