George Franklin Crichton, Jr., 87, an electrical engineer in the Washington D.C. area for many years and a U. S. Navy veteran of WWII, departed this earth to be with The Lord on September 26, 2014 at his home in Lancaster, Va.

He was born in Woodbury, N.J. on January 6, 1927, the son of the late George F. Crichton and Virginia Jackson Crichton. At age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served on the destroyer USS Benner during combat operations in the Pacific. He and his shipmates survived a typhoon as the ship barely escaped capsizing. His military service was a touchstone for the rest of his life.

After the war, he had a distinguished career as an electrical engineer with several Washington area firms. At one point, while updating the security system in the White House, he was greeted and thanked by President Richard Nixon for his work.

He and his wife JoAnne Mullen moved to the Northern Neck of Virginia in 1994, where he pursed his love of cruising and fishing in the Chesapeake Bay area. He raised oysters as a hobby on the Corrottoman River. He also enjoyed gardening, boatbuilding, cooking, stock car racing, Jim Beam, and New Orleans jazz. His love of his family was paramount in his life.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Jackson Crichton. He is survived by his beloved wife of 44 years, JoAnne Mullen Crichton; his sister Nancy Crichton Day and her husband, Joseph, of Santa Fe, N.M.; his daughters, Janis Crichton of Silver Spring, Md., Diane Ward and her husband, Chip, of Gaithersburg, Md., Sue Fortin and her husband, Larry, of Frederick, Md., Joan Cabrera and her husband, Hector, of Frederick, Md.; 13 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and his beloved dog, Katey.

He was a member of the Great Falls, Va. Lions Club, River Bend Country Club, Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club, KIWS Rotary Club, Yankee Point Racing and Cruising Club, and the Moran Creek Yacht Club.

Memorial Services will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, October 4, 2014 at Currie Funeral Home, Kilmarnock, Va. A private interment will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of Virginia, P.O. Box 2098, Tappahannock, VA 22560 or the Animal Welfare League, P.O. Box 975, White Stone, VA 22578.