Dr. John William Lyver, IV of Gainesville, VA departed this earthly life on Sunday, June 16, 2024, while vacationing in Alberta, Canada, with his wife, Sally Lyver. John was born on June 25, 1956, in Drexel Hill, PA, the son of John William Lyver, III and Geraldine Loretta Westley.
John graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering – Physics (Nuclear). He was a member of the choir and played trombone in the Drum & Bugle Corps. He served on both the USS DuPont and the USS Carl Vinson and retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Lt. Commander in 1994.
An Eagle Scout, he was a volunteer leader in Boy Scouts of America Troop 1577, Herndon, VA for many years.
John worked at NASA Headquarters for almost 25 years in the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance as the Nuclear Flight Safety Assurance Manager. He led the nuclear safety reviews of NASA’s Cassini Mission to Saturn, New Horizon’s Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, and NASA’s missions to Mars, including Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers, and Curiosity. He retired from NASA in 2012.
In his spare time, he earned a Master of Science in Computer and Electrical Engineering, and an M.S. and PhD. in Computational Science and Informatics at George Mason University.
After John’s retirement, he was an Associate Professor (Adjunct) at Northern Virginia Community College teaching physics and astronomy, and at GMU teaching Computational Data Sciences. In 2020, he was recognized as “Teacher of Distinction” at GMU for excellence in on-line teaching.
John was 1st Vice Commander of the American Legion Post 1799 at the time of his death and was a proud member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Recently, he had worked tirelessly advocating for the public interest as a volunteer for the Prince William Data Center Ordinance Advisory Group and was appointed to the Prince William Planning Commission this year. He was quoted in many publications for his analyses on data center noise, financial analyses, and industrial power consumption and their impacts to the community.
A strong Christian, John’s heart lay with his God, family, and country. He was involved in many clubs and activities and loved to travel with his wife.
John is survived by his wife of almost 16 years, Sally Redfern Lyver; two sons, John V and Thomas; two stepchildren, Stephanie and Andrew Redfern; a sister, Susan Jennings (Brian), and two nieces, Ashley Toth (Trevor) and Kayleigh Jennings.
A private burial will be held at Chestnut Grove Cemetery, Herndon, VA.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations can be made in John’s memory to:
Cornerstone Chapel
650 Battlefield Parkway SE
Leesburg, VA 20175
Tunnel to Towers Foundation
2361 Hylan Boulevard
Staten Island, NY 10306
American Legion Post 1799
P.O. Box 1799
Haymarket, VA 20168