Cdr. Richard A. Zyvoloski, USN (Ret.) died of cancer 1 June 1992 at his home in Falls Church, Va.  He was born in Anchorage, Alaska.  Dad grew up in Chitna, Alaska, in Minnesota and in Washington D.C.  He joined the Navy in 1940 and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946.  He married my mother, Eileen G. Cramer, immediately after graduation.  Before the Korean War, James R. and Jane L. Zyvoloski were born.

    Cdr. Zyvoloski served in the Korean War, then served a tour teaching mathematics and marine engineering at the Naval Academy.   It was there, that I had the privilege to be born, (Richard A., Jr.). My little sister, Mary E. was born in Rhode Island before the next tour to Cuba.  After GITMO, dad went to BEUSHIPS, in Washington D.C. followed by assignments at Mayport, Fl on  the USS Shangri-La (CVA-38) as the Gunnery Officer and dad commanded the destroyer USS H.J. Ellison (DD-864).  We kids love the ship and crew of the USS Ellison.  Dad would let me stay on the ship when it was in port and he would go home.  Dad's last assignment in the Navy was as the Executive Officer of the Fleet Anti-Air Warfare Training Center (FAAWTC) at Dam Neck, Va.  (Listening to the sailors at the time, they seemed to have a high regard for dad because he was concerned for their welfare and well being, as exemplified by him constructing more off duty recreational facilities and activities for the men.)   Dad retired from the Navy in 1966.

    After retiring, Cmdr. Zyvoloski returned to the Washington D.C. area and worked as a marine engineer for Stanwick Corp. in Arlington for two years.  He later worked a year in Quincy, Mass for General Dynamics, and then worked ten years as a civilian naval engineer for the Dept. of the Navy in Washington D.C.  At about this time, dad remarried and had a son named, Anthony.

    Following his second retirement, he spent three years in France, returning to Washington to work from 1981 to 1987 as a consultant to Harbridge House defense contractors in Crystal City, Va.

    BOTTOM LINE:  Dad loved the Navy!