John Cremin Sr., 77
John D. Cremin Sr., 77, of Alhambra died on Monday, July 27, 2015 at his home.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 31 and from 8 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1 at Spengel-Boulanger Funeral Home in Highland. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1 at St. Gertrude Catholic Church in Grantfork, with Father Pat G. Jakel officiating. Burial will be in Harris Cemetery in Alhambra.
He was born on Feb. 28, 1938 in Brighton, Mass., to Jeremiah and Nora (Cavanaugh) Cremin. On Aug. 29, 1964, he married Lois M. Nungesser. She survives in Alhambra.
Mrs. Cremin graduated from Boston College in 1959 with a degree in physics. He graduated in 1961 from Northeastern University in Boston with a degree in electrical communications.
He was in the Army ROTC at Boston College. Later, he served with the U.S. Army as a captain during the Berlin and the Cuban crises.
He worked for AT&T/Bell Labs, where he obtained a patent; the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Mass.
He taught at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and researched air traffic control radar and solar electricity.
He worked at McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, Mo., from 1984 to 1990. He taught avionics at St. Louis University for 14 years.
Mrs. Cremin moved to Alhambra in 1984 and designed a solar energy system for the Alhambra School. He also designed alternative energy for Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah. He built an electric car and was the first to install residential solar energy with net metering in the area.
He enjoyed biking (road racing) and running. He and his wife enjoyed ballroom dancing. He coached his sons in their athletic events.
He was a member of St. Gertrude Catholic Church. He was also a member of Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Toastmasters International.
Other survivors include sons, John D. Cremin Jr., Ph.D., of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Douglas F. (wife Lili Leon, DDS) Cremin of Montgomery Village, Md.; grandchildren, Isabella M. Cremin and Patrick D. Cremin of Montgomery Village, Md.; a sister, Mary “Maureen” Quinn of East Dennis, Mass.; and brothers- and sisters-in-law, Darrel F. (Christine) Nungesser of Cypress, Texas, Karen S. (Dennis) Ammann of Balwin, Mo., and Beverly A. (John) Boeschen of Peachtree Corners, Ga.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother-in-law, Thomas Quinn, who died in 1985; his father-in-law, Floyd W. “Buzzi” Nungesser, who died on Feb. 3, 2002; and his mother-in-law, Marie P. (Glassmaker) Nungesser, who died on Sept. 14, 2005.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or American Lung Association.
This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 4:39 AM with the headline "John Cremin Sr., 77."