John A. Devanney

Devanney, John Aloysius, Ph, D., 83, of Bel Air, MD passed away at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson, October 1. He is survived by his beloved wife Peggy (Hopkins) Devanney, his two children, John A. Devanney (Gigi) of Bel Air, MD, and daughter Joyce A. Devanney of Rockville, MD, and three adored grandchildren, Drew, Daniel and Elizabeth Devanney. He was a wonderful uncle to his many nieces and nephews.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1935, he is the last surviving child of the late Dr. Frederick A. & Eleanor (Parkinson) Devanney. He was the brother of the late Frances T. Devanney, Eleanor Coughlin, Frederick Devanney, Mary Haggerty, Joseph A. Devanney and his twin brother, Dr. William Devanney, who passed away in 2014. For almost the past 60 years, he has made his home in Harford County.

Jack, as he was known to everyone, graduated from St Raphael’s Academy in Pawtucket, RI in 1952 and received his bachelor’s degree in Physics from Providence College in 1957; enlisted in the U.S. Army and then continued his studies eventually earning his Ph.D. in Radiation Biophysics from the University of Kansas in 1973.

Jack worked for the Bureau of Radiological Health, a division of the Food and Drug Administration and was a member of the team sent to assess consequences of the Three Mile Island incident. After retiring from civil service, he worked as a consultant for more than 20 years providing health physics service nationwide, often solicited to provide expert witness testimony. He made several trips to North Korea as a member of the international team supporting the U. S. Department of State.

He and his wife Peggy loved to travel and enjoyed Europe and Hawaii as well as the many places his consulting work took him, including areas surrounding Hanford, Washington, Buffalo, New York, and several locations in New Mexico. Always adventurous, Jack earned his private pilot license and was also a scuba diver. Growing up in Rhode Island and spending summers on Block Island launched a lifelong love of the ocean, which he fulfilled later by spending time at his second home in Ocean City, MD.

A loving family man, after retiring for the second time, he became even more active with his grandchildren, cheering them on at their games and activities and even occasionally chaperoning field trips.

A longtime member of St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Hickory, MD, Jack was a true optimist with the rare ability to turn every negative into a positive. Young at heart, he loved to help those around him and was the life of every party. We were blessed to have had him in our lives for as long as we did.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly suggests contributions in his name be made to the HVI Gift Fund at Johns Hopkins Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute, Development Office, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Blalock 536, Baltimore, MD 21287. For online credit card contributions visit https://secure.jhu.edu/form/heart. Select “Other” from the drop down menu and enter “HVI Gift Fund” in the line that follows. Note on the online form that the gift is in memory of Dr. John A. Devanney.