Donald R. Childs

Donald R. Childs, 81, formerly of Portsmouth RI, died Friday, December 23, 2011. He was the devoted husband of Dianne Childs to whom he was married for 47 years. Don, or Doc as he was known, was born on May 31, 1930 in Lynn, Massachusetts to Ray and Madeleine Childs. He attended Sanborn Seminary in Kingston, NH and then completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics at the University of New Hampshire, followed by a PhD in Physics at Vanderbilt University. He completed his post-doctoral training at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He began his career at Avco Corp. and joined the Naval Underwater Systems Center in 1969 where he worked until his retirement in 1995.During his career, Dr. Childs contributed to developing cutting-edge technology and received a special achievement award from NUSC for his efforts. He was even more enthusiastic about helping his children, daughter Donna Childs and son Daniel Childs, with their science fair projects and mentoring young science majors who interned for NUSC. A devoted family man, Dr. Childs was the brother-in-law of Ellen Dempsey and uncle to Sean and Seamus Dempsey. He was an active member of the fellowship of St. John the Evangelist in Newport. An avid Red Sox fan, he touched his neighbors with his thoughtfulness in bringing them souvenirs of Red Sox spring break training games, which he attended with his nephew Sean. He coached his childrens soccer and Little League teams and actively volunteered for the annual fair at St. Philomenas School, where his children were students.His funeral will be held on Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist, 61 Poplar Street, Newport.