Monthly, we honor our recently passed here and at membership meetings. This page provides a list of those who have passed in 2025. For 2024 and prior memories of individuals, please visit the links at the bottom of this page. If you click on a name in blue font below, it will take you to their full obituary. You can also use the Search bar below the main menu to search for an individual by name for the years 2020 and beyond. For the years 2011 and prior, you can use the search feature in Acrobat to find a name.
Updated 11-19-2025 (ARadford)
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November
Betty Britt Lane, 87, passed away on Tuesday September 30, 2025. Betty retired from NASA Langley Research Center after 30 years of service.
James L. Raper, 88, of Newport News, VA, passed away October 8, 2025. Jim graduated from North Carolina State University in 1959 with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He earned a Master of Science in Administration and Engineering Management from The George Washington University in 1970 and completed senior executive fellow programs at Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University. During his distinguished forty year career at NASA Langley which included a two-year assignment to NASA Headquarters as Assistant Chief of the Environmental Quality Program in 1976, he led and contributed to numerous space and aeronautics projects. His early work included testing the Project Mercury emergency escape system. As Project Manager for the Viking decelerator system qualification balloon launches, he helped develop the parachute design that enabled the first soft landing on Mars in 1976 – work that remains influential to interplanetary missions. Jim also managed rocket launches at NASA Wallops Flight Facility and served as deputy manager of the Space Exploration Initiative Office, coordinating Langley’s contributions to initiatives for a permanent Moon base and human expeditions to Mars. Jim authored or co-authored more than forty NASA reports, journal articles, and technical papers. He was an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and a member of the American Meteorological Society. He received numerous awards for his work, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the NASA Headquarters Outstanding Leadership Medal for the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) mission, and several Special and Group Achievement Awards. He was always generous in crediting his talented project team members for their accomplishments. After retiring from NASA in 2001, Jim returned as a consultant on several projects and managed budgetary, funding and financial matters for Hampton University’s AIM mission for five years prior to its launch.
Dennis Meyer Bushnell, 84, passed away October 20, 2025. He spent 60 years at NASA, the last 28 as Chief Scientist of Langley Research Center. During his first 30 years at NASA Langley, he conducted groundbreaking research in a wide range of areas, including viscous flow modeling and control, turbulent drag reduction, hypersonic flight, and advanced materials. He contributed to the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, oversaw technology for the National Aero-Space Plane, and worked on the Delta Wing X-15. He also applied his insight in such decidedly non-NASA areas as Americas’ Cup racers and MAGLEV trains. For his achievements, Dennis was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and named a fellow of the ASME (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and the Royal Aeronautical Society and an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
October
Joseph Hicks Morrison, 61, passed away May 19, 2023. He completed a Bachelor and Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He served his entire career at NASA Langley Research Center where his many accomplishments included Founding Manager of the Langley midrange supercomputer, co-developing the NASA Standard for Modeling and Simulation, and becoming Associate Director for Modeling and Simulation. He also had a major influence on many international teams which led to work on NATO-related projects.
Savior “Joe” Joseph Giuliana, Jr., 64, of Hampton, passed away August 24, 2025. He dedicated more than three decades of service to Langley Research Center, beginning his career in 1993 and later graduating from the LaRC apprentice school. He was currently working as an Equipment Specialist. Joe was known as the “Go to Guy” at Langley. His expertise in high pressure control systems and craftsmanship left a lasting mark, with his fingerprints left on countless projects supporting NASA’s mission. Beyond his technical mastery, Joe was respected for his generosity, teamwork and willingness to mentor others.
Claude R. Watts, Jr., 88, passed away August 20, 2025. Claude proudly served in the Army and later enjoyed a fulfilling 38-year career at NASA Langley. His dedication extended beyond the workplace; he was a familiar and beloved presence at the Langley Activity Association as their #1 bartender for over 20 years. Later, Claude worked with Cortez/Trax at NASA Goddard before retiring in 2004. Claude’s passions included cars. He was a proud member of the First Flight Cruisers Car Club where he enjoyed showcasing his prized 1939 Packard.
Joyce A. Clemens passed away September 17, 2025. Joyce graduated from The Women’s College of The University of North Carolina in Greensboro, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1958. After graduation from college, she began a career at the NASA Langley Research Center where she worked as a computer programmer and analyst. In 1968, Joyce took a break from her career, dedicating her time to raising her children. As her children grew and began to attend school, Joyce worked as a substitute teacher and worked part-time at Langley Federal Credit Union. She later returned to LaRC, finishing out her career as a budget analyst.
