John L. Hankins, 93, former vice president of electric production at the Philadelphia Electric Co., died Tuesday, May 29, at Lima Estates, a retirement community near Media, where he had lived since moving from his longtime residence in Rose Tree in 1991. Born in Merchantville, he was senior class president and varsity basketball team captain at both Merchantville High School, from which he graduated in 1935, and at Lehigh, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1939.
Mr. Hankins was a vice president at Peco from 1973 until his retirement in 1978. A tribute adopted by the board of directors in advance of his retirement stated that Mr. Hankins "has been in the forefront of the nuclear age, beginning with Peach Bottom No. 1 unit in 1967 and continuing through the full development of that station with its unique construction, operations, and maintenance problems." The Peach Bottom nuclear power plant is in York County, Pa. http://bit.ly/L2f3md