Joseph F. Turtil, of Rockville, died on June 25. He was 92. Turtil was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1927. He, his mother, father and sister, Regina, fled Austria in 1938 after the Nazis sacked their home and business and arrested his mother and grandparents.
Turtil served in Korea in 1946 and 1947 and drafted maps for the U.S. Army. In 1949, he received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cooper Union. He married Estelle (né Heifferman) in 1951, and they were married for 64 years.
His career in engineering led to specialization in attitude control systems for the NIMBUS and ATS-6 satellites, and on systems in the Bios, TIROS and COBE satellites, and computer and train systems.
Turtil was predeceased by Estelle in 2015. He is survived by Dr. Lawrence Turtil and his wife Emily, and grandchildren Jacob and Alexandra Turtil, of Westchester, N.Y.; Steven Turtil, Robert Turtil and Mary Dowling; and Richard Turtil and fiancé Stacy Wong, of suburban Maryland; sisters-in-law, Sybil Gold and Laura Heifferman; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Donations may be made to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Services entrusted to Sagel Bloomfield Danzansky Goldberg Funeral Care.
