John P. Castelli

Age 89, of Arlington & Lexington July 15. Beloved husband of Marguerite R. (Reardon). Father of Ruth Moon, Mary P. Castelli, Joseph Castelli & John P. Castelli. Also survived by 7 Grandchildren. Son of the late John B. & Mary A. (Hussey) Castelli. Brother of the late Mary & Joseph Castelli. Funeral from the DeVito-O'Donnell Funeral Home, 1145 Mass Avenue ARLINGTON HEIGHTS Wednesday morning at 8 followed by a funeral mass at 9 in St. Camillus Church. Interment to follow Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Visiting at the funeral home on Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. John graduated from Lexington High School in 1934 and received his BA degree from Boston College in 1938, and MA degree from Boston College in 1939. A military veteran of WWII, he was a Radar Officer in the USAAF. From early 1946 to 1955, he worked as a civilian engineer/scientist in V-2 and Aerobe missile instrumentation and field work at White Sands proving ground New Mexico under Dr. Marcus O'Day. Some years were spent in radar improvement work under John Reed from MIT Radiation lab. This was followed by Radio Astronomy, Propagation work and years of solar radio astronomy work and numerous eclipse projects. His four-station worldwide solar radio monitoring network (essentially, as he designed and built it) remains in operation after 35 years. All the radio astronomy was under the help and guidance of Dr. Jules Aarons. In addition to his engineering and contract work, John wrote many papers on his work, which were published and presented at scientific meetings around the globe. John's sister, Mary, was a teacher in the Waltham school system for years. His brother, Joe, a graduate of Lexington High School Class of 1938, was a B-25 pilot in WWII for over a year in the SW Pacific until he was killed near Papua, New Guinea in 1943. John was a charter member of the Air Force Association, a life member of IEEE, emeritus member of Sigma XI, and the American Astronomical Society, and a former professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was a founding member of the American Air Museum in Britain and other organizations devoted to restoration and display of Air Force aircraft. Through his lifetime, John remained an enthusiast of antique automobiles and of perennial flowers. The latter interest he gained from many hours visiting the Lexington Fairlawn Estate of Harvey C. Wheeler and working as a boy for Howard Monroe of the Historic Monroe's of Lexington, Mass. and especially for Oscar Kenrick at Vinebrook Gardens, Lexington, Mass.