Daniel Kim Umphrey

Daniel K. Umphrey, born March 17, 1954, passed away unexpectedly on May 15, 2025, in Portland, ME. He was born in Fort Kent, ME, to Helen (Kidney) Umphrey and Heber H. Umphrey, who predeceased him. Dan grew up in Presque Isle, ME, and graduated from Presque Isle High School in 1972. One of five children, his childhood was spent hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, picking potatoes and fiddleheads, and golfing—always golfing. He married his high school girlfriend Jan (Stearns) in 1974, and they celebrated 51 years of marriage this year.

Dan was devoted to his family. For 43 years, he and Jan lived and raised their children, Matthew and Jill, in Herndon, VA. Although he frequently traveled the world for work, Dan could never wait to get home, usually loaded with gifts from distant lands, to be with his wife and kids. Despite often being away, he strove to balance work and family, supporting his children’s interests, sports, and talents and dropping everything to meet their needs. His love took shape in small ways, such as throwing a baseball or softball, teaching golf to his son, helping with home repairs, or wiring a new shop building, and in large and generous gestures of love. By example, he taught his children to be kind, to take pride in their work and art, to persevere, and to treat others with respect and dignity.

His professional trajectory began when he enlisted in the US Navy after high school and found his aptitude for electronic systems, which led to a long, fulfilling, and adventurous career. After the Navy, he went to work for Engineering Research Associates, a small company in Reston, VA, where he found his professional niche and became a highly respected Radio Frequency (RF) engineer and antenna expert who helped design, build, test, and improve systems that were crucial to national security. As a civilian, he deployed with the US Navy many times to support special missions in remote locations that became the stuff of legends and great sea stories. Over his career, he worked for a series of defense companies, including Raytheon E-Systems, Arco Power Technologies, Argon Engineering, and Boeing.

The roles Dan cherished the most were mentor and friend. Quick with a grin and a natural storyteller, he spoke and acted the same among executives as he did with interns and he navigated cultural protocols and norms around the world with ease. Whether he was delivering covert systems to Southwest Asia and the Baltic Sea, engineering hardware solutions for the US Navy, climbing antenna towers in Alaska for DARPA’s HAARP system, mentoring young engineers on RF engineering, or teaching lunchtime classes to nontechnical colleagues to help them understand the systems they supported, Dan brought his drive, humor, and unique personality to everything he did.

After retiring in 2021, he and Jan returned to Maine, and Dan’s goals were to travel with Jan, enjoy his children and grandchildren, and play every golf course he could. He also planned more hunting and fishing with his brothers and friends and was proud to have finally canoed the Allagash at 69 years old.

Truly in his element on the golf course, he loved nothing more than winning a highly competitive dollar bet with a long putt on the last hole, because it meant he and his partner had both played well. Upon moving back to Maine, he joined Val Halla golf club and began playing with “the Geezers” twice a week, which quickly acclimated him to his new community and gave him a new network of friends. He was as competitive at cribbage as he was at golf, and he quickly organized a community cribbage tournament to meet his neighbors.

Volunteering was also a large part of Dan’s life wherever he lived. He was a member of the Herndon Optimist club for more than 25 years and he not only supported his own children in their chosen sports and volunteered as an umpire and a referee but also continued long after they left the programs to serve other children. He mentored young readers, worked in the Children’s Garden, and placed commemorative cemetery flags on veterans’ graves. Dan was active in DeMolay as a teen, and he later became a Master Mason, belonging to Herndon (VA) Masonic Lodge No 264. When his son was old enough to join DeMolay, he volunteered in that program. He was most recently a member of the Pioneer Lodge in Ashland, ME.

He is survived by his wife; his son, Matthew Umphrey; and his daughter, Jill (Umphrey) Albers, her husband Stephen, and two fiercely loved grandchildren, Edel and Noel. Dan is also survived by four siblings, Jim Umphrey and his wife, Jeanette; Pat Umphrey and his partner Paula Jean O’Neill; Peter Umphrey and his partner, Tamie Jarvis; and Laura Seitz and her husband, Steve. In addition, he leaves eight nieces and nephews, several great nieces and nephews, and many devoted friends.

Donations in his honor may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, World Central Kitchen, or your local foodbank.