Daniel R. Oldham Jr.

Daniel R. Oldham, Jr., died June 5th, 2017 at home in Mastic, NY in the loving company of his family. Born in Brooklyn, NY on October 1st, 1928 to Daniel and Margaret Oldham, he was an avid boater, ball player, and devoted father and grandfather. Moving to Mastic, NY in his early youth, Daniel practiced various crafts, including boat-building, carpentry, plumbing and electrical work. Daniel served in the U.S.  Airforce  from 1947 through 1950 during the Korean Conflict. Upon returning from overseas in 1950, he eventually took a position at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the then fledgling field of nuclear energy. Beginning a career spanning over 35 years, he started as a reactor operator at the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor, the worlds first reactor built solely to perform scientific research on the peaceful uses of the atom. There at BNL, Daniel rapidly rose through the ranks, ultimately distinguishing himself as a Group Leader at BNL’s High Flux Beam Reactor, the third reactor he had worked on at BNL.

Daniel is survived by his wife Rosemary “Snooky” Oldham (May), children Daniel J. Oldham (Elena),Rosemary “Rorie” Garofalo (John), Timothy Oldham (Eileen) and Michael Oldham (Arlene) and 12 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved grandson Robert Oldham. He has 4 great grandchildren, Sophia, Maverick, Madyson and Colin. “Poppy” was a kind, generous and gentle soul, was possessed of a quick, dry wit and was much loved by all. He will be sorely missed.