John Charles McIlrath

LTC (Ret) Army John Charles McIlrath (Jack) October 26, 1945 – June 14, 2016 John C. (Jack) McIlrath, 70, of Madison AL. passed away Tuesday. Jack and Sandy were married in Champaign, IL, in 1968. They have two children and two grandchildren.  They have enjoyed many happy times in many countries around the world.  Cruising became a great vacation time for them.  They have traveled to Russia and the Baltic States, the Mediterranean, the British Isles, and the Caribbean. Jack graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana in 1968 with a BS in Chemical Engineering and was commissioned into the U S Army Engineer Corps. He was a member of the U of I ROTC.  He branch- transferred into the Medical Service Corps (MSC) before beginning active duty.  His first assignment was in the MSC Basic Course at Ft. Sam Houston, TX.  Upon completion he was assigned to the Army Environmental Hygiene Agency (AEHA) at Edgewood Arsenal, MD, where he worked in the water pollution field. At the end of that assignment, he attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where he earned a Master’s Degree in Sanitary Engineering.  From there he was transferred to the Medical Laboratory at Ft. Meade, MD.  He was then assigned to the 20th Preventive Medicine Unit in Vietnam.  He was the last PMU officer in Vietnam.  From there he came back to the US to the MSC Advanced Course and then on to Landstuhl, Germany, where he worked in environmental engineering.  Back to Edgewood Arsenal in 1977 to become the Chief of Water Quality at AEHA.  From there he moved to the Logistics Center at Ft. Lee, VA, and then to the Quartermaster School where he was instrumental in developing the Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROPU) which was used in Desert Storm to turn sea water into potable drinking water.  From there he moved to Huntsville, AL, and the Corps of Engineers.  He became the Assistant Division Commander and was a contracting officer and began the contract for the Chemical Demilitarization Plants used to destroy accumulated obsolete chemical weapons. He retired in 1990 and then worked for Ebasco, Enserch, Foster Wheeler, and TetraTek (all the same company, just an evolution in names). He then worked for Dawson Solutions.  In the past few years he has been the President and CEO of Buffalo Restoration, LLC, which is doing commercial work in finding and destroying unexploded ordnance on Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUD sites).  The company is currently working on a $25,000,000 contract in Orlando, FL. Jack was the Assistant Director of the Madison Water Department and is a member of Helion Masonic Lodge in Huntsville. Jack is Survived by his wife, Sandra McIlrath of Madison AL., his son James McIlrath (Heather) of Buchanan, NY., his daughter Kimberly McIlrath of Philadelphia, PA., his sister Judy Vostal of Tinley Park, IL., his grandson Robert McIlrath of Buchanan, NY., his granddaughter Kathleen McIlrath of Buchanan, NY., his nephew Brooks Vostal of Bowling Green, OH., his nephew Reed Vostal of Geneva, IL. Visitation will be Friday June 17th, 1:00-2:00pm at Legacy Chapel Funeral Home. Services to follow at 2:00pm. Memorials may be made to American Bible Society at https://donate.americanbible.org/ or donate to The Autism Resource Foundation at 701 Andrew Jackson Way, Suite 219 Huntsville, AL 35801