Patricia Timbrook-McMullan, 68, of Annandale, VA passed away at home on May 26, 2020 after a courageous battle with cancer. The eldest child of the late Paul and Sophie Timbrook, she leaves behind her husband of over 44 years, Scott McMullan, her sister Jan (Dave) Sennett, brother Tim (Barb) Timbrook and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brother Mark Timbrook.
A graduate of Juniata College in Huntington, Pennsylvania, with a degree in mathematics, Pat began her career with the County of Arlington as the first woman ever hired for the survey crew. She moved into transportation planning where her expertise in math and computers led her to be the project manager for the County’s first computerized traffic signal system.
Pat moved into the private sector as a traffic engineer and Director of ITS at Frederic R. Harris and then as a Vice President at Street Smarts. Her expertise in the traffic signal field took her to Florida after Hurricane Andrew to lead the effort to rebuild 77 damaged traffic signals in 90 days. After September 11th, Pat was called into Arlington County to observe traffic in the field and retime traffic signals on the fly to reroute buses and traffic away from the Pentagon to surrounding roadways after the Pentagon Metro stop was closed.
In June of 2006 she went out on her own and founded T3 Design Corporation, a woman-owned consulting firm that specializes in traffic and transportation engineering. She grew the firm from an initial 5 employees, to almost 40 staff members today who are involved in hundreds of roadway improvement projects in the DMV region. T3 continues on as a legacy to Pat, based on the principles and values she established.
A licensed Professional Engineer and Professional Transportation Operations Engineer, Pat took great pleasure in mentoring students and young engineers, with a hands-on approach. She was a leader in the industry as a long-time member and past president of the Washington DC Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, as well as a past president and current Board member for the Intelligent Transportation Society of Maryland. The loss of her keen mind, leadership, and practical solutions-driven problem-solving skills will leave a void in the industry.
A gathering to celebrate her life will be scheduled at a later date.
