Rafael Belles Perez passed away peacefully at his home on 5 April 2020 surrounded by his wife and children. He is survived by his children Rafael, August, Gonzalo, Victor, and Cristina, their spouses, 11 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Rafael was born in 1928 in Castellon de la Plana on the east coast of Spain to parents who were both teachers. He joined the Spanish Air Force as a self-taught meteorologist to help support his parents and served for 7 years. He leveraged his time in the air force to earn a Bachelor’s of Science degree in chemistry and became a junior physicist in the Spanish Atomic Energy Commission.
Our father came to the United States with his wife, Concepcion, and two young sons in 1957 on scholarship to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he obtained his Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering. He then spent a year at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Eventually, he became a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee where he loved teaching at all levels and nurturing the careers of graduate and post-doctoral trainees. He also cherished being the neighborhood tutor for high school math and the physical sciences. He would spend hours with us and our friends until we really understood our assignments. He encouraged persistence and excellence in learning. He always saw the best in people regardless of who they were or their background.
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