RYE, NH - Thomas George Miskill, 82, of 62 Fern Ave., died Saturday, June 28, 2003, at his home following a bout with mesthelioma.

He was born July 10, 1920, in Washington, D.C., the son of the late Thomas G. and Marguerite (Keepers) Miskill. He was raised in Greensburg, Pa.

The 4th great nephew of revolutionary war General Joseph Markle, he was a 1938 graduate of Greensburg High School where he became accomplished on the clarinet. He attended Admiral Farragut Naval Academy in Toms River, N.J., on a music scholarship.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1939 and furthered his studies at the Naval Training Center in Newport, R.I., where he graduated first in his class. He transferred to the U.S. Naval Base Machinist Mate School in Norfolk, Va., and was again first in his class. He served aboard the USS DeHaven DD-727 as the engineering officer during WWII. His last tour of duty brought him and his family to the West Indies, stationed in Antigua, where he served as captain of the Naval Tracking Station for NASA where he and his crew rescued Sam, a Rheses monkey who had been launched into space in 1959, shortly after his re-entry. He retired from the Navy in 1960 with the rank of lieutenant commander after 20 years of service.

Mr. Miskill worked with the EDO Sonar Corp. until 1975 and retired his position as vice president of Everpure in Westmont, Ill, in 1985.

He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, skiing and playing bridge. He visited Hawaii each winter for the past 15 years and was a member of the Makai Men's Golf Club in Princeville, Kauai, and the Portsmouth Country Club.

Mr. Miskill was an active member of St. Theresa Church, Rye Beach, serving as a Eucharist Minister and was a member of St. Theresa's Men's Club. He was a seasonal member of St. William Church in Hanalei, Kauai.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Helena (Duff) Miskill of Rye; his children and their spouses, Thomas G. Miskill III of Rye, Leslie Miskill of Huntington, N.Y., Linda and Thomas D?Andrade of Huntington, N.Y., Maureen and Richard Rizzo of Islap Terrace on Long Island, N.Y., and Janice and Ricky Barnett of Kilauea, Kauai; 17 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one brother, William Miskill of Buena Park, Calif.; and several nieces and nephews.

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