Howard Martin Stainer

Howard was the best ever - husband, father, and grandfather - truly, an all-around great person. He was born in London, England, in 1937 to an American mother and a British father. He grew up during the difficult times of WWII and would often speak of air raids and bomb shelters. His happiest memories were those of spending time with his cousins, John and Alan. At 12, he came to the US, living with his American grandparents until his family moved to Long Island, NY. Because of his advanced British education, he graduated from high school at the age of 16 and Queens College with a Physics degree at 19, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Dreaming of becoming a pilot, he joined the Navy, completing Naval School Pre-flight training as an Aviation Officer Candidate. However, flying was not for him, and he completed his Naval career working with radar systems. Afterward, he attended Cal Tech, where he ultimately received a master’s degree in Radio Astronomy. Five years later, he earned his doctorate in Theoretical Plasma Physics at the University of Maryland.

He married Judy in 1961 and was subsequently blessed with four children, to whom he was the most supportive, giving, and loving Dad. No crack-of-dawn sports practice nor late-night homework assignment would deter him from helping his children. He was his kids’ personal chauffeur, seeing them through T-ball, pom-poms, baton twirling, soccer, gymnastics, running, figure skating, and many swim practices and meets – not to mention being their late-night writing, math, and physics coach, mentoring them through countless essays, reports, and complex assignments.

Howard worked 12 years at APL/JHU before he moved to the DoD as a policy expert for over 25 years, subsequently retiring to his dream home on a beautiful golf course in West Virginia. He loved playing golf – though he never confessed how many balls were lost in the water or woods. Mostly, he loved reading books – especially Dick Francis, rereading every one of his books countless times. Eventually, he and Judy moved back to Maryland, where Howard enjoyed being closer to family, reveling in the scholastic and athletic accomplishments of his grandchildren. Most of all, he loved his wife with all his heart. Never the cook, humorously claiming “benign incompetence” in the kitchen, Howard greatly enjoyed Judy’s amazing gourmet-level cooking.

Howard will be missed terribly by his wife, Judy Stainer, son Andrew Stainer (Maria), daughter Jennifer Reynolds (Carl), son Daniel Stainer, daughter Kate Shidle (Tom), his 9 grandchildren (Thomas, Charlie, Lucy, Nicholas, James, Maggie, Noah, Lyss, and Samantha), his niece Lyn, cousins John (Marilyn) and Alan (Lorice), and innumerable other family members and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Howard's name to, American Diabetes Association, https://diabetes.org/ways-to-give/memorial-gift