Obituary Frederick H. Sweeton
Frederick Humphrey Sweeton, 94, passed away peacefully at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge on Sunday, July 31, 2011, after a brief illness, surrounded by family members. He had recently returned from a weeklong vacation visiting relatives and a cottage on Long Island Sound that was built by his maternal grandfather.
Mr. Sweeton was born on October 13, 1916, in Brattleboro, Vermont. Raised on a farm in Connecticut, he received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Yale in 1941. In 1943, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving on Eniwetok Atoll from 1944-1945 as a radar officer.
Driven by a lively curiosity in the physical world and its processes, Mr. Sweeton worked briefly for TVA as a physical chemist. After the war, he took a job at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and worked there as a senior research scientist until he retired in 1982.
In 1953 he married Phyllis Jean Brown; their marriage lasted over 50 years, until she passed away in 2006. After raising three children, they enjoyed traveling together to places such as Alaska, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Africa, Peru, and China. They were both interested in hiking, camping, and preserving the environment.
Mr. Sweeton was a longtime member of the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club, the East Tennessee Memorial Society, and the Oak Ridge Unitarian-Universalist Church. After his retirement, he became more politically active in organizations such as the League of Women Voters and Tennesseans for Fair Taxation. Friends admired him for his quiet convincing logic when explaining topics he believed in.
Mr. Sweeton was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis B. Sweeton, and his parents Arthur W. Sweeton, Jr., and Helen H. Sweeton.
He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Arthur W. Sweeton, III, and Eunice Sweeton of Canton Center, CT; by his sister Barbara Tuller of W. Simsbury, CT; by his sister-in-law Bonnie Brown of Orange Park, FL; by his daughter Katharine Sweeton of Louisville, KY; his daughter and son-in-law, Marian Varner and Robert L. Varner, Jr., of Oak Ridge; his son Kenneth Sweeton and Ken''s special friend Patty Shane of Clinton; and three beloved grandchildren: A. Daniel Risen of Louisville, KY, and Hillary Varner and Nathaniel Varner of Oak Ridge. Family and friends are invited to a memorial service for Fred Sweeton on Sunday, August 28, at 2:00 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Unitarian-Universalist Church, with the Rev. Jake B. Morrill officiating.
Donations in the memory of Mr. Sweeton can be made to the charity of the donor''s choice. Woodhaven Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens handled the arrangements.