Thomas R. Trafton Jr.

Thomas Rucker Trafton, Jr., Major, U.S. Army retired, of Fallston died April 9, 2007 at Lorien Nursing & Rehabilitation Center of Bel Air. He was 86 years old.

He was born October 11, 1920 in Henderson, Kentucky, the son of the late Thomas Rucker Trafton, Sr. and Lula Miriam Clay Trafton. He was the husband of Doris Annie Macklin Trafton for 62 years.

Mr. Trafton graduated from Rock Island High School in Illinois and was attending the University of Illinois when his education was interrupted by World War II. He was part of the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge as a member of the 575th Motor Ambulance Company. He returned with his English bride, Doris, to complete his degree in chemical engineering at the University of Illinois. When war broke out in Korea he served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Mr. Trafton moved to Maryland in 1956 to work for the Glenn L. Martin Company, and later for Catalyst Research Corporation and Aircraft Armaments Incorporated, before joining the Ballistics Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, retiring in 1982 after 18 years of service. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Mensa, the Forty & Eight, the American Legion, and an honorary member of the Royal British Legion.

Mr. Trafton was an avid reader who was very interested in geneology and loved animals. He was an Eagle Scout and was very patriotic.

Mr. Trafton is survived by his wife, Doris Annie Trafton of Fallston, MD; his son, Thomas M. Trafton of Edgewood, MD; two daughters, Kathleen Trafton Presecan of Lakeland MI, and Jane Trafton-Winch of San Antonio, TX; daughter-in-law, Karen
Trafton of Bel Air, MD; seven grandchildren, Wendy Starnes of Vero Beach, FL; LCDR Norman N. Presecan, USN, of Pt. Mugu, CA; Major Thomas H. Presecan, USMC, of Quantico, VA; Bridget E. Trafton of White Marsh, MD; Shannon L. Ward of Charleroi, PA; Erin K. and Elyssa J. Winch of San Antonio, TX; and three great grandchildren. His son, Richard S. Trafton, preceded him in death.

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to Christ Church Memorial Fund, PO Box 251, 2100 Rock Spring Road, Forest Hill, MD 21050.