John P. Coyle

COYLE JOHN PATTERSON COYLE (Age 92) Passed away peacefully at his home in Washington, DC on Thursday, October 15, 2009. John was born on May 24, 1917 in Kingston, PA to David Cushman and Isadore (Douglas) Coyle. His brother, Larry Coyle and sister, Anne Howard preceded him in death. His marriage to his first wife, Joanne Swedlund, ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife, Julie (Phillips) Coyle of Ft. Washington, Maryland; daughter, Sarah (Sean) of Washington, DC; son, David (Robin) of Virginia; and three step-sons, Marshall (Juliette) of Great Britain, Douglas (Ellen) of Pennsylvania and Brian (Melissa) of Montana. John attended Princeton University and Antioch College where he earned a B. S. in Physics. He was one of the early pioneers in the field of Operations Research. He joined the original Tenth Fleet Operations Research Group in December 1943. He assisted in the teaching of the first academic course in operations research at MIT. He was with the Operations Evaluation Group from 1945 to 1962, and was a Senior Scientist with the Center for Naval Analyses. A U.S. Navy civilian employee from 1970 to 1990, he was Special Assistant for Strategic Systems on national strategic policy and developments for SALT. We will not likely meet anyone quite like John in our lifetimes. An avid sailor and expert navigator, he spent many summers with family and friends on Cliff Island, Maine. He was warm and loving and kind and joyful. We felt lucky to have him in our lives, and we hope he felt lucky to have us as well. Everyone who met him was glad to have known him. John saw the world as infinitely rich and infinitely intriguing; his passing challenges us to do the same. Mr. Coyle donated his body to science. A memorial service will be held next year. For further details please visit the memorial web site at http://johncoyle.net. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ACLU.