John Alden Redfield

John Alden Redfield, 92, of Friendship Village, Upper St. Clair, passed away on December 15, 2025. John told family and friends that his story was a love story with his wife Susan. They met in first grade, were lifelong friends, made a family together, and were married for 69 years before she passed away in 2024. Afterwards, John did his best to have a meaningful life. Friends and family helped to fill the void although she was still dearly missed. 

John was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, a good friend to many, and dedicated to his projects at home and in his community. John was preceded in death by his parents Alden and Elsie Redfield, his wife Susan H. Redfield, and two sisters, Frances Redfield Addington and Eva Redfield Rubin. He is survived by a son John S. Redfield and wife Cynthia Gerall of Houston, TX; a daughter Anne Redfield Dale and her husband Timothy Dale of Mercer, PA; a daughter Elizabeth Redfield and her husband Thomas Banse of Olympia, WA; three grandsons, John C. Redfield of Brooklyn, NY; William Redfield of Houston, TX; and Adam Dale of Pittsburgh; and two great grandchildren.

John was born on March 18, 1933, in Orange, New Jersey. John was six-years-old when the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, when his father got a job with the Crosley company. While in his new first grade class, the teacher assigned a classmate to help John with his cursive writing. The classmate, Susan, would become a good friend and many years later would become his wife. After completing his first year of high school in 1946, John’s family moved to Ferndale, Michigan. One-and-a-half years later the family moved back to Cincinnati where he resumed his friendship with Susan, now his girlfriend; they graduated from Hughes High School in 1951. John and Susan both attended the University of Cincinnati and each were on an accelerated program to complete their degrees. Susan graduated from UC in three years and they were married in August of 1954. John graduated from UC a year later with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering and was immediately recruited by Westinghouse to start an engineering work/study job at the Bettis AtomIc Power Laboratory in Pittsburgh. After three months at Bettis, he was called up by the Army to serve his two-year service as a Second Lieutenant. John began his officer training course at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. While at Aberdeen, Susan and John welcomed their first child John into the world. In June of 1956, John was reassigned to the Ordnance Assembly Plant at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland as an Executive OffIcer.

He completed his military service in November 1957. John and Susan bought their first home in Bethel Park while John returned to his job at Bettis. He worked at Bettis durIng the day and attended evening engineering classes at the University of Pittsburgh, earnIng a master’s degree and finally his PhD in July of 1963. Daughter Anne arrived in 1958 and daughter Elizabeth in 1963.

John had a 37-year career at Bettis. John believed that Bettis was a remarkably good place to start his career in nuclear physics and engineering. The staff was highly educated and willing to work together to share information with the new engineers. John and fellow engineer, Steve Margolis, were given a challenge to scientifically prove that the companies’ reactors were safe, that the backup systems would work. It was determined that the reactors were safe but more work needed to be done. Jack Murphy joined the team and six years later, the computer program FLASH was born, which became the genesis of the basic regulatory licensing tool of the Nuclear Reactor Commission. At mid-career, John switched into technical management of several Bettis programs including the Light Water Breeder design and operation, steam generator technology, reactor technology, and engineerIng support of prototype reactors. He retired in December 1994.

John was an avid sailor. John and Susan chartered sailboats with their friends on four different occasions in the Caribbean. John was active at Westminster Presbyterian Church serving on Session and Chairman of the Staff Relations Committee. He also worked with a church group who did various construction projects for people in need. While in retirement, he tutored math to students in the city of Pittsburgh and later in Sarasota Florida. John, with his wife Susan, participated in creating a Monarch garden way-station for the protection of the endangered butterfly at his home at Friendship Village in Upper Saint Clair, PA.

His Honors include: Fellow of the American Nuclear Society; the WestInghouse Order of Merit; and a letter recognizing significant contributions from AdmIral Bruce DeMars, Director of Naval Reactors.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair or the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. A memorial service at Westminster Presbyterian Church is being planned for a later date.