J. Carroll Tulloss Obituary (1917 - 2015)

Joseph Carroll Tulloss, a humble man and exemplary father, passed away on Friday, December 11, 2015. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife Estelle Kennedy Hutchins Tulloss, revered mother Helen Carroll Grafflin Tulloss, brother William Brice Tulloss Sr., sister Helen Clare Tulloss Pratt, and granddaughter Sarah Elizabeth King Tulloss. He is survived by his four children: Rodham Elliott Tulloss, wife Mary, of Roosevelt, NJ; Thomas Carroll Tulloss of Heidelberg, Germany, fiancee Eva Miklody of Debrecen, Hungary; Catherine Hutchins Tulloss Brookhart, husband Walter, of Houston, TX; and Estelle Keener Tulloss Wagner, husband Donald, of Moyers, WV. Also surviving are three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and long-time good friend of the family, Mabel H. Holt. Dad was born in Baltimore in 1917, an oldest son who took his responsibilities to his family seriously during the hardest of times. For a time during the Great Depression, he lived in Haymarket, VA. He learned from a Sears Roebuck pamphlet how to skin and prepare hides to sell. Once he was fortunate enough to catch a black muskrat. That pelt sold for the then enormous sum of five dollars. In the end, he was too gentle for trapping and gave it up. He graduated from The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in 1936. Later he had the character, persistence and dedication to complete a degree in electrical engineering at The Johns Hopkins University, attending night school for seven years while working full-time at Western Electric Company and being an active member of Lovely Lane Methodist Church. (His favorite single course at JHU was a study of Beowulf in Old English.) He met his devoted wife and life-long helpmate in his mid teens. They married the day after he graduated from JHU in 1943, and went on to raise their four children in Baltimore. He was a very active member of Grace United Methodist Church there. Dad volunteered with the Scouts as Cubmaster and Troop Committee Member, supporting his sons diligently in their successful bids for the top rank of Eagle Scout. He was always available to his daughters, a good listener, interested and encouraging, and provided them with the generous gift of a college education. He was a respected Christian gentleman and a kind, patient man. He demonstrated to his children the benefits of a strong faith, integrity, opposition to bigotry, patriotism, frugality, dignity, common sense, the intelligent and compassionate use of the carefully chosen word, and putting his family's needs before his own. He mastered the many hurdles he had to face in his life. As an engineer, he was kept stateside in WWII, and volunteered in every way he could, including donating blood. He always responded to emergency calls for his rare blood type, no matter the hour of the night, and gave 13 gallons over the years. Dad's career in manufacturing was intimately interwoven with the development and mass manufacture of the coaxial cable for telecommunications---especially undersea applications. He was always suggesting improvements for efficiency and safety and was granted three patents during his 44 year career at Western Electric. Upon his retirement, he was honored by many comments on achievements including the statement by a Bell Laboratories manager that Dad was the greatest designer of large machinery that the man had ever known. Weems, VA, was Mother and Dad's destination after he retired, where he finally got his much dreamed of sailboat. He also enjoyed planning and executing, with his usual precision, many home improvement projects. He enjoyed writing the three-stanza poem advertising Kilmarnock United Methodist's annual Spaghetti Supper for the local paper. Besides being an active member of the church, he was also a very active volunteer with the Interfaith Service Council in leading a group of men responsible for cutting, collecting and supplying wood to those in critical need of fuel for heating and cooking during cold weather. In addition, he volunteered with Meals on Wheels, and assembled an uncounted number of kits to build bluebird houses for the Audubon Society. In 2000, Dad and Mother moved to the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, VA, where they enjoyed activities within the community, trips and drives provided by their nearest child, and making new friends. To his children, Dad is irreplaceable. We are grateful for the myriad memories of him that are preserved within us and in many photographs and films in which he recorded his family as we grew. The family would like to express their sincere and deep appreciation to Dad's dependable, talented and very kind caregivers, LaOverture Fitz, Jr. and Dina Kabysh. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, December 16 at 2:00 p.m. at Otterbein United Methodist Church, 176 West Market Street, Harrisonburg, VA. A graveside service will be held at Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 17. Those who wish to honor Dad's memory may wish to make a donation in his name to the charity of their choice. Those wishing may share a memory or an online condolence by visiting www.mcmullenfh.com Arrangements entrusted to McMullen Funeral Home, Harrisonburg, VA. 540.833.2891