James Blakeslee Montgomery

NEWPORT NEWS - James Blakeslee Montgomery passed away on Aug. 29, 2008, at The Chesapeake in Newport News.
Born in Charleston, W.Va., on Feb. 28, 1920, Lee was the only child of Florence McCoy Crane and Henry Brinson Montgomery. He grew up in Hilton Village and was an Eagle Scout. He loved photography and was an accomplished woodworker.
Lee worked at the Newport News Shipyard as a teenager and graduated from the Apprentice School in 1941. His employment at the Shipyard continued through WWII. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated in 1948 with a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Following a brief stint at Studebaker Corporation in South Bend, Ind., Lee returned to the Newport News Shipyard for a career that spanned four decades. While at the Shipyard, Lee worked in Hull Design and was known as an innovative thinker and designer of Los Angeles class submarines; several of his ideas were patented, and he was an early advocate of computer aided design. In addition, he presented papers at conventions throughout the United States and Europe. One of his most notable civilian projects was designing a submarine tanker to transport Alaskan oil through the Northwest Passage under the polar ice cap. While the project was eventually abandoned in favor of the Alaskan oil pipeline, Lee especially enjoyed the initial work and constructed a wooden model of the proposed submarine.
Lee was a charter member of the Warwick Lions Club and a founding member of Christopher Newport University's LifeLong Learning Society. Following his retirement from the Shipyard in 1986, he traveled extensively with his wife, Mary. Their vacations afforded him countless opportunities to visit children and grandchildren, to explore new places and cultures, and to fuel his love of photography.
Lee's wife of 60 years, Mary Gregory Montgomery, died in June. His eldest son, Jim Montgomery Jr., of Chester, Va., died in April.
Lee is survived by two daughters, Peggy Williams and husband, Jack, of Montana, and Julie Conway and husband, Stuart, of New Jersey; daughter-in-law, Vicki Montgomery, of Chester, Va.; two sons, Greg Montgomery and his wife, Nancy, of North Carolina, Mike Montgomery and his wife, Dawn, of Newport News; AFS exchange student son, Carlos Mejia, of Bogota, Colombia; ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12, at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Newport News. A reception will follow in the church fellowship hall. Lee has donated his body for medical research.
Lee's family wishes to express its sincere appreciation to the staff and medical professionals at The Chesapeake and Odyssey Hospice for the care they gave to him.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 372 Hiden Blvd., Newport News, 23606, or to the LifeLong Learning Society at Christopher Newport University, 660 Hamilton Dr., Newport News, 23602. View and post condolences on our online guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks.