Paul Shriver

Paul R. Shriver SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Paul R. Shriver, 84, longtime resident of Schenectady and retired KAPL manager, passed away Oct. 7, 2008. Mr. Shriver worked at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) for 42 years. He committed his professional life to the service of excellence and accountability to ensure our country's security and the safety of the men and women in our armed services. During the Cold War, KAPL was directly involved in the development of the nuclear reactors that powered our U.S. Navy nuclear submarine fleet and surface ships. Mr. Shriver worked as project manager for successively more effectively designed reactors; each successive project was a new reactor design that ran quieter, faster and longer. During the critical years of the Cold War's nuclear submarine development, Mr. Shriver reported directly to Adm. Hyman Rickover, at Rickover's request. Rickover is now widely known as the "Father of the Nuclear Navy." Rickover was feared by many because of his intolerance for people whose actions or incompetency put others at risk, and Mr. Shriver shared the same strong values; he always put people's safety above all else. Mr. Shriver earned his own reputation as the man who would take over failing projects and bring them to successful completion while still meeting the original deadline. The deadlines were very important because the Soviet Union was racing to do the same thing. Mr. Shriver closely managed projects from theoretical design to prototype to manufacture and installation into the U.S. Naval Submarine Fleet. In a very real way, Mr. Shriver helped our country win the Cold War. Our country's nuclear submarine fleet has a continued record of zero accidents. This is the quiet legacy of Admiral Rickover and men like Paul Shriver. Mr. Shriver served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943 through 1945. He earned his bachelor's of science in mechanical engineering in 1948 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, graduating magna cum laude. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Nuclear Society. He led an active social life and belonged to the Benedicts, the Elks Club, and the Elfin Society. Mr. Shriver and his wife Grace enjoyed many trips to destinations in Europe, Greece, and China. However, his summers were not complete without a yearly vacation at Nags Head, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a place Mr. Shriver loved and visited every year since very early in his life. He would get up early in the morning, grab his fishing pole and surf cast for hours. He would clean the fish he caught and they would be dinner. In his later years, his wife Grace made sure that they both took that yearly vacation to his favorite place. Mr. Shriver is survived by his wife, Grace P. Shriver; his children from his first marriage, John R. Shriver and Mark A. Shriver, and his daughter, Carol J. Shriver; his three stepchildren, Derrick R. DeForge, Heather G. DeForge and Kimberly R. Carter; and four stepgrandsons, Tyler, Justin, Ethan and Evan Carter; his brother, Henry V. Shriver, nephews, Matthew W. Shriver, Kendrick V. Shriver, and Kendrick V. Shriver's children, Lauren, Paul and Allison. Memorial contributions may be made in Paul R. Shriver's name to the American Red Cross or to The Salvation Army. A wake was held Thursday in Glenville Funeral Home, 9 Glenridge Road, Glenville, N.Y. A service was held in the funeral home Friday at 10 a.m., followed by a procession to the Saratoga National Memorial Cemetery with a 12:30 p.m. committal service.