The Capital (Annapolis, MD)
June 6, 2005
Rear Admiral Ronald F. Marryott Rear Adm. Ronald F. Marryott led and taught a generation of sailors and officers during a Navy career that spanned 33 years and took him from Vietnam to the top job in the hallowed halls of the Naval Academy. A resident of St. Margaret's Heights, Adm. Marryott died Saturday of complications from leukemia. He was 71. He was honored last year as a Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate. "The Naval Academy family is deeply saddened to learn of the loss of retired Rear Admiral Ron Marryott," Rear Adm. Rodney P. Rempt, the academy's current superintendant said. "A dedicated and selfless leader, Ron served the Naval Academy, our alumni and our Navy with great honor, courage and commitment. His significant and enduring contributions helped develop thousands of young men and women into leaders of character who are serving our Navy and Marine Corps." Adm. Rempt said Adm. Marryott "embodied the highest ideals" of the academy. "We will greatly miss Ron," he said. "On behalf of all midshipmen - past, present and future - our heartfelt condolences go out to the Marryott family." While the Navy family will miss Adm. Marryott as a great leader, one son described him this morning as a compassionate father. "He was a wonderful father; carrying, supportive and very patient," said Ronald F. Marryott Jr. Even though his father's duties required him to be far away from his family, Ronald F. Marryott Jr. said, Adm. Marryott "always made an effort to stay involved in our lives, even when we were grown and far away." "He was always close," the son added. George P. Watt Jr., president and CEO of the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation and Adm. Marryott's successor in that post, sounded choked up this morning when discussing the admiral's death. "Ron was a friend - he not only was my predecessor, he was my friend and a mentor." "Beloved" is the word Mr. Watt used to describe Adm. Marryott. "We had staff breaking down this morning - it was like they had lost a father or a grandfather." A member of the class of 1957, Adm. Marryott served as a Navy aviator and commanded the Iceland Defense Force. He also served seven tours in the Pentagon, was president of the Naval War College from 1985 to 1986 and served as the academy's superintendent from 1986 to 1988. "Best job in the Navy," he told a reporter last year of his time as superintendent. "It was like a real homecoming for me." Adm. Marryott said one of his greatest challenges as the academy's 52nd superintendent was to staunch the dropout rate for female midshipmen. As superintendent, he appointed a task force to examine the reasons for the high attrition rate in the 1980s. He found that much of the problem was that female recruits often lacked strong backgrounds in sciences or athletics, two staples of life at the academy. Once recruiters started looking for female students who were strong in these areas, as were their male counterparts, the attrition rate dropped, Adm. Marryott said. Born in Eddystone, Pa., Adm. Marryott went on to fly patrol and surveillance operations in P-2V and P-3 aircraft over both the Atlantic and the Pacific. He participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade and served as Project Mercury recovery officer for the first three manned spaceflights. In the mid-1960s, he served on the academy's faculty and taught courses in naval history and the history of U.S. foreign policy, American government and politics and international relations. Adm. Marryott saw duty in Vietnam and flew numerous Cold War missions. He want on to command Patrol Squadron 90 and the Naval Air Station, Moffett Field, Calif. His decorations include the Air Medal, two Legions of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Order of the Falcon, Iceland, and the Order du Merite, France. He earned a master's degree from American University and in 1987, Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., presented Adm. Marryott with an honorary doctor of human letters degree. Adm. Marryott retired from active duty in 1990 and served as president and chief executive officer of the George C. Marshall Foundation before returning to Annapolis as president and CEO of the academy's alumni association. He retired from the association in 2000 but remained active and served as co-chair of the Class of '57 fund-raising efforts. Adm. Marryott was a life member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Navy League, and was a member of the Fleet Reserve Association, the Disabled American Veterans' Association and the U.S. Naval Academy's President's Circle. He was active in the Naval Academy chapel and served as usher and server of the Holy Sacraments of Communion. Adm. Marryott is survived by his wife Carol, his three sons, Ronald, Jr. of Santa Monica, Calif., Robert of Hartford, Conn., and Thomas W. of Annapolis, and daughter-in-law Linda Jankov of Hartford, Conn. He also has one brother, Thomas D. Marryott of Port Charlotte, Fla. Admiral Marryott will be buried with full military honors at the U.S. Naval Academy Thursday afternoon, June 9. Services will be held at 1 p.m. at Naval Academy Chapel, followed by interment at the Naval Academy cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggest a donation to the University of Maryland Greenbaum Cancer Center, 22 S. Greene St., Baltimore, MD 21201, or the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, 1650 Orleans St., Baltimore, MD 21231.