Lt.Col (Ret) Burnett W Peters Jr., 95, passed away September 10, 2025. Burnie earned a bachelor’s degree from Howard University and master’s degrees from the University of Southwest California and George Washington University. Burnie retired from the United States Air Force after 20 years with over 2,000 flying hours. After the USAF, he was employed at Hampton Institute (University) as Head of the Emergency School Assistance Program. He retired a second time from NASA Langley Research Center where he served as Chief of the Scientific and Technical Programs, Chief of the Management Support Division and Director for the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs. He was a civic minded member of the Hampton community, having served as a Board Member of Langley Federal Credit Union, Vice-Chairman on the Board of Zoning Appeals for the city, President, American Heart Association Hampton Roads and was Big Brother/Big Sister of the Year, Tidewater VA.
Clarence Franklin Breen, 95, of Yorktown passed away September 16, 2025. Clarence served in the Army with great pride. After three years of active duty in Korea, he devoted the next 40 years of his career to NASA LaRC while continuing to serve his country in the Army Reserves.
Edward J. Lindonen, 84, of Hampton, VA and known to many as “Lindy,” passed away September 12, 2025. Born in Concord, New Hampshire, Ed served four years in the U.S. Air Force as an Aircraft Instrument Technician. After his honorable discharge, he began a distinguished career at NASA Langley, where he dedicated over 50 years to the field of instrumentation where about half of those years were working for Langley contractor ROME. Throughout his career, Lindy was recognized with many honors and accolades for his commitment and expertise.
September
Aaron Joel Ostroff, 85, passed away August 14, 2025. Aaron graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. and earned his Master’s Degree from George Washington University. Aaron worked for 40 years at NASA Langley Research Center as an Aerospace Engineer retiring from the Dynamic Systems and Control Branch. After retiring he enjoyed traveling with his wife Gloria.Aaron Joel Ostroff, 85, passed away August 14, 2025. Aaron graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. and earned his Master’s Degree from George Washington University. Aaron worked for 40 years at NASA Langley Research Center as an Aerospace Engineer retiring from the Dynamic Systems and Control Branch. After retiring he enjoyed traveling with his wife Gloria.
Nancy Patricia “Pat” Robins, 84, of Williamsburg, VA passed away August 11, 2025. Pat started her career at NASA Langley Research Center, transferred to Johnson Space Center, and then returned to LaRC with her husband Howard who also worked at NASA. Subsequently, she became an Assistant to the Office of Flight Administrator at NASA Headquarters and from where she retired.
Catherine “Ann” Worth, 89, passed away August 12, 2025. Ann graduated with high honors from Newport News High School in Newport News, Virginia, before starting her career in 1954 at the NACA. She had a prestigious career at NASA, where she worked with the original seven astronauts and received numerous service awards before retiring in 1992 with 38 years of service.
Joan Clemens Whitney, 89, passed away August 5, 2025. Around 1960 Joan accepted a job at the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Langley Research Center. In 1963 Joan was transferred to the Johnson Space Center where she worked during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs. These were exciting times, and she loved the amazing opportunity she had to contribute to these efforts, including the moon landing, and to witness history up close and from the inside. After a brief retirement from NASA, Joan spent over 10 years working as the college secretary at Sid Richardson College at Rice University.
William “Bill” Brewer, 85, of Gloucester, VA, passed away Aug. 11, 2025. Bill retired in 2001 after 40 years of service to NASA Langley Research Center as a Materials Research Scientist. During his career he served as a leader in ASM International and received multiple awards for his contributions to the space program, culminating with the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2000. He supported community organizations serving as PTA president at both Gloucester Intermediate School and Gloucester High Schools.
August
Dr. Sundareswara Balakrishna, 85, passed away February 28, 2025 in Hampton, Virginia. Dr. Balakrishna was born in Bangalore, India and spent his early life in the cities of Bangalore and Mysore. He excelled academically and was a wizard in math. He earned his PhD in Aeronautics and Controls Engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Subsequently, his career took him to Bangalore’s National Aeronautic Laboratory (NAL), where he spent 31 years working on a variety of topics related to the modeling and control of aerodynamic processes, and served as Scientist and Head of two departments. He then joined Vigyan Inc., where he engaged with NASA Langley Research Center and worked on the Cryogenic Wind Tunnel and related experimental activities. He worked for Vigyan right up until his passing, where he made a foundational impact on the organization. According to his colleagues at Vigyan, “One could say that Dr. Balakrishna had something to do with all major facilities at NASA Langley, as well as many of the smaller ones. Dr. Balakrishna’s innovation and rapid response to a challenge is unmatched, and NASA relied on him to ensure the successful operation and continuous improvement of the NTF.” His work with NASA earned him the prestigious NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal in 2015, an award given for “unusually significant engineering contributions of fundamental importance in the field.”
