- Date Of Birth: September 25, 1945
- Date Of Death: December 24, 2019
- State: Pennsylvania
Terry Joseph Delph, 74, died peacefully at home, on Christmas Eve after a courageous battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family.
Terry was born September 25, 1945 in Lynch, KY. At the age of 16, he became the youngest licensed pilot in the U.S. He attended Georgia Tech on a Navy ROTC scholarship, where he graduated first in his class in Aerospace Engineering. There he met an Agnes Scott College student named Virginia. He and Virginia married in 1970 after Terry obtained his master’s degree in Aeronautics at CalTech in Pasadena, CA, and taught for one year at the Monterey Naval Postgraduate School. They settled in Albany, GA where Terry served in the Navy.
Having decided to pursue teaching after his experience in Monterey and to return to the temperate Californian climate, Terry enrolled in the PhD program at Stanford University in 1973. With his doctorate in Applied Mechanics in hand, he moved with Virginia and their three children to Bethlehem, PA, to begin a 34-year teaching career in the Mechanical Engineering department of Lehigh University in 1979.
In addition to the deep satisfaction he found as an educator and researcher, Terry derived endless joy from running and formed deep and lasting bonds with his running partners. A nationally-ranked runner, Terry competed in races at both the local and national levels.
Terry was an active member of Central Moravian Church where he served as an elder, sacristan, and Sunday School teacher. He enjoyed travel and the outdoors, passions often combined in the form of backpacking and bike tours with his wife through the U.S., Germany, France, Sweden, and other countries. Other interests included gardening, studying foreign languages, classical music, and reading. His commitment to his community was evident in his work with the homeless shelter Victory House, gun control organizations, the Boy Scouts, and collegiate track and field. He was a 20-year reservist in the Navy.
SURVIVORS: He leaves behind his wife, Virginia, of 49 years, son Joe Delph of Queens, NY, and daughters Carolyn Dunham of Center Valley, and Elizabeth Delph of Oakland, CA. Also surviving is his sister, Jane Oakland and her husband Al of Tucson, AZ, sons-in-law Marc Albert, Brad, and Guillaume, and grandchildren Julia, Ethan, Isabelle, Eli, and Lou. Terry will be greatly missed and forever loved.
