Theodore R Bechtol

Theodore Robert Bechtol, Sr., a long-time resident of Aberdeen, MD and who lived in Baltimore, MD at the time of his passing, died February 9, 2016 of heart failure. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Estelle Lucille Bechtol (Paquette). He was 90 years old. His children and grandchildren affectionately called him "TR." Family and friends remember his jovial personality and love of storytelling and music. Mr. Bechtol enjoyed science and engineering topics, astronomy, navigation technology and geography, and told family his personal hero was Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Mr. Bechtol built telescopes and optical instruments professionally and as a hobbyist, and always had magnifying glasses, rulers and maps within reach. He especially enjoyed tinkering and solving design challenges. Mr. Bechtol had a long career as a physicist at the Ballistics Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (1949-1986) and as a ballistics consultant to Combat Systems Test Activity, also at Aberdeen (1986-1989). He was born in McKeesport, PA on January 5, 1926, the youngest of seven children of his father, Carl Theodore Bechtol and mother, Alice F. (Logan) Bechtol. He was predeceased by his parents and his siblings, Anne Alice Bechtol Wylie, Rose Bechtol, James A. Bechtol, Carl Logan Bechtol, Harry A. Bechtol and William Hugh Bechtol. Mr. Bechtol attended McKeesport High School and graduated from The Pennsylvania State University, where he met his future wife. Mr. Bechtol played the trombone in the University's Blue Band. He was a member of the Steppingstone Museum Association, the Historical Society of Harford County, the Highland Society of Harford County, and the First Thursday Club. He was active in Boy Scouting from 1950 through 1967. In mid-life, he and Lucille traveled widely in Europe and in the United States. Mr. Bechtol took a life-long interest in woodworking and was a member of the Woodshop Club at the Oak Crest Village community, where he lived during retirement. Among his notable projects were wooden toys, including an elaborate dollhouse for his granddaughters and a barn and paddock for his grandsons, and numerous furniture refinishing projects. He contributed substantial private research to the history, preservation and cataloging of the Mason Dixon boundary marker stones, especially those in and near Harford County. He was an avid reader and worked a crossword puzzle daily. In addition to his wife, Mr. Bechtol is survived by two sons, Theodore Robert Bechtol, Jr. (Nancy) of Silver Spring, MD and David Charles Bechtol (Diane) of Alexandria, VA. He had four grandchildren, Keith Christopher Bechtol (Ellen), Sarah Elizabeth Bechtol Saar (Skylar), Erica Marie Bechtol and Gregory Robert Bechtol, his namesake. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews in Harford County, Carlisle, PA and in the McKeesport vicinity and in New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Funeral services will be conducted at the Oak Crest Village chapel at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13. Visitation is at 10 a.m., same location. Interment at Harford Memorial Gardens will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to the Consortium for Public Education, (Bechtol Family Foundation), 420 9th Street, McKeesport, PA 15132-4001 or to the Harford County Historical Society, 143 N. Main Street, Bel Air, MD 21014 Funeral Home: Tarring-Cargo Funeral Home 333 South Parke Street Aberdeen, MD US 21001