Andrew (Andy) Blackmore Connor, 96, passed away June 19, 2025. After his time in the Army, he graduated from Guiford College in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and then began working at Langley Research Center (then known as the NACA) as an aeronautical engineer specializing in helicopters. Andy retired in 1986.
James (Larry) Hunt, 86, passed away June 23, 2025. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a BS in physics and MS in physics from William and Mary. Larry began his career at NASA in 1962 that spanned more than 30 years. He was the manager of the systems management office at Langley Research Center and author or co-author on 73 articles and technical papers. During his career he received two special Achievement awards, five Certificates of Outstanding Performance and in 1990 awarded the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal. His most notable areas of expertise were the Aerospace plane and hypersonic air breathing scramjet powered vehicles.
Ann Whiting Hill Suit, 86, passed away July 4th, 2025. . She graduated from the Hampton High School class of 1957. Ann continued her education at Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia and enjoyed a thirty five year career at NASA Research Center as a Planning Advisor.
Charles “Charlie” Edward Cockrell, 82, of Yorktown, VA, passed away July 24, 2025. Charlie began his career as a Sheetmetal Worker in the NASA Apprentice School in the early 60’s. While in the Apprentice School Charlie started college in night school ultimately receiving a BS in Engineering and a Master of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University. NASA awarded Charlie a Fellowship to the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University where he received a mid-career certificate in Public Administration. After returning from Syracuse University, he went back to Old Dominion University where he continued his night school studies towards a Doctor of Engineering Management.
Charlie worked on numerous tasks relating to both space and aeronautics. He authored several significant publications on Moon and Mars Transfer Vehicles, on Requirements for On-Orbit Operations and In-Space Infrastructure, and In-Space Assembly Servicing Operations. Charlie spent a year working at NASA Headquarters as an Assistant to the Director for Enterprise Safety and Mission Assurance.
Charlie received the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal for his work on the Main Drive Fan Blades for the National Transonic Facility, the Vice-Presidential National Performance Review Hammer Award for his work on a team for “Making Government Work Better and Cost Less”, and the NASA-Langley Outstanding Volunteer Service Award. As a contractor he received an Ames Research Center Honor Award, and a Goddard Space Flight Center Exceptional Achievement Award.
Charlie was also a guest lecturer for the Joint Institute for Advance of Flight Sciences, A mentor for the Virginia Governor’s School for the Gifted, an Adjunct Instructor for the Engineering Management Department of Old Dominion University, a Lecturer at the NASA Program Project Management Institute, and an Adjunct Instructor in the Math, Engineering and Technologies Department at Thomas Nelson Community College. He also served as an advisor to the Space Physics Group at Princeton University in the development of the SWAPI Instrument for the IMAP spacecraft. He also served as a Safety and Mission Assurance lead for the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) Project at Goddard Space Flight Center.
Charlie was also active in the community through the Hampton Roads Jaycees where he rose to the position of President of the local chapter as well as several statewide positions. He was named the Peninsula’s Outstanding Young Leader and served on the United Way’s Planning and Research Division. He was also active in housing programs for lower income individuals and was co-chairman of an effort to raise $200K for mobile cardiac units for the City of Hampton. Charlie retired from Langley Research Center in 1999 as a Chief Engineer and then he helped form the Risk Management Corporation which developed NASA’s Risk Management program. He continued to work full time for NASA as a contractor for 25 years.
Barbara Weigel, 104, passed away August 1, 2025. Born in Princeton, NJ she moved to Hampton in 1944 where she went to work at the NACA/NASA as a Human Computer/Mathematician. She retired in 1980 after 36 years of service.
June
William Lile “Bill” Derby, 93, passed away on Monday, May 12, 2025. Bill proudly served his country in the United States Coast Guard. He went on to graduate from the NASA Apprenticeship Program and had a long and distinguished career with Langley Research Center, retiring as a Models and Materials Technology Manager. Bill was a devoted and faithful servant, and active member of St. Mark’s Methodist Church, Hampton; and a loyal supporter of the Gideons and their bible distribution.
