Javier Gomez

(-80538738812075974)3 + 804357581458175153 + 126021232973356313 = The answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Except that there are a multitude of questions that render that same answer. Javier Gomez, who passed away on January 29, 2022, spent his life looking not only for the answers of the universe, but also the right question to ask. As a particle physicist who helped found CEBAF and grow Jefferson Lab into the research institution it is today, he attempted to deconstruct the building blocks of the universe so that we could better understand the world around us.
After growing up in Puerto de Hierro, Venezuela, he came to the U.S. after accidentally wandering into an office at his university with a friend who was applying for a scholarship. Being his affable self, he struck up a conversation with one of the administrators and, when offered the opportunity to pick between the U.S. and the U.K. picked the U.S. because “I grew up in the Caribbean, the thought of wearing a coat and tie everyday seemed absurd.” He landed in Washington D.C. where he met his wife, Hilda, and with whom he had two children, Javier Ignacio and Natalia. He spent the remainder of his life as a loving, caring father and husband with a curiosity that was entirely unmatched, whether using his off time to help his son build a bio-mimetic fish for a science fair or tinkering with a robot that could one day cut the grass and spare everyone from the summer humidity in Virginia.
Javier often quipped that, when it came to time with family and friends, he would “take what I can and give nothing back” and he certainly did that, relishing all the time he was able to spend with the people he loved around the world. Because of this zeal for life and for other people he leaves behind not only his family, including his adored granddaughter Ceci, but many friends and colleagues that he met along the way and for whom he cared greatly.
His family and friends take solace in the fact that, thanks to the principle of conservation of matter, despite his passing, he is still around with us.
The family will gather on Saturday, February 5, at Newport News Park Shelter 10 from the hours of 11:00 to 1:00 to honor the life and legacy of Javier Gomez.