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SHAYKIN -- JEROME DAVID Was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 28, 1917, and passed away in Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 31, 2012. He was the second of four sons of Hyman and Fannie, Russian Jewish immigrants who came to America in 1910. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers; and his wife of 53 years, Eleanor. He is survived by his son David; daughter Nanci Beckes and her husband Jerry; many nieces and nephews; and the Beckes/Talcott family. Jerome graduated from the University of Illinois in 1942 where he majored in bacteriology and chemistry. He did post graduate studies in the sanitary sciences, stream pollution control, and the treatment of sewage and industrial wastes at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He worked for the U.S. Public Health Service doing malaria mosquito control in the industrial areas of central Illinois. He also worked as a chemist/bacteriologist for the Sanitary District of Chicago. He was employed by the Armour Laboratories as a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals from animal glands, and he also helped Armour conform to the Food and Drug Administration and its plant sanitation requirements. In 1948, he and his wife Eleanor and daughter Nanci moved from Chicago to Los Alamos where he accepted a position with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission as a sanitary chemist/bacteriologist where he helped to develop methods for the removal of radionuclides from liquid waste streams. His son David was born in Los Alamos six months afterwards. At Los Alamos, he also engaged in Public Health and Environmental Sanitation for the city and county. He served as an environmental health advisor to the Santa Fe District Health Officer and supervised the Boy Scouts in the area who chose to earn a public health merit badge. In 1965, the Atomic Energy Commission transferred him to Albuquerque Operations Headquarters where he served as an environmental health, sanitation and industrial hygiene advisor to its twelve contractor operated offices in the continental United States. He used a collegial approach in the resolution of industrial health and sanitation problems and he was well respected and held in high regard by the AEC, contractors, and his fellow workers in the Operational Safety Division. During his thirty two years of employment with the AEC, he received three promotions and was rewarded with two superior performance awards. He was president of the Los Alamos Lodge of B'nai B'rith and a member its District Grand Lodge, president of the Los Alamos Jewish Center of which he was a founding father, a member of the U.S. Public Health Association, New Mexico Public Health Association, and a member of the American and Illinois Societies for Bacteriology, Radiological Health Association, and the American Sewage Works Association. He had a few close friends, many acquaintances, and no known enemies. One of the biggest disappointments of his life was that he was classified 4F and unable to serve his country during WWII due to a childhood injury. After his retirement, he tried, without success, to improve his golf game. He loved his country, his family, his friends, dogs, and a good joke. He hopes to be remembered as a compassionate human being and a patriot who had faith in the concepts of American democracy despite the partisanship of its elected officials. He requested that no memorial service be held, and cremation has taken place. This summer, his remains will be spread in the same places where his wife was scattered seventeen years ago. He will be sorely missed by his loved ones who feel that he was a loving and kind, gentle man.
        Published on: Sun February 19, 2012