Dr. Christopher (Chris) Lane Moore, 64, of Vienna, VA, passed away on May 14, 2025. Chris earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from University of Virginia (1983) and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech (1985). Following graduation, he went to work at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia where he designed, integrated and tested Space Shuttle payloads and conducted research on robotics. In 1991, on a NASA scholarship, Chris graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering focused on robotics. Chris spent his entire 39-year career at NASA, ultimately rising to the rank of Deputy Director of the Advanced Exploration Systems Division (AES) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. that he led for over 17 years. Under his watch, the AES group yielded successes across crew life support, advanced flight propulsion programs, hundreds of spaceflight experiments and the creation of oxygen on the surface of the Moon for future travelers. Chris retired in March 2023.
William “Bill” Matthews, 91, of Yorktown, VA passed away May 29, 2025. Bill became a resident of Yorktown in 1993, when he was transferred to the civilian army research group at Langley Research Center. He specialized in fracture and fatigue analysis. At LaRC, one of his major projects was the fatigue testing of Army helicopter rotor parts in need of quality testing, where he worked to validate that parts had a fatigue life consistent with their design. Jazz music was a passion of Bill’s and he collected over 2,000 jazz records and CDs over his lifetime.
Ronnie B. Perry, 78, passed away May 24, 2025. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Technology from Norfolk State University. Ronnie began his professional career at Newport News Shipbuilding before joining the Langley Research Center. At Langley he earned recognition for his innovative contributions to aerospace technology, including developments in explosive-actuated aircraft egress systems, steel foil blasting cap improvements, and explosive joining tubes. As part of the RSRA (Rotor Systems Research Aircraft) Piloted Aircraft Data Systems Team, Ronnie was honored with the Group Achievement Award for his work on the development and testing of four piloted aircraft systems. One of his proudest professional accomplishments was his contribution to the heat-resistant reentry tiles used on the U.S. Space Shuttle. After a long and fulfilling tenure at NASA, Ronnie continued his career at Northrop Grumman, where he furthered his work in the aerospace industry until his retirement in 2015.
Gregory Ralph Wichorek, 89, passed away May 27, 2025. He was born in Cleveland, OH. He received his civil engineering degree from Purdue University. He lived in Newport News for 63 years and worked at NASA for 28 years. His favorite past times included carpentry and gardening.
Dr. David P. Kratz, 70, passed away April 15, 2025. Dave joined NASA Langley in 1994 and was a dedicated team member for over 25 years before his retirement in 2020. He was an expert in spectroscopic analysis. Specializing in infrared analysis in the troposphere and stratosphere, he made instrumental contributions to multiple projects such as FIRST, INFLAME, SABER, CERES and CLARREO. His development of correlated-k coefficients from HITRAN database played a critical role in accurate cloud retrievals for many NASA remote sensing applications for the CERES project. Dr. Kratz also led the CERES Surface-only Flux Algorithm (SOFA) working group for nearly 20 years. As lead he played a vital role in the validation, implementation, and operationalization of multiple approximate algorithms that estimate the surface radiative fluxes in the CERES footprint products. A pair of these SOFA algorithms, the Langley Parameterized Flux (LPSA, LPLA) algorithms, formed the basis for the near-real time regional estimates of surface radiative energy flows over the globe. These estimates provide fundamental information needed for enabling the near-real time NASA applied science data to the public in the fields of agriculture planning, energy efficient smart building design, solar heating application, and solar energy optimization computation that are still being utilized today. Dave was known for his love of astronomy, hiking, good food, and old cars. He kept his 1981 Dodge Omni working for nearly 40 years and drove it for over 250 k miles before giving it up after auto parts were no longer available for his model. His 1997 Subaru Outback with the iconic “I’d Rather Be Observing” license plate cover could usually be found in the B1250 back parking lot early each morning and was often one of the last to leave in the evening. He loved fried chicken and broccoli on Wednesdays at the old NASA Langley cafeteria.
