John Rexford Socha

John Socha passed away peacefully with his wife at his bedside on December 27, 2014. He was born on April 20, 1947 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He will be missed by his wife Susan, and his daughters, Elizabeth and Emily, and his granddaughter Lily as well as his brother and sister-in-law, Edward and Robin Socha.

John obtained a BS in Accounting from Concord College in Athens, West Virginia. He was a member of the Phi Sigma Epsilon fraternity there and has stayed in contact with many of his brothers through reunions.

He married Susan Coleman on June 13, 1970 and started working at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell in Raleigh, North Carolina and became a CPA at that time. After five years, they moved to Arlington, Virginia and John worked for Pepco and then for Fokker Aircraft. The years at Fokker were among the best of his life. After Fokker, he worked at the FCC and retired in June, 2014.

John was an avid Beach Boys fan and would always try to persuade anyone and everyone to go with him to concerts. Two years ago he went to their special tour with Brian Wilson, and met all of them backstage, which was a lifelong dream. He was also a golfer and enjoyed many wonderful days on the course, even if he wasn’t playing well. John enjoyed the beach, being in the sun, swimming in the ocean and feeling the sand under his feet.

Visitation will be on January 5, 2015 from 2:00PM – 4:00PM at Murphy’s funeral home in Falls Church, followed by a brief service at 4:00PM. Scattering of ashes will take place in May off Hilton Head Island.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Virginia Hospital Foundation of Arlington, Virginia.