John M. Osepchuk passed away on Thanksgiving afternoon at the age of 97. He was born on February 11, 1927, in Peabody to Moses and Mary Osepchuk, who had immigrated from Russia’s Ukraine region. He spent his childhood in Peabody, but spent most of his life (nearly 60 years) in Concord.
John was predeceased by his wife, Shirley Greenwood Osepchuk, in 2011, as well as his brother Philip Osepchuk, sisters Anne Lubansky and Ellen Babich, and daughter Janet Miriam Osepchuk. He is survived by son Jonathan Greenwood Osepchuk of Tokyo and daughter Lauren Ann Osepchuk of Maynard, brothers and sisters-in-law William and Betty Small and John and Janet Lewis, plus many nephews and nieces, including Patti Scaldoni, Jayne Ellen Sexton, Ronald Babich, Dwight and Kenneth Lubansky, Kimberly Lyng, Elizabeth Small, Stacy Lewis, and Kristen Vincent.
John’s parents’ emigration from Volinski province in northwestern Ukraine was complicated by both WWI and the Russian Revolution, but Moses, a tailor, and his wife Mary managed to settle and thrive in a diverse neighborhood of Peabody where John and his siblings grew up as staunch members of the Baptist Church (later called the Calvary Baptist Church). During his formative years, John and his older brother Philip also worked in a leather factory before or after school.
In 1944, while still in high school, John enlisted in the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program and was trained as a high-speed radio operator. After being discharged from the Army in early 1946, he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate in philosophy in engineering from Harvard University in 1949, 1950, and 1957, respectively. He joined Raytheon Company in 1950, met Shirley Greenwood Small in the fall of 1955, and married her in June 1956. The couple then lived for a year and a half in Paris, where John helped facilitate post-war industrial reconstruction efforts by working at the CSD Company on behalf of Raytheon. They returned to the United States in late 1957 and had three children over the next decade.
John had an outstanding career focused primarily on microwave tubes (magnetrons) and related heating applications (such as ovens) and bioeffects (safety factors). His accomplished career began in 1950 when he was hired by Raytheon as a power tube division development engineer. He was later promoted to become a liaison engineer in the company’s microwave and power tube division and a principal research engineer and consultant scientist in the research division.
Writing extensively as a result of his research, John disseminated much of his findings in more than 80 scholarly journal articles and edited a book published in 1983 entitled, “Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation.” He also acquired approximately 50 patents, including many magnetron-related patents that have had a considerable impact on the entire microwave oven industry. From the 1970s, he was a prominent figure in countering rising concerns about potential health/safety problems related to diverse applications of electromagnetic energy.
John retired from Raytheon in 1995, at which time he established Full Spectrum Consulting to continue providing services related to magnetrons and microwave safety issues. In addition to his consulting business, John remained active as a member of the accredited standards committee C95 of the American National Standards Institute in New York since 1968. The nonprofit organization focuses on improving the competitiveness of business throughout the U.S. while also improving voluntary consensus standards, among other goals.
Supported by several pertinent organizations, John was an elected fellow and past president of the International Microwave Power Institute. He was also an elected fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), where he served on several committees and chaired the standards coordinator committee. He was a member of the Microwave Society of the IEEE, an advisor to the board of directors of the Electromagnetic Energy Police Alliance, and a member of the American Science Affiliation and the Bioelectromagnetics Society.
A dedicated community advocate, John was long a member of the Republican Town Committee in Concord since 1974. He also served as a clerk and trustee at Park Street Church in Boston. In his leisure time, he was an avid tennis player, an aficionado of cats, and, until a very advanced age, enjoyed doing diverse yard and home maintenance work. Travel played a big part in his life, and he visited many places such as France, the rest of Europe, Latin America, and especially Japan, where his son Jonathan has been employed since the 1980’s as a translator.
John was a man of strong faith in Christianity who strived to apply his strict conceptions of Christian morality with respect to science and electromagnetic radiation-related social issues.
Visiting hours were scheduled from 5-7 p.m., Friday, December 6, in the Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street. A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, December 7, in the funeral home. Burial with U.S. Army military honors will follow at Walnut Hill Cemetery, Brookline.
Concord’s town flag will fly at half-staff on Saturday, December 7, in recognition of John’s honorable military service.
Arrangements are under the care of Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, concordfuneral.com.
