Donald Arthur Needham

USN CDR Ret.

Donald (Don) Needham, a retired Navy Supply Corps Commander died Wednesday December 21, 2011.

Don Needham had command of the Navy Purchasing Office, Navy Yard Washington at the end of 28 years of Service from 1942 until 1970. He Served in the Navy in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during World War II. Other post-war sea assignments included the battleship Wisconsin, the aircraft carrier Coral Sea, and the destroyer tender Everglades and shore duty assignments at the Aviation Supply Office and General Stores Supply Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Naval Station on Midway Island, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, and the U.S. European Command in Paris, France.

He was a Graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio and subsequently earned an MBA degree from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was also a graduate of the 1965 class of the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

Following service in the Navy, he worked as a contracts Manager in Washington DC for Northrup Grumman, Science Applications (SAIC) and BDM Corporation.

During retirement beginning in 1985, he performed as a docent and the Smithsonian American History Museum for 25 years, until 2010. Don enjoyed traveling , bridge and gardening at his home in Annandale, VA.

In 2000 Don and his wife Penny moved to Greenspring Village, a retirement community in Springfield, Virginia. Penny died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2003.

Don is survived by his daughter April Blum of Annandale, Virginia and by his son CAPT. William Needham, USN (Ret.) of Columbia, Maryland; four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial Service is to be held at Demaine Funeral Home, 5308 Backlick Rd. Springfield, Virginia 22151, on Wednesday January 25, 2012 at 1:30PM with reception to follow. Don will be laid to rest beside his wife at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, February 16, at 3:00PM.