In Loving Memory, 1926-2020
Aber H. Dearfield passed away on Sunday, May 24, 2020 at the age of 93 in Silver Spring, MD, due to complications related to the COVID-19 virus.
Aber was born in Coal Valley, Pennsylvania on December 18, 1926. After graduating from Clairton High School, Clairton, PA, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy near the end of World War II. In training as an electronics engineering technician in the intelligence field, he was part of the contingency preparations for an invasion of Japan when the war ended. He held a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, PA and a master's degree in Engineering Administration from George Washington University. He served his nation as an electronics engineer and executive manager with the National Security Agency and its predecessor organization from 1949-1986, retiring from NSA with more than 37 years of public service.
He was an intrepid world-traveler, avid dancer and accomplished musician (with his beloved trombone and piano) who loved the beach, and enthusiastically supported his entire family and life-long friends. Strangers were just friends he hadn't met yet, and he thoroughly enjoyed a friendly competition. He was a genealogy enthusiast who was proud to learn of his numerous Civil War and Revolutionary War ancestors, and was equally proud of his wife's, daughter's, and granddaughters' memberships in the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Aber is survived by his wife, Shirley R. Dearfield of Silver Spring, MD, with whom he would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this coming December 2020. He is also survived by his three children, Kerry L. Dearfield (Gayle), Janis O. Studer (David), and Mark G. Dearfield (Cynthia). He is further survived by his five grandchildren, Gregory Studer (Sara), Craig Dearfield (Cassandra), Carolyn Lockeed (Matthew), Katherine Mumford (Ryan), and Bethany Studer (Christopher Stevenson); as well as four great-grandchildren, Damian, Silas, Coral, and Felix.
A memorial service will be determined at a future date. Aber H. Dearfield will be later interred at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to the Riderwood Benevolent Fund, 3110 Gracefield Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20904, c/o Philanthropy Department; or to a charity of your choice.
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