Luther P. Quick, WA2DTA, 88, of Fincastle, passed away unexpectedly Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at Centra Lynchburg General Hospital.
Luther was born in Asbury, N.J. on September 5, 1932 and lived in Fincastle since 2002. He was the son of the late Luther F. and Ada M. Deremer Quick.
After a stint in the Army and another in the Air Force, he attended school in Maryland and was hired by Western Electric as a Junior Engineer assigned to Bell Telephone Laboratories in Whippany, N.J. There he was assigned to projects in South America, White Sands, N.M., and Kwajalein Island in the South Pacific on the Nike-Zeus ABM system. Later, he was employed by Philco TechRep Division as a Site Engineer and instructor for the Spanish Air Force personnel in RADAR maintenance of Heavy Ground RADAR equipment. At the end of that contract he moved to Germany where he was employed by Bendix Field Engineering as an Engineer doing contract maintenance of military electronics throughout Europe. At the beginning of the manned space flight program he was transferred back to Spain to the Deep Space Instrumentation Facility as well as the Apollo station being built there.
After about eight years he was transferred back to Goddard Space Center in Maryland where he was assigned to a flight crew testing NASA’s many remote sites around the world. Other assignments had him testing satellites prior to launch, and designing special equipment for the 85-foot dish antennas.
After 12 years with Bendix he returned to New Jersey where he worked for various firms as a Design Engineer; another five years with Bell Communication Research and he left to begin his own business. Luther spent many years as a world traveler, having been in 47 countries. He spent 15 years in Spain as well as six years in Germany. He was a HAM radio enthusiast, and a beekeeper.
In addition to his parents, Luther was preceded in death by his wife, Carmine Ferrara Quick; sons, Luther Quick of New York, Angelo (Donna) Quick of Midlothian, Roger Sargeant of Kansas, Gary Sargeant of Alabama, Colleen (Rick) Carrell of Roanoke, Patrick (Laura) McPhillips of Hackettstown, N.J., Daniel McPhillips of Wake Forest, N.C., and Benedict (Carol) McPhillips of Dixon, Ill.; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and his beloved dog, Duffy.
A celebration of Luther’s life along with military honors was held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 at Rader Funeral Home, Daleville with Ben Peyton officiating. Inurnment was in Arlington National Cemetery. The family received friends two hours prior to the service Saturday.
Memorial contributions may be made to Salvation Army of the Roanoke Valley, P.O. Box 12088, Roanoke, 24013.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.rader-funeralhome.com.
