THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602030273
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Dr. Joseph Aaron Stern, 68, founder and Chairman of the Board of The Bionetics Corporation, passed away on Wednesday evening, Jan. 31, 1996.
A New York native, but a long-time Hampton Roads resident and business leader, Dr. Stern had a diverse professional history. He earned Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in food technology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a professor at the College of Fisheries at the University of Washington in Seattle, held upper management positions with the Boeing Company and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, published over 50 articles in a broad range of scientific and technical areas, as well as owning and operating several small businesses.
His awards, memberships and activities included the following: Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Associate Fellow, American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics; NASA Certificate of Outstanding Achievement, Viking Team; NASA Certification of Appreciation and Recognition, Planetary Quarantine Program, NASA Public Service Award; Sigma Xi and Phi Lambda Upsilon, Professional Honor Societies; Member, Signet Bank Peninsula Board; founding member and past president of the Virginia Space Business Round Table; Board Member, Contract Services Association; and Member, Virginia Peninsula Economic Development Council, Vice President and Active Board Member of Temple Sinai, and on the endowment fund committee of the United Jewish Community of the VA Peninsula.
Dr. Stern founded The Bionetics Corporation in 1969 to perform planetary quarantine support for NASA Langley Research Center's Viking Project. For 27 years, the company has provided a wide range of technical, professional, operational and maintenance support services to the government as well as private industry. Dr. Stern successfully lead Bionetics in completing over 680 government contracts at a total revenue of approximately one billion dollars. The Company holds or has held contracts with NASA, the Department of Defense, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Transportation, various commercial customers such as Lockheed, Martin Marietta, Exxon, Wyeth-Ayerst, Merck, Anheauser Busch and numerous state and local governments.
Dr. Stern will be fondly remembered by those who were fortunate enough to have known him, for his contributions to the community as well as his leadership and vision in industry.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Phyllis A. Stern, of Hampton; two daughters, Carole A. Hofmann of Hampton and Beth E. Caylor of Newport News; a son, Charles J. Stern of Newport News and seven grandchildren, William Talbott, Joanna Talbott, Benjamin Talbott, Danielle Hofman, Gregory Stern, Sarah Stern and Sarah Caylor.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, February 5, at Temple Sinai on Warwick Blvd. in Newport News. Immediately following the funeral service, there will be a brief service at Peninsula Memorial Park Cemetery on Warwick Blvd. Both services are open to all family and friends.
The corporate office of The Bionetics Corporation will be closed on Monday in memory of Dr. Stern.
The family requests that donations, in lieu of flowers, be made to Temple Sinai, 11620 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, VA; The Joseph A. Stern Endowment Fund of the United Jewish Community of the VA Peninsula, 2700 Spring Road, Newport News, VA; or the Riverside Dialysis Division, Patient Assistance Fund, C/O RRMC Dialysis, 500 J. Clyde Morris Blvd, Newport News, VA.
Arrangements by Weymouth Funeral Home, Newport News, VA. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB