Arch Chilton Scurlock Jr.

Arch Chilton Scurlock, Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 25, 1946 and died peacefully on June 15, 2024 at his home in Annandale, Virginia as a result of a stroke. He was the son of Dr. Arch Chilton Scurlock (1920-2002) of Beaumont, Texas and Maurine Spurbeck Scurlock (1924-1976) of Waverly, Iowa. Arch Jr. was also known fondly as “A.C.” by his mother’s relatives and “Chilton” by his father’s group.

Arch Jr. was a kind and loyal brother, uncle, and friend. Although a quiet and thoughtful person, and very tender-hearted, he was passionate about many pursuits. An excellent student, Arch was never pretentious and always modest. He was intensely proud of his family members, but he never sought notice for himself.

Arch Jr. held an MBA from Harvard University (1976) as well as a BS (1968) and MS (1972) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland. (His education also included terms at the University of Texas, George Mason University, and Carnegie Mellon University.) He lived most of his life in Annandale, Virginia, where he was in the first graduating class (1964) at Woodson High School.

When Arch Jr. was born, after World War II, his father was completing a Ph.D. at M.I.T. Arch Scurlock Sr. became a noted rocket scientist and a pioneer of solid fuel propellants. Arch Sr. founded the Atlantic Research Corporation that by the 1960s had grown to one of the largest private employers in Virginia. Arch Jr. eventually worked for both Atlantic Research and his father’s later company, Research Industries.

Arch Jr. served as a commissioned officer in the US Public Health Service from 1970-72 and then continued with the US Environmental Protection Agency, where he helped develop a promising alternative energy source – coal slurry pipelines. Later he was proud to join Atlantic Research. He then joined Research Industries – partnering with his father and John Grover at their venture capital firm, specializing in revitalizing high-tech businesses. Arch Jr.’s sideline there was analyzing market trends for the banking sector.

When Arch Jr. was 17, his father remarried and had four daughters with Nancy Morrison Scurlock. He adored all five of his sisters and loved spending time with them, especially on holidays in Bermuda enjoying the beaches, scenery, and motorbike rides. He was always there for the birthdays, holidays, and graduations. He also cherished his brother Marvin and Marvin’s children.

His family ties to his mother’s home in Iowa were strong and enduring. As a child, he spent all of his summers there. Throughout his life, he developed close bonds with his Iowa aunts and uncles and cousins. Arch Jr. especially identified with his mother’s brother, Uncle Bud (Walter J. Spurbeck, Jr.). The two were both academics and great sports fans. They actually resembled each other.

Arch Jr. was passionate about so many hobbies and interests. Most recently, he owned seven cars, including an Alfa Romeo, a Porsche, two Mazdas, and the prize – a ’67 Shelby Mustang. In the 1980s and 90s he spent many weekends driving in car rallies. He even became a journalist, writing car news for The Stopwatcher, a local rally magazine and making good use of his press pass. The pass helped him get into the Sebring races. (Note that he changed the oil in all the cars himself, and the cars had to have manual transmission.)

As an avid sports fan, he cheered for the University of Maryland, Iowa teams, his high school Woodson, and Washington, DC teams. He went to minor league and big league baseball games from the old Washington Senators in RFK Stadium, to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, and later the Washington Nationals. He went to Bullets basketball games in Baltimore, and later to the Washington Wizards games in DC. During a single week in 2016, when he hosted his Harvard classmate from Australia, they attended a Washington Capitals game, a Redskins game, and a Nationals game.

His sense of adventure and discovery led to many travels, both near and far. First, in 1961, he accompanied his grandmother Mary Chilton Scurlock, his sister Susan, and brother Marvin on a voyage to Europe on the SS United States. Later he made multiple trips to visit his sister Susan at her Embassy posts in Paris, Beijing, and Hong Kong. His travels in Europe often focused on castles, and he collected many two-foot high statues of knights in armor.

In the United States, he drove cross-country and back twice by himself, always stopping in Iowa on the way. He loved trains and traveled regionally and nationally to ride and photograph trains, especially historic trains with steam locomotives. As he wrote to another Harvard classmate, a highlight on his last trip in 2013 was playing engineer on an old Nevada Northern steam locomotive in Ely, Nevada: “There I was, wearing my engineer's cap, highballing down the tracks at up to 20 mph.”

In recent years, a highlight was cruising the Mediterranean and stopping in Egypt with friends from the University of Maryland. He could be intrepid as he joined these friends annually in Watkins Glen for the “Josh Billings” triathlon where he paddled a canoe to the finish line. Arch also attended many of the summer and winter Olympic Games and even volunteered at the Atlanta Games.

Arch Jr. played tennis twice weekly with long-time friends, and he had a lightning serve. He attended plays and concerts (rock and country music especially) and was always enrolled in a class, such as in astronomy, auto mechanics, anatomy, or plumbing. He pursued abiding interests in trains, planes, genealogy, and history, especially Civil War and WW II. He took Professor Charles Poland, Jr.’s college class in Civil War history 17 times!

He has been described as a bit eccentric. He was, charmingly so. In high school he organized the “Fink Club,” a merry band of other non-conformists. Another example is that he had favorite jackets and ball caps that he insisted on wearing, year after year. He collected and saved everything-- every ticket stub, posters, stamps, model cars and trains, beer glasses (and bottles), and souvenir T-shirts. He was notoriously frugal, often sleeping in his car overnight during his many excursions or parking a mile from a stadium to snag a free spot. Yet he would always “pick up the check” for his sisters. And in Paris he stepped out of character and bought himself an upscale new wardrobe.

Arch Jr. and his sister Susan were especially close. Together, they helped care for their brother Marvin during his long illness in 2012. In Arch’s later years, he had health issues himself and experienced severe hearing loss after 2021. Since then, Susan was by his side nearly every day since then arranging meals, activities, outings, and medical care.

Arch Jr. was preceded in death by his mother and father, his brother Marvin Curtis Scurlock (1951-2012), and his stepmother Nancy Morrison Scurlock (1930-2023). He is survived by his sister, Susan Scurlock Theiler (Mrs. Michael Theiler) of Alexandria, VA and Marvin’s children and grandchildren: 1) Aaron Scurlock and children: Ashley, Brian, Joshua, and Lindsey Scurlock; 2) Alysia Marie Desbiens (Mrs. Shawn Thompson) and children: Jay Christian, Claire Marie, Ryan Paul, and Dash Maddox Thompson. Arch Jr. is also survived by his four half-sisters: 1) Tracey Ainsworth Yonick (Mrs. Richard Lane) of Seattle, WA and their son Nicholas Madison Lane (Mrs. Rachel Yim) and son: Koa Bell; 2) Mary Scurlock (Mrs. Peter Adamson) of Portland, OR and children: Colby Scurlock Adamson and Amelia Chase (Mrs. Sam Selig); 3) Nancy Lynne Collins (Mrs. Michael Collins) of Bermuda, and children: Madeleine Ainsworth (Mrs. Keith Chenoweth, daughter Celine), Emily Weld, Deidre Janeway, William Scurlock, and James Morrison Collins (Mrs. Sarah Jane Collins); and 4) Margaret Ann Scurlock of New York City.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 29, at 4 PM at the Annandale United Methodist Church (6935 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA). There will also be a Visitation on Friday, June 28, from 4-6 PM at the Demaine Springfield Funeral Home (5308 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA). Burial will take place at a later date near his father and stepmother at the Culpeper National Cemetery, Culpeper, Virginia.