Earl F. Rectanus Sr.

RECTANUS EARL FRANK RECTANUS Vice Admiral, US Navy (Ret.) On December 7, 2009 in San Diego, California. Vice Admiral Earl Frank Rectanus, U.S. Navy (Ret) was born March 16, 1926. Husband of the late Derlie Bland Rectanus; father of Earl Frank Jr. of Naples, FL; brother of the late Howard Milton Jr. of Boca Raton, FL, Dorothy Weightman of Brodheadsville, PA and the late Lawrence Alan of Ellicott City, MD. He is survived by his daughter-in-law, Colleen Carr; and grandchildren, Erin and Chelsea Rectanus. Vice Admiral Rectanus served his country over a lengthy period beginning in the Second World War in the Pacific on a Mine Sweeper which he came to command. He became an Intelligence Officer and performed duties in the Persian Gulf in the early 1950''s, and subsequently was Assistant Naval Attaché to the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War in the early 1960''s. He served as Intelligence Officer in Viet Nam in the late 1960''s, and subsequently was advanced to the rank of Rear Admiral and appointed the Director of Naval Intelligence in 1973. He was retired in 1976 at the rank of Vice Admiral, and became an investment banker in his home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, living near Ligonier, in charge of municipal bonds, assisting with the underwriting of many school and other important community projects for some seven years before retiring from that occupation. Vice Admiral Rectanus entered the service through the V-12 program in WWII and subsequently earned a Bachelors Degree in Military Science from the University of Maryland, and a Master''s Degree in International Relations from the American University in Washington, DC. He enjoyed an extremely active retirement living in Rector, Pennsylvania, Fort Myers Beach, Florida as well as Rancho Santa Fe, California, and remained involved in organizations associated with his Naval Profession and other passionate interests. He enjoyed a wonderful marriage of 49 years to Derlie who predeceased him, and subsequently enjoyed a rich and abiding affection with his companion of the last twelve years, Mrs. Jinny Martin. He was well loved by his family with whom he enjoyed a deeply intimate relationship, as well as his many, many friends and colleagues from a lifetime of service to his country. Vice Admiral Rectanus will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on February 5, 2010, following a service at the Fort Myer Chapel at 9 a.m. In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that tokens of remembrance might be provided to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, 875 North Randolph St., Ste. 225, Tax ID Number 53-0204618, Arlington, VA 22203.