Justin Eugene Dykins appeared on the census of 1930 in the household of
Frank Albert Dykins and
Mabel Lorraine Dykins in Beach, Golden Valley, North Dakota,
Household Members in 1930 Census Age Relationship
Frank A Dykens 44 Head
Mabel L Dykens 37 Wife
Frank S Dykens 11 Son
Justin E Dykens 9 Son
Charles A Dykens 7 Son
Keith Dykens 2 Son
Albert W Dykens 73 Father
Mabel Dykens 69 Mother.
2 Justin Eugene Dykins appeared on the census of 1940 in the household of Frank Albert Dykins and Mabel Lorraine Dykins in Beach Township, Golden Valley, North Dakota.
3 Justin Dykins, 85
LAKE SAN MARCOS - Justin E. Dykins, 85, died of heart failure, Wednesday, June 28, 2006.
Born July 23, 1920, in Bench [sic, Beach], N.D., he lived in Lake San Marcos for 26 years. He retired in 1980 from the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Port Hueneme as director of polar research. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a Naval aviator. He graduated in 1950 from the University of Wyoming as a civil engineer with an architect option. He worked for North American Aviation in Los Angeles and then the Naval Research Lab. He was honored in August 1962 with the highest award the secretary of the Navy may confer on a civilian employee with the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, only the second given in peace time. He enjoyed golf, bowling, working with tools, family get-togethers and travel.
Mr. Dykins was preceded in death by his father, Frank A. Dykins, in 1961; mother Mabel S. Dykins in 1992; and brother Frank Dykins in 2004. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Betty L. Dykins of Lake San Marcos; son and daughter-in-law Stuart and Allison Dykins of Reno, Nev.; daughters and son-in-law Lynne and Timothy Theis of Silver Springs, Md., and Terri Dykins of Lake San Marcos; brothers and sisters-in-law Charles and Elaine Dykins of Bloomington, Minn., Keith and Marge Dykins of Beach, N.D., and Mrs. Gean Dykins of Crystal, Minn.; sisters and brother-in-law Lorraine and Robert Christensen of Penn Valley, and Joyce Nelson of Villa Park; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Private inurnment will take place at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery with the Rev. Steven Grubbs officiating.
The family suggests donations to Elizabeth Hospice, 150 W. Crest St., Escondido, CA 92025.
Californian, The (Temecula, CA) - Wednesday, July 12, 2006
CITE THIS RECORD: "Californian, The", GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/13CAB1E1CE9FA318-13CAB1E1CE9FA318 : accessed 26 August 2015)
Justin Dykins, 85.
Justin E. Dykins: Lake San Marcos man was honored with U.S. Navy's highest civilian awardForty-five years ago this November, polar researcher Justin E. Dykins and 10 others were flying from an Arctic Ocean ice island to Alaska's Point Barrow when their plane had mechanical trouble and was forced to land on an uncharted ice floe.
For his actions in the following hours, when he helped his fellow passengers and the flight crew following the mishap, the late Lake San Marcos resident was given the U.S. Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award for extraordinary service.
Dykins, who at the time of the accident was a senior project engineer for the U.S. Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory at Port Hueneme in Ventura County, worked for the agency for another 18 years before moving to Lake San Marcos.
At age 85, Dykins passed away June 28, leaving behind Betty, his wife of 56 years, son Stuart and daughters Lynne and Terri.
"He was our hero," Betty Dykins said Wednesday of her husband, who was a U.S. Navy pilot during World War II. "He was very quick-witted, and I never knew anyone who met him who didn't like him."
At the time of the plane emergency, Dykins had been sent to a floating ice station and was returning to Point Barrow when the plane developed a fuel line problem and was forced down. After landing, he led the group in setting up survival tents and in preparing for the arctic temperatures and limited amount of supplies.
Betty Dykins said the 48 hours between learning that the plane had gone missing and getting word that it had been found -- and that her husband was alive -- were "shattering."
She also recalled that when she picked him up at the airport in Los Angeles after his rescue, the couple narrowly escaped a traffic accident.
"I remember he said that after everything that had happened, it would have been ironic to get hurt in a car crash," she said.
Dykins retired from the laboratory in 1980 as its director of polar research. During his career, he worked on a variety of projects, including improvements to air fields in regions of the world where subzero temperatures are common. Travels to Antarctica, Greenland and Alaska were common throughout his career.
"We used to say he was off to make a better ice cube," Betty Dykins quipped.
Thirty years earlier, he graduated from the University of Wyoming, where he and his future wife met in the student union building.
Outside his professional work, Dykins was an accomplished mechanic, woodworker and architect, and he and his wife designed and built their first home together.
"There wasn't anything he couldn't do," Betty Dykins said. "He was just a very talented but unassuming man."
Dykins' daughter, Terri, said the last months of her father's life were difficult ones because of his failing health. But she treasures childhood memories of playing badminton with him when he came home from work each day and appreciates all that he taught her.
"We had a huge backyard -- I probably could have gone on and played badminton in the Olympics," she said, adding that her father had a very dry but funny sense of humor.
A private family service will take place at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on Tuesday, and the family suggests donations in his name be made to Elizabeth Hospice, 150 W. Crest St., Escondido, CA 92025.
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
North County Times (Escondido, CA) - Thursday, July 13, 2006
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Justin E. Dykins: Lake San Marcos man was honored with U.S. Navy's highest civilian award.