Plankowner
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Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map. | Subject: Eternal Patrol
Milford S. “Terry” Terrass, Commander, US Navy, Retired, died on 9 May 2017 in Richland, WA.
Born in Los Angeles, CA on 8 November 1925, he entered the US Naval Academy in June 1944 and as a member of the class of 1948A graduated in June 1947. His 21 years in the Navy were mostly served in submarines in the Atlantic. While on his first sub, the USS Tusk, Terry participated in the harrowing rescue of the crew of the USS Cochino before it sank on August 25th, 1949. He then served on two diesel subs before entering Admiral Rickover’s Nuclear Navy, where he was assigned to duty on the prototype of the sodium cooled reactor plant and the subsequent commissioning of the USS Seawolf. He went on to direct the enlisted academic course at the Nuclear Power School in New London, CT, serve as executive officer on the USS Croaker and as commanding officer of the USS Trutta. Terry then commanded the USS Abraham Lincoln, his favorite submarine, for 6 years, through 9 patrols and a major overhaul.
Declining a promotion to Captain, he retired and moved the family, much to the delight of his wife Jackie, to Palo Alto, CA, and earned an MBA at Stanford University in 1970. Having returned to the nuclear industry, he then moved to Richland in 1978 to work for WPPSS, now Energy Northwest. Participating in a variety of nuclear training activities, he was particularly proud of his role in making it possible for nuclear plant personnel to earn accredited Bachelor of Science Nuclear Technology degrees.
His retirement in 1991 allowed him and Jackie to accelerate the world travels they had begun in 1953. He had met Marion “Jackie” Jackson, a pilot, in 1946 and they married in 1949. Three daughters, Cheryl, Adrienne and Leigh, followed. After Jackie’s death in 1998, Terry continued to travel both domestically and abroad. He made a “Final Grand Tour” in 2008, driving over 11,000 miles within the U.S. and seeing many old friends and Navy sites. His last two years were marred by the sudden death of his oldest daughter, Cheryl.
Terry is survived by his daughter Adrienne, her husband Aldo Tarigo and son Theron; his daughter Leigh and her daughter Sitar; his son-in-law Dick Naslund, and his and Cheryl’s children Sterling, Skye, Neelam, Kalindi and Cambria; and his sister, Bethany Harness.
A party to celebrate his life will be held at the Community Unitarian Universalist Church, 2819 W Sylvester St, Pasco, WA on Saturday May 20 at 1 pm. Some of his favorite foods will be served. |
Eternal Patrol
