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Updated July 31 3:43 pm EST: Funeral services for George W. Reynolds took place Tuesday, July 31st.
A morning Mass was held at St. Gabriel’s Church in Washington, DC followed by interment at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, MD.
Below are excerpts from his obituary.
From an early age, George and his father built model cars, boats, engines, and planes. In high school, George entered his own design in a Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild Contest. He won the 1960 Model Car Competition, which led to many other awards.
After high school, he attended Howard University in Washington D.C., graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and joined Westinghouse in 1968.
Following a brief spell at General Motors, he attended professional development courses such as the Westinghouse Graduate Student Program and the Westinghouse Executive Forum.
He also earned a master's degree in engineering management from George Washington University. Later, he went on to earn an M.B.A. from Harvard University. He was a change management fellow at Johns Hopkins University.
A 45-year veteran of Northrop Grumman, Reynolds was responsible for developing strategies in partnership with key universities to recruit students. In addition, he chaired numerous university boards, including the Business Industry Consortium at Alabama A&M University, engineering advisory boards at North Carolina A&T State University, and University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).
While working with UMBC, he began a lifelong friendship with UMBC President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski.
"He is one of the best examples of compassionate leadership I know," wrote Hrwabowski in the obituary. "Much of our relationship with Northrop Grumman can be attributed to the early years when George served on the Advisory Board of the College of Engineering."
In 2008, Reynolds was honored for his dedication to advancement in science, engineering, and technology with a Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) for Corporate Promotion of Education.
Earlier in his career, he received his first Black Engineer award in the Most Promising Engineer in Industry category. In 1990, he was named one of the top 25 Black Engineers in Baltimore by Career Communications Group, producer of the annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards and Black Engineer magazine.
Other awards include a White House Fellowship and Award of Excellence for Minority Communications. In 1999, he was recognized as a Distinguished Black Marylander by the Office of Diversity Resources at Towson University.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Campaign for UMBC
Make checks payable to the UMBC Foundation, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250; in memo line George W. Reynolds Student Leadership in Engineering Endowment.