Obituary of WINFRED M. CRIM

Fred Crim was born March 23, 1923 and died April 3, 2013. He was born at the Riverside Hospital in Newport News, Virginia. His parents were Winfred M. Crim, Sr. and Ella Schofield Crim. Fred graduated from Maury High School Norfolk, Virginia in 1941 at the age of 18. He was drafted into the US Army shortly thereafter. He was trained in Texas as an engineer for special operations and first entered World War II in North Africa. He battled across North Africa and Sicily and then went to England to train as part of the D-Day invasion force. He landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and battled to within 30 miles of Berlin. For his distinguished service he was awarded a bronze star for pulling a fallen soldier to safety in spite of enemy fire and 2 Purple Hearts when he was shot and took shrapnel in the line of duty. Fred was discharged and entered the postwar work force at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Fred used the GI Bill to obtain a degree as a Mechanical Engineer at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in1950. While at VPI he met Eleanor “Spook” Powell of Lynchburg VA and they married soon after graduation. They were married 5 days before Fred was drafted again into the Army for duty in Korea. Fred returned to the US in 1951 and assigned to Ft. Myer VA to teach at the Engineering School. Fred was subsequently discharged in July 1952. Fred managed research projects for the Army Corps of Engineers at Ft. Belvoir VA specializing in specialized heavy equipment. Returning to school for advanced education Fred studied nuclear technology and worked toward a doctorate at the Oakridge Tennessee School of Reactor Technology. He achieved international recognition as a designer and builder of nuclear power plants and was instrumental in building the first successful closed cycle gas turbine power plant. He left Fort Belvoir in 1974 transitioning from Technical Director of the US Army Engineering Power Group to the Head of Advanced Power Conversion for the Office of Coal Research, which later became the Energy Research and Development Administration and is now the US Department of Energy. Fred was known in the community as the “rock” of the Messiah United Methodist Church where he was a longtime teacher both of youth and adult classes. Fred loved teaching the youth about the Bible and about Christ. After retiring from government service Fred also tutored young people in mathematics and physics. Fred was preceded in death by his wife Eleanor and is survived by a sister Virginia “Slatz” Draper, two sons, Winfred M. Crim III (Butch) and Kurt Crim, and a daughter Connie Crim Fauber. Six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren also survive him. Fred requested that all memorials be dedicated to the youth programs at Messiah United Methodist Church. Memorial donations may be sent to Messiah UMC, 6215 Rolling Rd., Springfield, VA 22152, and noted for Youth Missions.