The soul of SKIP UDELL is rejoicing in Eternity after going to Heaven late on the evening of Tuesday, 6 October 2026, in Richland, Washington. Ski# parents were Harold Francis Udell and Delia Evangeline ‘Bunn/ DeLorme Udell. He was born in Lowell Massachusetts, moving to nearby Dracutt where he attended elementary school. Later moving to New Jersey for middle school, he finished high school in Amityville NY, followed by 4 years at Nomich University, the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and the only private Senior Military College, where he received his U.S. Army officer commission, and his Bachelor’s Degree in Government, followed later with a Master of Education degree in Social Science from the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He completed further studies in Criminal Justice at Jacksonville State University in Mississippi. When Skip first came to Richland in 1978, he had just been discharged from the U.S. Army at Fort McClellan, Alabama. He was recruited as Chief of Hanford Patrol, followed by 24 years of safeguards and security management, project management and vulnerability assessment experience on the Hanford Site. He then worked as a security consultant and technical advisor for Polestar Applied Technology; and prior to that he was vulnerability analysis and risk assessment leader in the DOE Complex with 40 years of security experience in the nuclear industry and the military. He also provided risk analysis and management support to other sites and agencies throughout the DOE Complex, including the DOE Transportation Safeguards Division, Albuquerque NM; British Transport Division, Risley UK; Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant OH; Waste Isolation Project, Carlsbad NM; and the Paducah Plant KY. In addition, he traveled to Japan, France, and Scotland to lend his expertise to international security. A Vietnam combat Veteran in the U.S. Army, Major Udell provided advisory support to the South Vietnamese infantry forces conducting counter-insurgency operations. He provided support and protective services to the United Nations Command Internal Affairs Division and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission to the UN in the Joint Security Area, Panmunjom, Korea. He was a Branch Chief in the Combat Development Directorate, U.S. Army Military Police School, conducting scenario-oriented analysis to determine optimum combat support organizational structures and equipment requirements. He also served in company and battalion leadership and staff positions while serving during the Cold War in Germany with the 35th Armored Division in Manheim; the 4th Armored Group in Frankfort; the 10th Special Forces in Badtolz; and the 8th Infantry Division in Baumholder. He received U.S. Army training for jungle warfare in the Panama Canal Zone. Skip’s military assignments included the 35th Armored Division, Manheim Germany in 1961, the 4th Armored Group, Frankford Germany in 1962 as well as being attached with the 10th Special Forces, Badtolz Germany; the 8th Infantry Division, Baumholder Germany from 1963-1964; the 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood TX from 1964- 1966; the U.S. Army Assistance Command Vietnam, Military Advisory Team 24 from 1967-1968; the U.S. Army ROTC Detachment, Assistant Professor of Military Science, 3rd Army, Mercer University, Macon GA from 1968- 1971; the U.S. Army Support Group, Military Armistice Affair Division, United Nations Command, Panmunjom Korea from 1971-1972; the Military Police Advisor to the National Guard, U.S. Army Readiness Region II, Readiness Group Dix, Fort Dix NJ from 1973-1975; and the U.S. Army Military Police School (USAMPS), Combat Development Directorate, Fort McClelland AL from 1976-1977. Skip served as a Principal Security Consultant for Polestar Applied Technology, Inc., and served as a technical advisor to senior management and as a risk management technical program lead in support of Department of Energy (DOE) contracts at the Richland Operations Office, Hanford Site; and the Y-12 and K-25 Plants at Oak Ridge TN. He was a security and risk management leader in the government complex, with 40 years’ security and military experience supporting the DOE and the Department of Defense. Responsibilities at the DOE Hanford Site included 3 years as Chief of the Site Protective Forces consisting of 230 security police officers providing protection and emergency Site services with a $14M budget; 4 years managing the Program Management Group, implementing a Site-wide performance assurance and force-on-force testing program, coordinating the Safeguards and Security (SAS) Site planning program, implementing the SAS self-assessments program, overseeing the nuclear material balance area audit program, managing the corrective action tracking program to ensure the control and tracking and correction of SAS deficiencies from DOE headquarters and Richland Operations Office inspections and audits, and the implementation of a proactive vulnerability assessment (VA) program for some 15 Site-wide facilities; 8 years as Program Manager of Risk Analysis and Assessments managing the conduct of VAs, risk analyses, cost-risk-benefit analyses and Site SAS planning for Hanford and work for others in the DOE Complex; and 8-years as Team Leader/Analyst in which he and two associates developed a Risk Evaluation System methodology which was implemented in the DOE Complex. Skip conducted computer modeling and performance testing and completed over 50 VAS and was responsible for the annual Site Safeguards and Security Plan during this 8-year period. Recommendations stemming from VA reports and Security plans resulted in many cost-effective protection strategies which reduced expenditures at several DOE facilities