Sidney Murray Collegeman
2006
Sidney Murray Collegeman, 93, a retired chemist who specialized in fuels and lubricants for the Department of the Navy, died of renal failure April 27 at his home in Silver Spring.
Mr. Collegeman was born in Denver and moved to Washington in 1919. He graduated from Central High School and from George Washington University.
He worked at the Naval Engineering Experiment Station in Annapolis from 1938 to 1949. He was then employed as a chemical engineer for the Navy in Washington until he retired from the Naval Air Systems Command in 1974. For two years after retirement, he was a consultant for a Navy contractor.
In his personal life, Mr. Collegeman was a cabinetmaker. His wife, Esther B. Collegeman, wrote about the do-it-yourself home repair craze in a 2002 article for The Washington Post. She noted that although her husband was a darn good handyman, his enthusiasm for building a patio or refinishing a basement had drawbacks, including a power saw stationed in the laundry room and sawdust and wood shavings everywhere.
Mr. Collegeman also enjoyed tennis and swimming and, in retirement, music, sports and reading.
In addition to his wife of 69 years, of Silver Spring, survivors include two children, Janet Halperson of Camp Springs and Steve Collegeman of Gaithersburg; two granddaughters; and two great-grandchildren.