DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060398

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   35 lines

JERRY L. CHAMPION

Jerry L. Champion, 57, formerly of Florida Avenue, died Nov. 2, 1997, in a Houston, Texas, hospital after a brief battle with cancer.

Born and raised in Portsmouth, the loving son of Hunter W. and Dorothy Rose Champion, he lived with his wife, Betty, in Dumfries, Va. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and received a bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. He served in the Army and continued his government service at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth before going on to a long career with the Federal Aviation Administration in Longmont, Colo., and Washington, D.C. While with the FAA, he served as national program manager, and was instrumental in implementing air traffic control systems and related electronics for the recently opened Denver International Airport and more recently was division manager in charge of the Transition and Implementation Division of the FAA in Washington.

Survivors include his wife, Betty Coe Rohrer Champion, also a native of Portsmouth; his son, James Hunter Champion and his wife, Karin, of Tampa, Fla.; his daughter, Deborah Coe Peterson and her husband, Stephen, of Broomfield, Colo.; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Champion of Portsmouth; two brothers, E. Wayne Champion and Larry A. Champion Sr., both of Portsmouth; a sister, Carolyn A. Champion of Portsmouth; four grandchildren, Samantha Coe Peterson, Alexandra Nicole Peterson, Hunter James Champion and Corie Elizabeth Champion; and a host of other family and friends.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. today in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens by the Rev. Nelson Fields Jr. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the PDQ system of the National Cancer Institute, Dept. Suite 200, 100 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, Ca. 91203. Sturtevant Funeral Home, Portsmouth Blvd. Chapel, is in charge of arrangements. KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY

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