William Frank Vetter

July 31, 1924 – October 6, 2016

William (Bill) F. Vetter, 92, of Lansdowne, VA passed away peacefully in the presence of his loving family at Inova Loudon Hospital on Thursday, October 6.  Bill was born July 31, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY, the son of the late Frank and Barbara Vetter. He is preceded in death by his brother, Richard Vetter, with whom he shared the birthday of July 31.

Bill is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joan M. Vetter; sister, Marian (Peter) Senatore of Pound Ridge, New York; his five children, Gerard (Kathleen) Vetter of Baltimore, MD; Thomas (Lynn) Vetter of Montgomery Village, MD; Janice (Bob) Vetter Curran of Baltimore, MD; Eileen (Nathan) Brandon of Evans, GA; and Paul (Janet) Vetter of Derwood, MD, and his seven grandchildren, Drew (Tina) Vetter of Baltimore, MD; Suzanne (Andrew) Burnett of Annapolis, MD; Peggy Vetter of Annapolis, MD; Hutton Brandon of Augusta, GA; Nolan Brandon of Annapolis, MD; Michael Vetter of Derwood, MD; and Lelia Vetter of Montgomery Village, MD, and one great granddaughter Anna Fay Vetter of Baltimore, MD.

Bill grew up winning marble and stickball matches on the dirt streets of Queens, NY. He found it amusing his name was published in the Long Island Daily Press for winning the handcrafted wooden sailboat race on Baisley Pond, rather than for being valedictorian of P.S. 140 in 1938. He played the violin at his graduation ceremony.

After graduating from Andrew Jackson High School in 1942, Bill attended Queens College in Flushing, Long Island. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in January 1943, completing the Amherst College pre-meteorology program in 1944. After his honorable discharge from military service in February 1946, Bill entered Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, graduating with an applied physics degree in 1948. He later earned a master of science degree in mathematics in 1958 from Adelphi College in Garden City, New York.

Bill began his long and distinguished career in engineering at Hazeltine Electronic Corporation in NY where he worked for eight years in design, development and research, receiving patents in the radar field. He began working for Republic Aviation in March 1956 where he achieved one of his proudest accomplishments--designing the avionics suite for the F105 aircraft.  Bill worked for nearly 30 years for Republic Aviation (later Fairchild Industries), becoming director of strategic planning while working with rocket scientist Dr. Werner Von Braun.

After living for more than 25 years in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Bill retired to lake living with Joan near Fredericksburg, Virginia for 15 years. They settled at Lansdowne Woods nine years ago.

Bill was known for his skills as a bridge and horseshoes player and a bowler. and also enjoyed gardening, golfing and swimming. Above all, he deeply loved and cared for his family and was a model of strength, faith and honesty.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to St. Theresa Catholic Church at 21371 St. Theresa Lane, Ashburn, VA 20147 https://sainttheresaparish.com/

or the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum, Office of Advancement, P.O. Box 92192, Washington, D.C. 20090-2192 https://airandspace.si.edu/udvar-hazy-center

A memorial gathering will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Colonial Funeral Home in Leesburg, VA on Monday, October 10 and a funeral mass on Tuesday, October 11 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Ashburn, VA. A private internment service will be held Wednesday, October 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Laurel Hill Memorial Park in Spotsylvania, VA.

Friends and family may post email condolences or words of comfort at: www.colonialfuneralhome.com

The family wishes to thank the compassionate doctors, nurses and staff who cared for Bill at Inova Loudon Hospital.