May
Dr. Ram Kishore Tripathi, 83, passed away April 9, 2025. Born in India, he came to the United States in 1966 on a Fulbright Fellowship to pursue his Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics at the University of Kansas. Thereafter, he successively moved to Germany, England, and India to collaborate with leading nuclear physicists at research universities around the world. He subsequently came to Langley Research Center. Renowned for his keen intellect, Dr. Tripathi received many professional accolades including election to the American Physical Society, American Academy of Aeronautics & Astronautics, and the NASA Langley Director Award for Outstanding Research that is essential to protecting the health of our astronauts on the Mars Mission. After leaving NASA at the ripe age of 73, and being acutely aware of the need for students to be educated in STEM, Dr. Tripathi taught Math and Physics at local area High Schools, the Virginia Peninsula Community College, and Hampton University
Iris Boyd Russell, 94, died on April 7, 2025. Iris was a resident of the Peninsula since 1952. She retired in 1994 from Langley Research Center as a Supervisory Computer Specialist with 41 years of service.
Daniel Bulla Snow, 88, of Hampton, VA, passed away on March 26, 2025. After graduating from Virginia Tech in 1959, he took a job with Pratt & Whitney developing and testing liquid nitrogen and oxygen rocket engines. In 1961, Dan took a position at the NASA Langley Research Center. His first assignment was part of NASA’s Mars Mission Studies, where his work ranged from developing and testing Saturn V rocket models to designing systems on micro-meteoroid satellites. He later participated in the historic Voyager and Viking Mars mission programs and authored reports over a wide spectrum of mission subjects. Dan eventually moved his focus from spacecraft to aircraft applications. In that capacity, he researched and published his work on Hydrogen Propulsion for commercial transport aircraft, which was an idea way ahead of its time. While detailed to NASA Headquarters, Dan had Agency oversight of Construction of Facilities projects, specifically for the Refuse Fired Steam Generating Facility and the National Transonic Facility projects at Langley. Upon return to Langley, he was assigned to the Langley Facility Engineering Planning Section where he had overall responsibility for developing Langley’s annual and five-year Major Construction of Facilities budgets. Dan later became part of the Langley team that converted a wind tunnel nearing the end of its useful life into the National Transonic Facility (NTF), a one-of-a-kind research facility that provided the US with capabilities unique in the world. Dan retired from NASA in 1995 after 34 years of dedicated service.
Maynard Campbell Sandford, 88, passed away April 30, 2025. Maynard earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics from Randolph-Macon College in 1959. His many accomplishments include 35 years as a NASA Langley Research Center Aeronautical Engineer from 1959 to 1994. He became an international expert on aeroelastic flutter, testing various military and civilian aircraft including the C-5, F-111, A-6, and F-22. Throughout his adult life, he was an exceptional athlete playing fast-pitch softball, basketball, and tennis. He played in the Virginia Senior Olympics winning multiple Singles and Doubles Tennis Championships, which allowed him to compete in the U.S. Senior Olympic Games in Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, and Louisiana.
John Young Nicholson III, 89, passed away July 3, 2024. He was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Hampden-Sydney college in 1956 Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. After college he taught high school science. Later he completed coursework for a PhD in chemistry and worked for Dupont as a chemist. Subsequently he worked at NASA Langley Research Center measuring and modeling components of the Earth’s atmosphere using micro-g and nano-g accelerometers flown on the NASA space shuttle.
Zylphia Epps Orr, 74, passed away April 28, 2025. She graduated from Jasper High School in Ridgeland, SC then relocated to New Jersey where she earned her certification as a key punch operator. She then settled in Newport News Virginia where she maintained her career as a computer operator at NASA Langley for over 30 years and at the Daily Press for almost a decade. She was well known as “Zee” to her family and countless friends.
Joseph R. Chambers, 84, of Yorktown, Virginia passed away May 8, 2025. He graduated from Georgia Tech in June, 1962, with a B.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering. After receiving job offers from nine different companies, he accepted a research position at the NASA Langley Research Center. Joe pursued his long-time interest in airplanes as a researcher at the historic Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel, working on the development of concepts for Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. His technical specialty was the area of stability and control of advanced civil and military aircraft. Joe was a major participant in the development of many important civil and military aircraft in the 1970s and 1980s, especially his contributions to critical high-performance military fighters. In 1969, he was requested by the U. S. Air Force and Navy to help determine the cause of an alarming number of accidents (over 100 aircraft) involving the F-4 Phantom fighter. Using facilities and his team of researchers at Langley, he formulated a broad program to determine improvements for the F-4, established international recognition for the program, and embellished the efforts to provide design methods for future U.S. high-performance fighters that included the Air Force F-15, F-16 and F-22; and the U.S. Navy F-14 and F/A-18. He advocated for the F/A-18 aircraft he obtained for NASA research that is currently on display at the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton, VA. He received numerous national and NASA awards, including the AIAA Control of Flight Award; the prestigious Arthur Fleming Award given to the ten most outstanding men and women in federal service; and NASA medals for Outstanding Leadership, Exceptional Service, and Public Service. He authored over 60 technical reports and became a highly respected researcher within the international engineering community for his technical expertise. He represented NASA on several international scientific committees. He retired in 1998, and immediately began a second career writing publications for NASA on the scientific accomplishments and in-depth histories of the Langley Research Center. He authored over 10 archived books that have been widely acclaimed and circulated within the public, military, government, and universities.
April
Clarence Melvin “Skippy” Cole, 94, passed away March 23, 2025. After graduating from Hampton high school, Skippy enrolled in the NASA apprentice program. In 1951, during the Korean War, he enlisted in the United States Navy. He served until 1955, when he was discharged with the rank of Aviation Structural Mechanic 2nd class. He returned to NASA, was assigned to the Fabrication Division, and advanced to supervisor of the Instrument Development Section. He retired from NASA in 1993 after 44 years of government service. Skippy was a talented carver of miniature wooden ducks and birds and spent countless hours doing various woodworking projects projects in his garage. He loved to play golf (scoring two holes-in-one over the course of his life) and was a member of the Hampton Seniors Golf Association for 25 years.
Kevin George “Vip” Vipavetz, 70, of Southern Shores, NC, passed away March 25, 2025. Kevin served as a Senior Systems Engineer for NASA at Langley Research Center. His career included serving as the lead engineer for the Ares 1-X project which successfully launched on October 28, 2009. He had a project on the Space Shuttle Discovery, was the Spectrum Manager for NASA at Langley, and most recently worked on the Gateway Program.
John “Tom” Barclay, 85, of Williamsburg passed away March 27, 2025. Tom graduated from the NASA Langley Apprentice School in 1963 after which he served in the U.S. Army for two years stationed mostly in Germany. After the army, he returned to Langley Research Center where he worked until he retired in 1993.
Bordie “Dan” Poole Jr, 87, of Broomfield, CO passed away March 27, 2025. He was a previous resident of Seaford, VA for over 30 years. He graduated from Newport News High School and worked for NASA for over 25 years until he retired.
March
Jack Harris, 90, of Williamsburg passed away February 11, 2025. After graduating from Marquette University in 1956 with a degree in Physics, he was a Naval Officer for 5 years with the last 2 years spent at LaRC. He then continued at LaRC as a civilian employee until his retirement in 1994. At Langley, Jack was involved with several major space flight projects, namely Lunar Orbiter in the 1960’s and the Viking mission to Mars in the 1970’s. He was awarded NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal for his contributions to Viking.
Dr. Melvin (Mel) Sheldahl Anderson, 94,passed away February 10, 2025 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Mel started working for the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) in 1952 at Langley and stayed at Langley through his career. Mel was a highly respected structures researcher. NASA sponsored Mel to pursue research at the University of Wales in Cardiff. He worked on a variety of projects for NASA including Mercury, Apollo, Viking, and the Space Shuttle. He was typically involved early in a project, helping to make sure the space vehicle was structurally stable. In his career, he had the chance to author a number of papers and attend many international conferences including conferences in the USSR, Australia and China. After he retired from NASA, Mel worked at Old Dominion University doing teaching and research.
Dr. Robert Tucker “Bob” Wingate, 88, formerly of Hampton & Williamsburg, VA, passed away on February 20, 2025 in Chantilly, VA after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.In 1959 Bob began work at Langley Research Center. While with NASA, he earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from UVA & Virginia Tech, respectively. Dr. Wingate was selected for the NASA Senior Executive Service and was awarded the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal, among other honors, during his career. He retired from NASA in 1995 after 36 years of service.
John Presnell, 90, of Liberty, NC passed away January 6, 2025.John was recruited while studying physics at Guilford College, and after graduation went to work for NACA at Langley at the Unitary (wind) Tunnel. After that, he went to JSC and was the Project Engineer for Apollo 12 Lunar Module Intrepid. He was at Dryden for the Shuttle Enterprise approach and landing tests and ended his career at NASA at KSC.
Dr. Olaf Storaasli, 81, passed away February 21, 2025.He spent most of his career at NASA LaRC where he led hardware, software, and applications teams to successfully develop one of NASA’s first parallel computers, the finite element machine, and developed rapid matrix equation algorithms tailored for high-performance computers. These developments were aimed at using the finite element method for structural analysis. Following his retirement from LaRC he worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Centrus Energy, & Synective Labs continuing his focus on supercomputing applications. He also worked as a Graduate Advisor and Instructor at the University of Tennessee, George Washington University and Christopher Newport University. In 2024, he served as the president of Langley Alumni Association.
Doris Kluttz Blanchard, 96,of Hampton passed away on March 4, 2025. Doris graduated from Catawba College in 1949 with a double major degree in Mathematics and foreign languages. After college she joined the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) as a Human Computer. As NACA transitioned to NASA, Doris was promoted to Head Computer at the Supersonic Pressure Tunnel. After retiring in 1983, Doris continued her love of travel with family, friends and Earthwatch, an international environmental nonprofit. Over her lifetime, she visited and immersed herself in the cultures of 6 continents and 37 countries. In 2019, Doris was the inaugural recipient of the “Reaching for the Stars” award from the non-profit organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition ofScience and Technology) Chesapeake Women in STEM.
February
Irmgard Anna Richardson “Irma,” 90, of Newport News, Virginia passed away January 3, 2025.She was born in Dudeldorf, Germany and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. She worked at and retired from Langley Research Center, and enjoyed spending time with family and friends.
Willard Randolph Weaver Jr., 86, of Williamsburg, passed away January 6, 2025. His professional career of 42 years at Langley Research Center was mostly in the Space Systems Division as a physicist. One of his favorite projects early in his career was his involvement in the Viking Lunar Landing on Mars project. Another favorite project was as part of the team designing and building NASA’s space museum. Toward the end of his career, Willard served as Assistant to the Director of Space.
George Milton Summerfield, 89, of Surry passed away January 12, 2025.The son of a coal miner, George pursued an education first at ODU and later at Virginia Tech. This led him to a wonderful 36-year long career at Langley Research Center.
Gary Paul Stergin, 67, of Yorktown, VA passed away January 23, 2025.Gary worked many jobs including working for an oil drilling rig in Texas and doing well wire line service on oil wells in Louisiana before joining the Apprentice program at NASA in 1980 where he received his bachelor’s degree. Gary worked 40 years at Langley Research Center. Among his many accomplishments was an invention that earned him one of NASA’s largest commendations, the Suggestion of the Year award, and the Exceptional Achievement Medal. Gary was selected as the Branch Head of the Aerodynamics Research Support Branch where he oversaw technicians that supported the configuration, operation and general support for multiple wind tunnels and facilities. He later managed a major revitalization project to replace old buildings with new facilities which received GOLD LEED certification for energy efficiency.
Paul M. Siemers, III, 85, passed away January 20, 2025.Paul joined Langley Research Center in 1961. Paul designed hypersonic wind tunnels and arc jet facilities to address the Lunar mission return to earth reentry. He served on the Lunar Orbiter Spacecraft Operations team as the assistant to the Space Flight Operations Director. Paul then transitioned to the Viking Program and served as the aerothermodynamics engineer/manager with responsibility for the development of the entry Aerodynamic, Aeroheating, and Vehicle Dynamics databases required in the design of what is now called the Entry, Descent, and Landing, EDL system. The Viking database is still the go-to reference for Mars entries. After Viking, Paul worked on defining, developing, and implementing the multi-center Orbiter Experiments program OEX. He served as a project scientist for OEX, participated in designing and developing the Shuttle Development Flight Instrumentation DFI, and served as principal investigator and experiment development manager for the Shuttle Entry Air Data System (SEADS), which successfully flew and validated the flush orifice air data system (FADS) concept across the entry speed range — Hypersonic to subsonic. Paul received numerous awards, including a NASA Medal for Exceptional Engineering Achievement for SEADS and individual group achievement awards for Viking and SEADS. After retirement in 1998, Paul enjoyed restoring old cars and motorcycles and riding his Harley Davidson. On his motorcycle, he rode to all forty-eight continental states.
Nancy Hopkins White, 80, passed away October 19, 2024.Nancy graduated from Longwood College and William and Mary with B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics. She retired from NASA Langley Research Center after 38 years and went back to work for a private contractor at NASA for another 8 years.
For 2024 and prior memories of individuals, please visit the links below:
