LTG Charles Elgin "Chuck" Dominy

LTG Charles Elgin “Chuck” Dominy, US Army Retired, loving husband, father and grandfather, career soldier and Fairfax native, passed away on September 1, 2023.

The son of Floyd Elgin Dominy and Alice Criswell Dominy, Chuck was born on June 4, 1940 in Arlington, VA. Following his father’s World War II naval service, the family moved to a working cattle farm in then-rural Oakton, VA called Hickory Knoll that became the family seat. Chuck graduated from Fairfax High School in 1958 where he was class president, played baseball and trombone, and distinguished himself in 4-H. Later that summer, he reported to the United States Military Academy, the first step in a long, distinguished Army career. While a West Point cadet, Chuck began courting his Fairfax High classmate, Mary Dell Paquette, whom he married on March 30, 1963.

Upon graduating West Point in 1962, Chuck was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Thirty-three years later, he retired as a lieutenant general and Director of the Army Staff, in which he acted on behalf of, and coordinated the activities of all agencies reporting to, the Chief of Staff of the Army. Prior to that assignment, he served as Chief of Legislative Liaison for all Army activities related to the US Congress; Commanding General, Missouri River Engineer Division; executive to the Secretary of the Army; commander, Savannah Engineer District; and commander, 5th Engineer Battalion. He twice served in Vietnam, as the Battalion Advisor to the ARVN 301st Engineer Battalion (1966-67) and later as Operations Officer, 14th Engineer Battalion (1969-70), and in Germany (Kitzingen, 1963-65, and Heidelberg, 1978-80). His military decorations include: Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star (Oak Leaf Cluster), three Air Medals, Meritorious Service Medal (Four Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (“V” Device and Oak Leaf Cluster), the Parachutist Badge, the Ranger Tab, and the Army Staff Identification Badge. He also earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois, as well as degrees from Emory University, the U.S. Army War College, and the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College. One of his proudest achievements was being named the Honor Graduate of his Ranger School class, something skinny engineer officers were not supposed to do.

Following his military service, Chuck enjoyed an equally successful career in private industry with Kellogg Brown & Root, Halliburton Company, and IAP Worldwide Services during which he managed government affairs, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions. Chuck was especially instrumental in those companies’ support of US forces around the world, including the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Most recently, the Governor of Virginia appointed Chuck to the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors, where his lifetime of service and experience contributed to the growth of the nation’s oldest state-supported military college.

After retiring from the Army, Chuck and Mary returned to Hickory Knoll, where they hosted their extended family for occasions large and small. By then, Oakton was no longer rural, and Chuck delighted in providing first-person recollections of numerous historical features in that part of Fairfax County. They maintained a large vegetable and flower garden, while Chuck managed the deer and bass populations on the property. An avid golfer, Chuck was a member of the “Dew Crew” at Army Navy Country Club, and travelled annually to wherever the West Point “Golfing Grads” held their tournaments.

Chuck’s energy and zest for life brought great fun and adventure to the lives of his children and grandchildren. He taught them countless things ranging from how to fish, garden, and drive a tractor, to the value of hard work and the importance of positive thinking. Chuck took great interest in the lives of his grandchildren, and he cheered them on with passion and enthusiasm in all of their athletic, academic, and artistic pursuits. Watching them grow up and pursue their own unique paths was a tremendous source of joy for him.

Chuck lived his life fully and with purpose, making the most of every minute of every day no matter where he was or what he was doing. His favorite thing to do, however, was to spend time with Mary at beautiful Hickory Knoll. He once wrote to a local Oakton community center, “In spite of 27 mailing addresses and assignments all over America, Germany, and Vietnam, I’m proud to say I returned to my roots at Hickory Knoll, my boyhood home.”

Chuck is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Mary; children Dawn (Tony), Mary Ann (Ernie) and David; grandchildren Allie (Michael), Chris, Joe, Jake, Katherine, Lane, Amelia and Mae; and his sister, Ruth (Dick). His older sister Janice predeceased him earlier this year.