John Edward Siedlarz

John Edward Siedlarz, 66, of Easton, MD passed away on Tuesday April 21, 2009 at the University of Maryland Medical Center surrounded by his loving family. John was born August 29, 1942 in the small coal-mining town of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. His father, John Siedlarz was a coal-miner and his mother Mary (Uhas) Siedlarz was a seamstress. As a young man he attended St Charles Borromeo seminary in Philadelphia, instilling in him a life-long love and respect for his Catholic faith. Returning to Shenandoah, he graduated from Shenandoah Catholic High School as the student body president. After High School he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1960 and was later commissioned as an officer through the Airman’s Education and Commissioning Program where he also earned a B.A. in Public Administration from the University of Arizona. While an officer, he served a tour of duty in Vietnam and received a Bronze Star Medal for his actions during the Tet offensive of 1968. John served in various assignments specializing in nuclear and weapons system security until his eventual retirement in 1980. After retirement from the Air Force, he settled his family in Indian Mills, NJ where he founded and managed a number of companies in the security systems and engineering industry performing studies in nuclear and infrastructure security and completing threat assessments for the Architect of the Capitol, where he helped design a new security program for the U.S. Capitol Complex. Together with the scientific inventors, he helped develop and innovate the world’s first Iris recognition system. Co-founding a company dedicated to this technology, he won numerous small business and entrepreneurial awards. Later, after the events of 9/11 he moved his family to Easton, MD and co-founded a non-profit organization in Washington DC and Morgantown, WV, funded by Congress, called the National Biometric Security Project chartered to conduct impartial biometric security studies for the government and private industry. During his many years in the security industry he helped establish and/or serve as spokesman for trade organizations such as the International Biometric Industry Association, the National Defense Industrial Association and the American Society of Industrial Security. He also used his talents for various charitable interests, most notably serving as President and trustee of the Board of Trustees for the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. Outside of business, John enriched his life and those around him with many interests. He was an avid reader of military history, loved wooden boats pouring his passion into a 41’ Mathews. He had an equal passion for restoring classic British sports cars particularly the E-type Jaguar and spent many hours modeling the old coal-mining trains he watched as a boy. Beside his family, his greatest passion was his dream home he called “Eventide,” which he built with his wife on the Miles River in Easton, MD. John is survived by his beloved wife Paula R. Siedlarz; three children and four grandchildren, John A. Siedlarz with wife Criste and granddaughter Catherine of Germantown, MD; Karen M. Siedlarz with husband Eric Cochran and grandson Evan of Middletown, MD; and Joseph F. Siedlarz with wife Leanne and grandsons Joseph Jr. and Benjamin of Alexandria, VA; two step-children Ryan James Protos and Alexandra Nicole Protos all of Easton, MD; John’s older brother Leonard J. Siedlarz of Egg Harbor Township, NJ; numerous God-children, nephews, nieces and brothers and sisters in-law and mother in-law Lorna Helfrick of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Friends may call at the Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home P.A., Easton, Monday, April 27, 2009 from 7-9pm. A Funeral liturgy will be celebrated at 10:00AM on Tuesday April 28, 2009, at St. Michael’s Mission Church, in St. Michael’s, MD. Burial will be in the Oxford cemetery, Oxford Maryland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Huntington’s Disease Society of America at https://www.hdsa.org/donations.html.

John Edward Siedlarz

August 29, 1942 - April 21, 2009