Donald E. "Don" Erb

1928 - 2014

Mr. Donald E. (Don) Erb, 86, of Gaithersburg, Maryland died Tuesday, December 9, 2014. Don was the husband of Lois Raab Erb. He was born January 31, 1928 in Mayberry, Maryland to the late William and Margaret Erb.
Don served as the Director of Isotope Production and Distribution at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1989 until his retirement in 1997. He was the 1992 recipient of the American Society of Nuclear Physicians Industrial Committee Achievement Award for his isotope work. After his retirement in 1997, Don served on the Advisory Committee of the Idaho Accelerator Center at Idaho State University, which focuses its research on accelerator-produced isotopes and their medical, industrial, and national security applications.
Before he began work for the U.S. Department of Energy in 1974, Don was the Director of the Battelle Memorial Institute Columbus Laboratories Nuclear Utilities Technical Assistance Program, providing assistance to electric utilities with nuclear power plants under construction and in operation. He also worked for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission from 1957 to 1968, where he was responsible for research and development programs.
He is a graduate of Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in Westminster and the Johns Hopkins University and was sponsored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to participate in President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace Program for studies at the International School of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Penn State University/Argonne National Laboratory.
He is survived by his wife Lois, his children, Jason and Jennifer, and four grandchildren.
Visitation with the family was held Friday, December 12, 2014 from 1:00 to 3:00pm at Molesworth-Williams P.A. Funeral Home at 26401 Ridge Road, Damascus, Maryland 20872. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the Alzheimer's Association http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp
Online condolences and flowers may be sent through www. molesworthwilliams.com.



This obituary was originally published in The Gazette (Gaithersburg, MD).