John Joseph Vytal, a resident of Marblehead, MA for almost 40 years, died peacefully on Thursday September 8, 2016 at The Brentwood in Danvers. He was born in Manchester, NH, son of the late Arthur F. Vytal and Olivette B. (Pariseau) Vytal, and brother of the late Arthur Paul Vytal. After graduating from Bishop Bradley High School in Manchester, John earned his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA, and Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. His interests in telecommunications work, which began in high school when he was an ardent ham radio operator, led him to pursue a doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While he elected not to finish his degree, he went on to conduct critical classified testing of government telecommunications and global positioning systems (GPS) that eventually developed into the GPS we use today to navigate our world. These important advances helped to keep both military and civilians safe. The bulk of this work was performed while he was at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA.

Outside of his professional interests, John was an avid sailor, a passion that originally brought him and his late wife, Linda Hildegard Vytal, to Marblehead. While living there, both were members of The Corinthian Yacht Club, and enjoyed sailing their C&C 25' sailboat Southern Comfort up and down the coast. John's hobbies of amateur radio operations, celestial navigation, and other maritime pursuits led him to become a Captain in the United States Power Squadrons. A talented handyman, he was also a general contractor and electrician back on land, where he worked on new construction and renovations for local homes and businesses. During his time in Marblehead, John was an active member of Our Lady, Star of the Sea Parish, serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister in his later years. A devoted father and loving grandfather, John is survived by his daughter Dr. Katherine "Katye" (Vytal) Watts, son-in-law Alexander Watts, and their daughter Finley Logan Watts.

Burial services were performed at St. Augustine Cemetery, Manchester, NH on Saturday September 10, 2016. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either Engineers Without Borders – USA, or The Foundation for Alcohol Research.