[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 87 (Friday, May 25, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E742-E743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO DR. LYNN E. WOLAVER
______
HON. MICHAEL R. TURNER
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Friday, May 25, 2018
Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying
tribute to a respected community leader, and a dear friend from my
congressional district, for his lifetime of service to our country and
to the people of Southwest Ohio.
Dr. Lynn E. Wolaver, age 94 of Fairborn, passed away Monday May 7,
2018 at the Hospice of Dayton. He was born March 10, 1924 in
Springfield, IL, the son of the late Lindle and Esther (Skoog) Wolaver.
Lynn is the former Mayor of the City of Fairborn, Ohio and Dean for
Research Emeritus at the Air Force Institute of Technology located at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He is a charter member of the
Federal Senior Executive Service and was first appointed to super grade
status in 1967 at the age of 43 at the USAF Aerospace Research
Laboratories where he was one of the Directors. His civilian protocol
status was DV-5 equivalent to a Major General.
His academic life includes time with the University of Illinois,
(BSEE 1949, MSEE 1950), The Ohio State University extension at Wright
Field (1951-1956) and the University of Michigan where he obtained the
Ph.D. degree (1964) in a program called Computers, Information and
Control Engineering.
Lynn was a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and
flew in C-47 aircraft in the European Theater of Operations with the IX
Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder Group.
The former Mayor started employment at Wright-Patterson in 1950 and
retired in 1988. He did research in the areas of navigation, guidance
and control, systems analysis, astrodynamics and bioengineering. In
addition to his job as Dean, he also served as Chairman of the System
Engineering Program and as a research Professor of Engineering Science.
Prior to joining AFIT in 1970, he was one of the directors of the
Aerospace Research Laboratories. He was a Project Engineer on the
Navigation System for the B-58, helped develop the release envelopes
for the Sidewinder Missile, and was a pioneer in precision trajectory
analysis. Lynn also served as Adjunct Professor in mathematics at
Wright State University for seven years starting with the first day it
opened its doors, and taught at the Ohio State Extension at Wright
Field, and at the Engineering and Science Institute of Dayton. He also
lectured at a number of management workshops including the Brookings
Institute, Federal Executive Institute, American Management Association
and the American Society for Engineering Education.
Lynn belongs to the standard set of honoraria including Eta Kappa Nu
(Electrical Engineering Honorary), Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honorary),
and Sigma Xi (Research Honorary). Among his honors and awards are
Senior Executive Bonus Awards, Meritorious Civilian Service Medal,
Exceptional Service Medal, University of Illinois Distinguished Alumnus
Award, Fairborn Chamber of Commerce Ed Duncan Distinguished Citizen
Award, Fairborn Chamber of Commerce Presidents Award, Fairborn
Ministerial Association Peace Maker Award, and induction into his
Springfield (Illinois) High School Hall of Fame and in 2006 he was
selected as Grand Marshal of the Fairborn Fourth of July Parade. Lynn
was selected as the Outstanding Senior Citizen in Greene County for
2009 by the Agency on Aging PSA2. He also received the prestigious E.
J. Nutter Award as outstanding Greene County Citizen for 2010. He was
inducted into the Ohio Seniors Hall of Fame in 2010 and a the Ohio
Veteran Hall of Fame in 2015. Lynn and his wife Arah-Dean were selected
as King and Queen of the Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival. He is a member
of the New York Academy of Science, the Society of Industrial and
Applied Mathematics, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,
Biofeedback Society, Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society,
Midwestern Simulation Council, charter member of the Astrodynamics
Committee of the American Rocket Society, member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for
Engineering Education. The former Mayor was listed in American Men and
Women of Science, Who's Who in Midwest (12th-16th edition), Who's Who
in Government, Directory of International Biography, Leaders in
American Science, World Space Directory, Outstanding Leaders in
Education and the Dayton, Ohio telephone directory.
Dr. Wolaver is the author of over 60 technical papers in the fields
of navigation, astrodynamics and nonlinear systems analysis and
physiological systems modeling. He has a textbook in Astrodynamics and
is a reviewer of technical articles for a number of journals, an editor
of the Brazilian Engenharia International Journal and served as
reviewer and consultant to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board,
National Science Foundation, and the Air Force Office of Scientific
Research.
He is also active in civic affairs being a member of the Fairborn
Chamber of Commerce, Fairborn Rotary Club and the American Legion. He
served six years on the City Planning Board, two years on the Zoning
Board of Appeals, eight years on City Council, two of those years as
Deputy Mayor and four years as Mayor. He was one of ten Dayton
corporate leaders on the Dayton Development Council's Science and
Technology Task Force that inventoried the area's technological assets
and made recommendations for strategies to expand jobs in technology.
He served on the Steering Committee of Challenge '95 and as
representative on the Miami Valley Research Park and on the Board of
Directors of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, member of
the Miami Valley Military Affairs Association and was a former Chairman
of the Board of Toward Independence.
He was a charter member of the Board of Trustees of the 2003
Committee, served as a Commissioner of the Dayton Aviation Heritage
National Historic Park, Commissioner of the Ohio Wright-Dunbar State
Park, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fairborn Senior
Citizens Center, and a member of the Board of Greene County Career
Center Adult Education Scholarship Endowment Fund. He helped start Kids
Voting in Greene County, was Co-Chairman of the Senior Citizens Levy
Campaign, served as Fairborn Rep on the Greene County Combined Health
District Board including a term as Chairman of the Board and served as
a volunteer for SAYUS Walkathon.
He was a member of the City of Fairborn Tax Incentive Review Council,
member of the Greene County Bar Association Ethics and Grievance
Committee, Vice-President of the Greene County Library Board of
Trustees, Vice-President of the Greene County Library Board of
Trustees, Congressman Hobson's Military Advisory Committee, and his
Academy Selection Advisory Committee. He was active with the Fairborn
Area Chamber of Commerce where he served on the Ambassadors Club. He
was a Presiding Precinct Judge with the Greene County Board of
Elections and was on the Board of Directors of the Fairborn Rotary Club
and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Wolaver represented Fairborn on the County
Advisory Board of the Greene County Council on Aging, and was then
appointed to the Board of the Greene County Council on Aging.
He was a member of the AFIT Foundation Board and was a member of the
Wright State University College of Liberal Arts Community Advisory
Board. He was also a charter member of the Fairborn Education
Foundation.
In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a brother and
sister-in-law, Donald and Donna Wolaver. Survivors include his wife of
69 years, Arah-Dean; two sons, Judge Stephen (Gayla Sue) Wolaver, Rick
Wolaver; two grandchildren, Scott (Kerri) Wolaver, Lindy Wolaver; and
two great-grandsons, Carter and Connor.
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