Lt Col (Ret.) PETER J. CHITTICK

  
Lt Col PETER J. CHITTICK (Ret.)  (Age 82)  
Passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 7, 2016 in Fredericksburg, VA. He was born in Washington, District of Columbia on August 23, 1933, and spent his boyhood in McLean, Virginia and later Clinton Corners, New York. Peter''s enthusiasm and talent for paper-delivery, hunting, muskrat trapping, and navigating the woods would serve him well throughout a lifetime of adventure and service. In 1950, he "exaggerated his age" in order to enlist in the U.S. Air Force. He was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1953, where he attended U.S. Army Jump School and Ranger School, the latter seeming a particularly suitable fit. He received his Bachelor''s of Science, Military Engineering and his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1957. He and his family moved to Blacksburg, Virginia in 1978, where he attended the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1980 after 23 years of service to the United States that included two tours in Vietnam and tours of duty in Germany, Guatemala, and Panama. He rejoined the workforce in 1982 at EDS, SAIC and BDM, this time from a new home base in Middleburg, Virginia, where he continued to serve his country as a civilian. After failing to retire yet again, he returned to his local-delivery roots in service to the family-owned Middleburg Floral Gallery. He finally moved once more to Fredericksburg, Virginia in 2015. Peter was a Mason, a member of the Lion''s Club, the American Legion, a longtime supporter of the Ronald McDonald House, and made weekly deliveries for Seven Loaves Food Bank in Middleburg. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, the former Geraldine Hunt of Poughkeepsie, New York, and their four children; Shaun Chittick of Chesapeake, Virginia, Loreen Chittick Hitch of Glen Allen, Virginia, Jeri Lee Thomas of Reston, Virginia, Linda Beck of South Orange, New Jersey; and by seven "damn smart'' grandchildren, and two brothers, Richard T. "Ted" and David Allen Chittick.  Family and friends are invited to a memorial service on Friday, January 15, 2016 from 2 to 3 p.m., at Royston Funeral Home, 106 East Washington Street, Middleburg, Virginia and a reception and Celebration of Life, immediately following, from 3 to 4 p.m., at Emmanuel Episcopal Reception Hall, directly across East Washington Street from the funeral home. An inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery will be held in 2016. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Peter''s name to the Ronald McDonald House, (http://donate.mch.org)Remembrances and online guest book:http://www.roystonfh.com/obituaries/Peter-Chittick/