ALVIN WENDELL CARRIKER Wendell Carriker of Alexandria, VA died on December 25, 2012 at the Sunrise at Mount Vernon. Wendell was born in Harvard, NE on December 9, 1931. He was 81 years old. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marlene (Fallbeck) Carriker, his brother William R. Carriker of Sequim, WA and four children and their families – Gordon Carriker of Ozark, MO, Judith and Michael Jurkowski of Alexandria, VA, Bradley and Cynthia Carriker of Alexandria, VA, and Roger and Lisann Carriker of Jessup, MD; seven grandchildren – Danielle, Diana, Daniel, Sarah, Anna, Natalie, and Andrew plus two great grandchildren Klairissa and Alexis; and nieces and nephews in Nebraska, Connecticut, and Virginia. He and Marlene came to Washington in 1954 after their wedding in Nebraska on October 3, 1954. They resided in Washington, DC for six years and then purchased their first home in Alexandria, VA (Mt. Vernon/Ft. Hunt area) in 1960 and have lived in their present home (three quarters of a mile from their first home) since 1971. Fortunately, Wendell and Marlene were able to spend a wonderful Christmas Day and have dinner with some of their children and grandchildren the day he passed away. Wendell graduated in 1953 from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE with a BA in Physics and his MS in Physics from Vanderbilt University in 1959. In 1953 he was selected for an AEC Radiological Physics Fellowship at Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Lab. From 1954 to 1960 he was the Health Physicist heading up the Radioisotopes and Reactor Section of the HP Staff at the Naval Research Lab. In 1957 he became a member of the Health Physics Society when it was first formed. He helped organize the Baltimore-Washington Chapter which was chartered in 1958 as the first chapter of the Society. He served as the Secretary-Treasurer (1959) and President (1961). From 1960-1965 he was with American Machine and Foundry in Alexandria, VA working on R & D projects involving government contracts and corporate funding in areas of uses of radioisotopes. He was involved in a feasibility demonstration project for NASA to prove the capability of a C-14 tracer technique for detecting bacterial life forms on Mars. From 1965 to 1977 he was at the Naval Oceanographic Office. The work involved engineering development related to applying existing technology to the instrumentation systems used for measuring oceanographic parameters related to the water column ocean floor and air-water interface. From 1978 to 2000 he was the Certified Health Physicist in the Office of Hazardous Materials Transportation of the U.S. Department of Transportation. His initial task was to develop information and guidance for early responders to transportation accidents involving radioactive materials. Guidance documents and training classes for first on-scene responders was developed. Since 1980 his prime responsibility was for all of the six guides related to radioactive material in the seven editions of the Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Guide (ERG) book generated at DOT. The ERG book was distributed nationwide with intent that a copy would be in every law, fire and medical emergency response vehicle. As Senior Health Physicist he was involved with many Federal, state and local government officials. Wendell retired from the government in September 2000 with 42 years of service. Wendell was an avid community volunteer for family and church activities. In the early to late 1970's, he was very involved in volunteering his time as the Boy Scouts of America Troop 654 Transportation Chairman for all Troop scouting activities. Wendell is an alumni of the Theta Chi Fraternity at Nebraska Wesleyan. He was a music lover all his life and was a member of and toured with the Wesleyan Male A Cappella Chorus from 1951 – 1953. He especially enjoyed attending the Alexandria Harmonizer concerts locally. He is a member of the Mount Vernon Geneological Society, located at the Hollin Hall Senior Center, and was successful in compiling his family history as far back as 1687. As Wendell was blind most of his adult life, he truly enjoyed the Talking Book Program sponsored through the Fairfax County Library system. Wendell taught Sunday school classes at Aldersgate United Methodist Church when his children were young. He also worked on local blood drive collaboration between Aldersgate UMC and other area churches by organizing large scale blood drives with INOVA Hospital. Blood drives by some of the original churches are still being held. Wendell had also been a member of the Aldersgate United Methodist Men. Wendell, and wife Marlene, have been members of Aldersgate UMC since 1966.
