John Douglas (Pete) Sterrett, Jr.

Male 1917 - 2005  (87 years)


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  • Name John Douglas (Pete) Sterrett 
    Suffix Jr. 
    Born 22 Aug 1917  Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Social Security Death Index
      Name: John D. Sterrett
      Last Residence: 23608 Newport News, Newport News City, Virginia
      BORN: 22 Aug 1917
      Died: 28 Jan 2005
      State (Year) SSN issued: Virginia (Before 1951)
    Gender Male 
    Died 28 Jan 2005  Newport News, VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Virginia, Deaths, 1912-2014. Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia.
      Name: John Douglas Sterrett
      Death Date: 28 Jan 2005
      Death Place: Newport News, VA
    Buried Timber Ridge ARP Church Cemetery, Timber Ridge, Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • CENSUS RECORDS

      1930 Census
      Name: John D Stuartt [Sterrett]
      Birth Year: abt 1918
      Gender: Male
      Race: White
      Birthplace: Virginia
      Marital Status: Single
      Relation to Head of House: Son (Child)
      Home in 1930: South River, Rockbridge, Virginia
      Attended School: Yes
      Able to Read and Write: Yes
      Father's Birthplace: Virginia
      Mother's Birthplace: Virginia
      Able to Speak English: Yes
      Household Members:
      John D Sterrett 40
      Mary L Sterrett 40
      John D Sterrett 12
      James R Sterrett 8

      OBITUARY

      Daily Press, Newport News, VA; 31 January 2005

      JOHN DOUGLAS 'PETE' STERRETT JR. Yorktown, John Douglas "Pete" Sterrett Jr., 87, died at Riverside Convalescent Center Friday, Jan. 28, 2005. He was born in Rockbridge Co., Va., Aug. 22, 1917, to Mary Lackey Sterrett and John Douglas Sterrett . After graduation from Washington and Lee University in 1938, he married Lula McCorkle Moore, also of Rockbridge County.

      During World War II, Pete served as a research physicist with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Silver Springs, Md., developing the proximity fuse for the U.S. Navy. In 1945, he was sent to Europe as a scientific consultant when the fuse was first introduced for use by Army artillery.

      As WWII ended in the European Theater, he remained for six weeks working with the Alsos Mission (now CIA) as part of a team to trace similar fuse projects under development in Germany.

      Following WWII he returned to Lexington where he became manager of the Rockbridge Farmer's Co-op and a part-time farmer. Later, Pete served two terms as the Rockbridge County Treasurer. Beginning as a cashier in the Rockbridge National Bank, he moved on to serve as President of First National Farmer's Bank in Wytheville. There, he became Senior Vice President and Manager when the bank merged with First National Exchange Bank of Roanoke. He was a graduate of Maryland-Virginia Bank Management School at University of Virginia, and American Institute of Banking. In 1972, he became President of Dominion Bank of the Peninsula where he organized offices in Williamsburg, Hampton, and Newport News. He retired as President of the Dominion Bank of Smithfield in 1979.

      After retiring from banking, he became the first Executive Director of York County Industrial Development. In 1976, in partnership with his son-in-law, Roger Copenhaver and Ronald Wade, he founded the Grafton True Value Hardware Store.

      Always active in church wherever he lived, Pete served as an Elder in the Timber Ridge, Wytheville, Williamsburg and Yorkminster Presbyterian Churches. He was also heavily involved in community affairs and was associated with many organizations in the communities in which he lived.

      Pete was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, James Robert Sterrett of Hampton. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Lula Moore Sterrett; three children, Rev. John Douglas "Doug" Sterrett III and wife, Rachel, of Warm Springs, Va., Martha Sterrett Schoonmaker and husband, Bill, of Centreville, Va., and Susan Sterrett Copenhaver and husband, Roger, of Yorktown, Va.; seven grandchildren, John B. Sterrett, Joseph W. Sterrett, Jonathan R. Grover, M. Todd Grover, Christine M. Schoonmaker, James W. Schoonmaker III and Anna K. Copenhaver. He also has three great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Ann Berry Sterrett of Hampton; and two nieces.

      Memorial Services will be held at Yorkminster Presbyterian Church in Yorktown, Va., on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 11 a.m., and at Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Va., on Thursday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m., with Inurnment in the Old Stone Church Cemetery.

      Expressions of sympathy may be made in memory of Mr. Sterrett to Yorkminster Presbyterian Church for their Building Fund, 6218 George Washington Memorial Highway, Yorktown, VA 23692, or to the Southeastern Correctional Ministries, 40 Kings Way, Hampton, VA.

      Arrangements by Amory Funeral Home, Grafton.
    Person ID I31036  Master File
    Last Modified 25 Aug 2015 

    Father John Douglas Sterrett,   b. 19 Feb 1889, Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 07 Dec 1971, Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 82 years) 
    Mother Mary Eglentine Lackey,   b. 26 Jan 1890, Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Jan 1961, Charlottesvile, Albemarle Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 70 years) 
    Family ID F13071  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Lula Moore 
    Notes 
    • For more information on this family, contact John Douglas Sterrett. III dougsterrett@gmail.com
    Children 
    +1. Rev. John Douglas Sterrett, III
     2. Martha Sterrett
     3. Susan Sterrett
    Last Modified 12 Jan 2016 
    Family ID F13072  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart