Vencil Stanley "Vince" O'Block

Vencil "Vince" Stanley O'Block – age 88, of Knoxville, TN, passed away on November 20, 2025. Vince grew up in Plum Township, Pennsylvania and from an early age worked alongside his father at Chambers Steel Services Company through high school. Vince went on to earn his bachelor's degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology, his Master's Degree from Penn State University, and ultimately his PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1967. After completing his doctorate he worked for Westinghouse Electric Company in their Astronuclear Laboratory. His primary focus was developing nuclear space propulsion technology, working on the Nuclear Engine Rocket for Vehicle Application (NERVA) Project. This experimental reactor project was a critical component of the first space mission to Mars powered by nuclear thermal rocket engines. He then changed his professional focus to nuclear power safety which took he and his family back and forth, cross country, to the Hanford Nuclear Site on the Columbia River in Richland, Washington; followed by the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project, Oak Ridge, Tennessee; TVA, Knoxville, Tennessee; and finally the Savannah River Plant in Aiken, South Carolina, where he retired before returning to Knoxville to live near his family. When not tinkering around the house, he loved a good game of golf and attending dog shows with his wife.
Vencil was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Virginia Lee O'Block and his parents, Vencil and Stella O'Block.
He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Kim and George Arrants; son and daughter-in-law, David and Trish O'Block; grandchildren, Morgan Arrants Reith (Andy) and Ben Arrants; great-grandchildren, Nathan and Zach Reith; sister, Florence Bertovich; brother, Ronald O'Block; and several nieces and nephews of the Pittsburgh area.
Services will be private.
In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to the American Heart Association or the National Kidney Foundation.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to all of the caregivers that took care of Vince in his final weeks.
Arrangements by Bridges Funeral Home, 5430 Rutledge Pike, Knoxville, TN 37924. www.bridgesfuneralhome.com