John 'Jack' Victor Gottemoller
April 25, 1930 — June 23, 2014
John 'Jack' Victor Gottemoller
Born in Chicago, IL, on April 25, 1930, he was the son of the late Victor H. and the late Irene (McMillan) Gottemoller. Jack was the beloved husband of Sophie D. (Biedrzycki) Gottemoller.
After graduating from Northwestern University in 1953 with a degree in Chemical Engineering, he served in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. Jack then spent the next 30 years as a Chemical Engineer at Thiokol Chemical Corporation (ATK). He was most proud of his work for the NASA Space Program where he was involved in the manufacturing of the booster rockets.
He was a devoted member of Immaculate Conception Church, Elkton, MD. Jack and Sophie spent many hours working to upkeep the flower gardens at the church.
Jack enjoyed gardening and was especially proud of his organic vegetable garden. He was very mechanically inclined and loved working with his hands to invent and build useful household items. He always worked on his own cars and could make them run forever. Jack always fixed everything around the house, so much so that Jack and Sophie didn’t have to buy a washer or dryer for over 40 years.
Jack’s favorite event was the family crab and beer feast in August where his love of family brought everyone together as a whole at least once a year. His favorite food was undoubtedly CHOCOLATE. No matter how much he had to eat, he always had room enough for chocolate.
In addition to his loving wife, he is survived by their 7 children: Thomas V. Gottemoller(Barbara) of Mt. Zion, IL, Mary Fortunato (Howard) of Wilmington, DE, Paula Rakes (Earl) of Rising Sun, MD, Catherine Abraham (Anil) of Orlando, FL, Peter Gottemoller (Kelli) of Glenside, PA, Margaret Brewer (Dale) of Wilmington, DE and Eydie Triplett (James) of Midlothian, VA; 12 grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; and his siblings: Dr. James Gottemoller of Streator, IL and Maribeth Tomaso of Elk Grove, IL.
Visitation for family and friends will be held on Friday, June 27, 2014 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Crouch Funeral Home, P.A., 127 South Main Street, North East, MD and again on Saturday, June 28, 2014 beginning at 10:00 am at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, 454 Bow Street, Elkton, MD, with A Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am.
Interment will follow in Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Cherry Hill, Elkton, MD.
Flowers are welcome or contributions may be made to Mt. Aviat School or Immaculate Conception Church Outreach, both in care of the funeral home.
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