Arthur H. Mallon

Age 95, formerly of Milton and Winchester, Massachusetts and Alexandria, Virginia, died September 11, 2007 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was a devoted husband to Helen (Karpawich) Mallon, with whom he shared his life sixty-six years. Until her death in June of 2006, he shared a room with her at Notre Dame Long Term Care Center in Worcester. He is survived by the six children that he and Helen raised with love and inspiration, Robert and his wife, Mary Mallon of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Nancy Lee and her husband, William Hetzel of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, Maureen and her husband, Lawrence Lawler of Connecticut, James and his wife, Marsha Mallon of Stowe, Vermont and Nashville Tennessee, Pamela and her husband, George Siguler of Winchester and Conway, Massachusetts and Kathy and her husband, John Trimmer of Los Alamitos, California. They were proud and doting grandparents of eighteen grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. The love, dedication and inspiration he showered on his family knew no bounds. This was all the more amazing considering his tragic circumstances. When Arthur was only six years old, his mother and two infant siblings died, victims of the influenza pandemic of 1917-1918. Not to long after Arthur finished high school, his father died, leaving Arthur with sole care of his younger Paul. A young man of enormous drive, he returned to his alma mater, Commerce High School in Worcester (as there were no junior colleges back then) in order to pick up the course he would need for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He worked his way through WPI while supporting his younger brother. To accomplish this, he held a variety of jobs on and off campus, including working for the Boys' Club of Worcester and as WPI Campus correspondent for what is now The Telegram and Gazette. His reporting of the hurricane of 1938 actually earned the cub reporter a by-line. He graduated with a Degree in Civil Engineering. Ever proud of his alma mater, for more than 30 years his auto license plates read "WPI 39". Arthur contributed his engineering talent to the war effort in Washington, D.C. At the Bureau of Ships, and at Newport News, Virginia Naval Shipyard, he worked on the engineering design of aircraft carriers (Hornet and Wasp class) and the transition into the top secret LST's, which were so instrumental in our success in the Pacific Theatre and D-Day Invasion at Normandy in World War II. After the war, he and Helen "adventured" out of Rolla, Missouri, where he taught engineering at what was then called Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, (now the University of Missouri at Rolla) and his love of teaching blossomed. They returned to Massachusetts, where Arthur received his advance degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University. He taught engineering at Wentworth Institute in Boston, eventually moving to Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts in the 1950's and later serving as Professor of Engineering at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts for much of the 1960's. During these years, Arthur also worked for engineering firms in the Boston area, designing bridges, roadways and buildings, including steeple restoration of the Park Street Church in Boston, and the engineering design on a stadium for an as yet to be born New England football team! But his real sports love was baseball and his Red Sox, a love which he shared with Helen. He also was a pioneering influence in environmental engineering, teaching leading edge design in what was then called "sanitary engineering." During this time, Arthur and Helen lived, with their children, who now numbered six, in Milton and Winchester, Massachusetts. As busy as he was professionally, Arthur truly gloried in his family. Where some might have felt six children a burden, Arthur saw them as precious and wonderful gifts, that he and Helen were tremendously proud. He tried to be a wise and stern taskmaster to them, but they laid claim to his heart and he was putty in their hands. In the 1970's and 1980's, Arthur served in several high level government positions in Washington, D.C., including the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, during which time Arthur and Helen lived in Alexandria, Virginia. Over his career, he received many professional awards, citations and government commendations. Arthur also contributed his time and money to several community and civic associations and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was honored by them for lifetime achievement, and he and Helen were jointly honored as Outstanding Family. The children of Arthur and Helen will welcome friends and family at the calling hours on Friday, September 14th from 6:00-8:00 PM in the Britton-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, 648 Main Street, SHREWSBURY. A Mass of Christian Burial in celebration of Arthur's life will be held on Saturday, September 15th at 11:00 AM in Saint Mary's Church, 640 Main Street, Shrewsbury. Burial will take place in Mountain View Cemetery, Shrewsbury. In lieu of flowers, his family would welcome donations in his memory to the Alzheimer's Foundation, 36 Cameron Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140 or to Catholic Charities, 10 Hammond Street, Worcester, MA 01610. For directions and Arthur's online memorial guestbook, please visit: www.brittonfuneralhomes.com.