James Jeffrey Bales, Sr.

JAMES JEFFREY BALES SR.Mr. James Jeffrey "Jeff" Bales Sr., 62, of Temple Hills, MD, passed away at 4:50 p.m. December 15, 2008,at the Washington Hospital Center, Washington D.C.,after a six-month battle with lung cancer. Mr. Bales was born on Feb. 9, 1946, in New Castle, PA, to the late Ray Daniel "Pap" Bales and Margaret Mae "Gram" (Doutt) Hake. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann (DeMarc) Bales, of Temple Hills, MD. She is a native ofChewton, PA, and they were married on May 7, 1966. They later celebrated their union in St. Monica\\'s Catholic Church in Wampum, PA. Mr. Bales was raised on North Scott Street in New Castle.He attended the Croton School, Harry W. Lockley School,Ben Franklin Jr. High School, and was a 1964 graduate of New Castle Sr. High School. During high school he was employed at Cascade Amusement Park and operated various rides there. After graduation he was employed at the NationalRad Crane Co until the time he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in October 1965. He attended boot camp beginning in February 1966 in San Diego, CA, and afterwards was transferred to Corry Station, FL, to train as a Cryptologic Technician (CT). He subsequently served for over 20 years in Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) commands aboard RAF Edzell Scotland, NAS Pensacola FL, NCS Sidi Yahia Morocco, NSA Fort Meade MD, NCS/NAVCAMS Finegayen Guam,and with NIPPSA Suitland MD. In addition he saw duty aboard the cruiser USS Chicago and the fast frigate USS Brewton during tours of the Western Pacific. During his naval career he also traveled extensively to Greece, Italy, England, the Philippines, Australia, and Thailand. Upon military retirement on June 30, 1986, he settled inMaryland and was employed by the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) as a computer specialist. Ayear later he joined the ranks of the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) at their headquarters in the same capacity. He was employed with NCIS until his recent retirement on August 31, 2008. In all he had faithfully served his country for over 42 years. Much like his own father, a true man of the outdoors, he was an avid trout fisherman and a skilled dear hunter. He loved wadingthe streams and roaming the hills of western Pennsylvania. His last fishing trip took place this fall with his buddy Tony Z to Elk Creekin Erie County, PA. He loved to travel and in the last few years he enjoyed vacations to Ireland, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Mr. Bales was proud of his naval service and was a long time member of several veterans\\' organization including the Fleet Reserve Association and the American Legion. He was a passionate sports fan, having supported the Pittsburgh Steelers,Pittsburgh Penguins, Penn State Football, and Philadelphia Phillies for many years. He is also survived by his three daughters, Carol Ann (Thomas) Bales-Glasco of Warrenton, VA, Alison Lynn (Joseph) Delendeck of Killeen, TX, and Oxana Timoshenko ofTemple Hills, MD; his son James Jeffrey Bales Jr. ofTemple Hills, MD; his grandchildren Elissa MeganBettencourt of Killeen, TX, Joseph James "JJ" Delendeck of Killeen, TX, and Thomas Meredith Glasco IV of Fairfax, VA; three sisters, Dorothy "Dottie" Jane Sawyer of Mayflower, AR, Charlotte Debra "Debbie" (Jim) Wyle of New Castle, PA, and Margaret Ann "Betsy" (Edward) Hela of Perryopolis, PA; two brothers, Ray Daniel Bales Jr. of New Castle, PA, and Robert Gary Bales of Mayflower, AR; and his sister-in-law Carol Jean (William) Gierlach of New Castle, PA. The family will receive friends on Monday, December22, 2008, at the Lee Funeral Home, 6633 Old Alexandria Ferry Road, Clinton, MD, 2-4 and 6-8pm, to be followed by a Mass of Christian Burial service at St. Ignatius CatholicChurch, 2315 Brinkley Road, Fort Washington, MD, at 10am. Internment with full military honors will take place atArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, on Thursday, January 29, 2009, at 1pm. Cards and letters of condolencecan be sent to Mary Ann Bales & family, 5618 Fisher Road, Temple Hills, MD, 20748. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of James Jeffrey Bales, Sr. please visit our Sympathy Store.