Andrew Favret

Died

FAVRET ANDREW GILLIGAN FAVRET Andrew Gilligan Favret, former Dean of the Catholic University School of Engineering and Architecture, and father of eleven children, died January 27, 2020 at Georgetown University Hospital. He was 94 years old. Andy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 9, 1925. He graduated from Purcell High School, and after studying engineering for a year at the University of Dayton, entered the US Military Academy in 1942. After graduating West Point in 1945, he served as an armored vehicle officer in Germany for two years following World War II. He obtained a masters degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked on the development of the UNIVAC computer. While studying in Philadelphia, he met and married Loretta Moore in 1949. He was then stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas where he supervised a team developing early versions of the Army's guided missile system. After separating from the Army in 1954, Andy accepted a position at the Digital Computer Lab at MIT in Cambridge Mass. He developed an expertise in early computer systems and later on worked on prototypes for air defense systems and air traffic control systems. In 1955, Andy and his family moved to the Washington DC area where he worked for the defense products group at AMF, and later at the Pentagon as senior scientific advisor to Army Intelligence. It was during this period that Andy was sequestered in a Pentagon vault with high ranking military officials monitoring developments during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During this time also, Andy completed a doctoral program in electrical engineering at Catholic University. After one of his children experienced fetal distress during childbirth, he conducted research with OB-GYN faculty at Georgetown University Hospital, investigating whether digital processing used in radar might be used to monitor the fetal heart rate during labor. He obtained a grant from the National Heart Institute and spent several years researching and publishing on this topic. He left the Pentagon in 1963 and joined the faculty at Catholic University, where he spent the next 27 years. He wrote Introduction to Digital Computer Applications in 1965, one of the first textbooks used widely in university classes in computer science. He founded and directed the University's computer center in 1969. In 1974, Andy took a leave of absence from his faculty position to work for four years at CIA headquarters focusing on Soviet air defense capabilities and satellite reconnaissance planning. Upon his return to the university, he became Acting Dean and then Dean of the School of the Engineering and Architecture, and served a two year term as chairman of the Academic Senate. In 1985, he was appointed to the Army Science Board, a group of engineers and scientists who worked with Army staff doing studies of and reviewing Army systems and military bases. He retired from Catholic University in 1990, becoming Professor Emeritus. He was a long time member of the Cosmos Club and belonged to several professional organizations. A devout Catholic, Andy and his wife helped form in the US the Teams of Our Lady, an international movement for Catholic married couples. Over nearly forty years, they served in a variety of leadership roles, traveling regularly to Europe for international meetings. Andy and Loretta were also appointed by the Archdiocese of Washington to conduct and train other couples in Pre-Cana marriage preparation classes. Upon retirement, Andy and Loretta moved to Waynesboro, PA for several years, where he worked as a "gentleman farmer", gardening, tending bee hives, making wine and growing Christmas trees. They later moved to Bethany Beach, DE. For the past several years, Andy and Loretta resided at Buckingham's Choice retirement community in Adamstown, MD. Andy is predeceased by his parents, James R. and Helen Gilligan Favret, his brothers, Rev J. Raymond Favret and John A. Favret, his sister Sally Crane, his son Dr. Patrick Favret, his granddaughter Sophia Miller and his wife of 69 years Loretta Moore Favret. He is survived by his brothers William Favret and H. Richard Favret (Gayle), and a sister Jeanne Dell (Daniel) and two sister in laws Annemarie Moore Furey and Elizabeth Moore Brady. A wonderful and caring father for nearly 70 years, Andy was beloved by his children and spouses who survive him: Andrew A. and Elizabeth Byrd Favret; Peter J. and Diane L. Favret, Michael J. Favret, Mary Green Favret Kerley and Vincent Kerley, Thomas R. and Sylwia M. Favret, Mary A. Favret and Andrew H. Miller, James V. Favret and Vicki Barstow, Loretta M. Favret and Richard Mead, Martin A. and Cynthia H. Favret, John D. Favret, Anne M. Favret and William Gallagher. Twentytwo grandchildren and their spouses also survive him, along with four great grandchildren. A visitation will take place at 10:30 a.m. before the funeral mass at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 1 at Little Flower Catholic Church in Bethesda, Maryland. Donations may be made to SOME (So Others Might Eat) in Washington DC or a .

Source: The Washington Post

Published on: 30-01-2020