and contributed immeasurably to the DOE mission and improved national security and health and safety of the public. He held a DOE Q security clearance. Most noteworthy during his tenure as a DOE contractor, Skip became nationally recognized and provided technical support as VA, planning, performance testing and risk management Team Leader in support of DOE Transportation Safeguards Division (TSD), Albuquerque NM, evaluating, testing and planning and coordinating with Sandia National Laboratories and TSD management to implement cost-effective enhancements for the safe and secure road transport of nuclear materials across the continental United States; assisting the Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon OH, the Waste Isolation Project, Carlsbad NM, the Paducah Plant, Paducah KY, and the K-25 Site, Oak Ridge TN, in conducting assessments, performance testing and planning to identify security enhancements to meet DOE requirements. During this period Skip led a team of subject matter experts in providing risk management support to the British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) Transport Division, Risely 11K, developing an evaluation approach to assess ocean transport requirements to meet International Atomic Energy Agency regulations and to be in compliance with the international nuclear non-proliferation treaty and the international threat. The support was provided during a 4-year period and assisted BNFL in developing a security system design for a nuclear transport ocean vessel to include port security. Skip coordinated activities with and delivered presentations to joint participants in the United Kingdom, France, Japan and the U.S. Department of State. During his tenure with the U.S. Army, he served in key positions in Europe, Vietnam and Korea: as Branch Chief of the Scenario-Oriented Evaluation Branch of the Combat Developments Directorate, U.S. Army Military Police School, with a mission of evaluating and designing combat support force structure and equipment requirements for military police units on the modern battlefield; Deputy Commander of the security forces operating in the Joint Security Area (JSA), Panmunjom, Korea (meeting site between United Nations Command IUNC) and the Korean and Chinese Peoples Armies) providing protection, response and emergency services to the JSA and Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission under the operational control of the Armistice Affaires Division, UNC; Advisor assigned to the Military Assistance Command Vietnam assisting infantry forces conducting counter-insurgency operations in the central highlands of Vietnam; Military Police Advisor to reserve component Military Police Battalions and a Criminal Investigation Detachment; Combat Arms Company Commander leading 120 soldiers; Battalion Combat Intelligence and Chemical/Biological/Nuclear (CBN) Officer, Platoon Leader, and Team Leader. Skip also completed course work in Project Management at Washington State University; associated with Government Institutes, Inc. completing course work in Environment, Health and Safety; and completed military education programs in Research Development and Management, Advanced Law Enforcement, Officers Basic, Security Management, Civil Disturbance and Terrorism, Counter Terrorism, Military Advisor, Combat Intelligence and Jungle Operations. He has also completed courses in Tactical Vulnerability Assessments and Analytic System and Software for Evaluating Safeguards and Security at the DOE Central Training Academy. Skip enjoyed animals of all kinds, owning dogs, cats and horses. He also loved the outdoors, the Oregon coast, travel, fishing. hiking, basketball (his early hero Larry Bird and most recently Luka Donöié), golf, football, baseball, tennis, boxing, gardening and his yard. He often said “This is the yard that the Lord Hath made; I am rejoicing and glad in 118:24 adaptation). He always took pride in keeping everything neat—home, office space, cars, and yard. He loved to cook, as did his father and both nephews. He had a passion for sports, sports, and more sports; when he wasn’t playing them, he enjoyed watching others play on TV or in person. Skip is survived by his spouse Linda Stephens, sister-in-lawitwin to Linda, Laura and Gene Wilson in Richland WA; sister Donviéve (Michael) Christian in Bayside CA; nephew Ryan Sullivan (fiancée Holly Lockwood) of Arcata CA, and nephew Julian (Paåla) Calabrese and their son Max of Bozeman MT. Skip was preceded in death by his parents as well as several uncles and aunts. Throughout the years, Skip and Linda supported 8 children in 7 countries around the world through 2 Christian- sponsored organizations. In 2015, while Linda was volunteering at her church with an English as a Second Language class, she met the first of their two ‘adopted’ families, the first one from Mexico—Luis, Yesenia and their 3 daughters, Nataly, Valeria and Isabella who call Skip Grampy and Linda Grammie. In 2017 they bought a home and continued to financially help a second family from Venezuela—Tony, Rayda and 3 daughters, Sherly, Sharenley and Shariana. Skip’s favorite Bible verse is Psalms 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Without even trying, he completely memorized Linda’s favorite passage from Philippians 4:4-7 in the Living Bible while they were often riding in their car, together repeating it back and forth: Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything, Tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus. There will not be any memorial celebration held at church to share Skip’s amazing life. Instead of lowers, please send love offerings to our favorite charity doing God’s work in Jesus’ Name all over the world—Samaritan’s Purse, PO Box 3000, Boone NC 28607-3000.