John Henry ENGELBRECHT

In Loving Memory

John was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. His father was a New York City policeman, and his mother ran the house. John attended Brooklyn Technical High School and Long Island University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering and industrial management, and a master's degree in engineering and engineering management. John loved his parents, learning, and New York.

John spent a lot of time with his Uncle Louie Melello. Uncle Louie owned a scrap yard in Brooklyn where John helped with preparing items for resale. John bought his first car from the salvage yard for $60 - a 1959 Dodge coupe. John also enjoyed fishing with his uncle and his father on their boats. On his own, John would rent a small boat to use his Johnson outboard, which he kept in the trunk of his car, to fish off the coast of Coney Island. Fishing offered John a great relief to a long day at work, and John enjoyed it very much.

While working at Sperry Gyroscope Corporation, John met his future wife, Rita. On June 18, 1961, John married Rita and moved into an apartment in Queens. In April of the following year, they had their first child, Karen. The family relocated to Albertson, NY, a suburb about 10 miles outside of Queens. A few years later, Christine and then Scott were born, completing the family. One of John's favorite things to do was to have wrestling time on the living room floor with the kids after supper. In 1976, John and the family moved to Rockville, Maryland. On weekends, John would take the family fishing on the Chesapeake Bay and water skiing on the South River. In addition to teaching his kids how to water ski, Rita would drive the boat and John would water ski himself!

John had a spectacular career in engineering. Starting at the age of 22, he worked for the Edison Power Company analyzing energy and thermal data to determine the most efficient operations for the power plant. He was a mechanical engineer on radar and sonar systems in his next position at Sperry Gyroscope. In the great space race, John briefly served as a senior engineer to a private contractor on the Apollo fuel gauge system to help the U.S. get to the moon. This job was in Vermont where John didn't like being so far from his family, as family was always important to him.

In 1965, John joined the Grumman Corporation where he worked for over 10 years on the development of the E2-C, a Navy tactical airborne early warning aircraft. John worked his way up to group leader and helped refine the radar systems "ahead of schedule and under budget". In his later years, he loved to watch YouTube specials on the E2-C and talk with his neighbors about the airplane. John owned several shirts and hats with the E2-C logo.

John and Rita were blessed with five grandchildren. They would travel to visit them in Wisconsin and Virginia. In retirement, John and Rita took trips to the Grand Canyon and Alaska. When Rita was unable to travel due to health issues, John was at her side providing care and comfort until her passing in 2020.

Following Rita's passing, John lived in a retirement community, first in independent living, then assisted living, and finally memory care. During his time in memory care where he required continuous care, John enjoyed getting to know his care team, frequently asking them about themselves or how their day was going. John touched many lives in positive ways and will be dearly missed. A member of his care team affectionately referred to him as "the man with the beautiful mind."

A celebration of life is scheduled for 10:00 am Saturday, February 7th at Centreville United Methodist Church, 6400 Old Centreville Rd, Centreville, VA 20121.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association.

Link: https://donorservices.alz.org/page/FUNJVLBQDHC?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=giving_bing&msclkid=f108cceee3c31a6d6feca5993840a631

Memorials may be made to Online condolences can be made at www.directcremationservicesofvirginia.com.

Funeral arrangements were trusted to Direct Cremation Services of Virginia - Chantilly, 4425 Brookfield Corp. Dr. Suite 100 Chantilly, VA 20151, (703) 584-4927.