- Date Of Birth: June 30, 1921
- Date Of Death: April 13, 2018
- State: Idaho
Lawrence Anthony Zaladonis died on April 13, 2018 at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical
Center. He was born on June 30, 1921 in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Anthony and Helen
Zaladonis. He lettered in football, basketball, and baseball while in high school. He
enjoyed kayaking on the Hudson River and around Manhattan Island. After graduating
he worked for Singer Manufacturing Company as a toolmaker apprentice until enlisting
in the U.S. Navy during WWII. During WWII he served as a Navy Seabee stationed at military bases in the Aleutian
Islands of Alaska, Oxnard, CA, and Longview, WA. where he worked on special
assignments as a machinist and draftsman. After the war he was employed as a
machine designer at Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Company and later the U.S. Naval
Missile Base in Pt. Mugu, California. His training led him to Idaho Falls with his family
in 1952 where he was employed with the Atomic Energy Commission. He worked in
engineering and design on several nuclear reactor plant systems and in project
engineering. His employment at “The Site” continued until his retirement in 1986. He
was a member of the Society of Mechanical Engineers and was proud of his projects
and several patents that he helped develop. He enjoyed solving design problems until
the last years of his life. While stationed in Longview, WA he met and married his wife of 67 years, Joyce Maxine
Hudson. Together they raised 5 children. They loved to travel and spent summer
vacations with their family along the Oregon coast.
