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This page was updated: 19 JULY 2010
I AM SO FAR BEHIDE IN UPDATING THESE RANGE RAT PAGES,
BUT BEAR WITH ME I'LL BE WORKING ON BRINGING THEM UP TO DATE....
SORRY FOLKS, HEALTH REASONS AND PERSONAL BUSINESS
HAS KEPT ME FROM THESE PAGES
SO I WILL BE ADDING MORE NEWS, AS TIME PERMITS.
some news may be old news, but NEW to this site,
Look for the RED highlights for JULY 2010 information.
(PINK highlights were added in JUNE 2010)
BLUE for older updates.
If you worked on the range, I would like to hear from you, especially if you know of any range rats who have passed on and not listed below. If you can provide any information about where they worked and what years, the year they died etc etc it would be helpful. You can see from many of the below entrys what type of info has been supplied.
If you know any of the range rats listed on this page and want to send more info. about them, you can do that too.
If you are a range rat who just found my website, be sure to check the "Range Rat Introduction Page" (there is a link at the bottom of this page), and also make an entry in the Range Rat Sign-In Book (not to be confused with the Guest book!).
(If you have signed in before, only make a new entry if you have an update or want to make a new comment).
Send Email to Joe
"One less Range Rat is not a good thing".
(The below list is mainly for Range Rats who have died, however there are some people listed who were up-range people, which were included as I did not know their status, and so I am leaving them on the list. In the future, please only send me info. about Range Rats who have worked on the down range islands or ships.)
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NOTE: CHANGES MADE TO THIS PAGE ON 18 JANUARY 2010:
This page has gotten to be too large, with all of the reports of deaths starting from 2005 through 2010, and so I have split up the reports into 3 seperate pages as follows:
Page ONE (this page) will contain the alphabetical list (above) of known deaths of range rats/ship rats as reported by other range rats. And will also include the most recent reports of the deaths for 2009 and 2010.
Page TWO will contain the reports from range rats that were received in 2007 and can be found by clicking here.
Page THREE will contain the reports from range rats that were received in 2005-2006 and can be found by clicking here.
Please take a look at these other pages (2 and 3) and review them to see if you knew any of these range rats/ship rats who have died. Perhaps you can send additional information about them
In many cases there is hardly any information provided, except for the name of the individual and where he worked.
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Send Email to Joe
19 JULY 2010: DEATH OF GLENN STEPHENSON REPORTED
- "Mac" Monroe informed me a few days ago about the passing of Glenn Stephenson who served on the USNS Redstone. Glenn's obit was published in Florida Today and reads in part: "Glenn Renneau Stephenson - Rockledge FL - 69, died Thursday, 15 July 2010 at Wuesthoff Hospice Care Center. He was born in Rome, GA. Following his time in the Navy he continued his service in the Defense Industry including over twenty years onboard the USNS REDSTONE. Funeral services will be held Thursday afternoon, July 22nd at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Rockledge FL. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Wuesthoff Brevard Hospice, 8060 Spyglass Hill Road, Viera, FL 32940." You can read his complete obit at Florida Today and can visit and sign his guest book if you wish.
- Who remembers Glenn? Must be many people who remember him if he spent 20 years aboard the USNS Redstone. Send me an email.
- There was an appropriate poem with his obit that I am publishing here, appropriate for Glenn and others who served aboard ships:
There is a port of no return,
where ships may ride at anchor
for a little space and then,
some starless night,
the cable slips, leaving an eddy at the mooring place...
Gulls, veer no longer.
Sailor, rest your oar.
No tangled wreckage will be washed ashore.
15 JULY 2010: SON OF THOMAS RUDOLPH TESAREK REPORTS HIS FATHERS DEATH.
- On this page, in AUG. 2009, I erroneously made an entry where I had the names mixed up of the son and father, and so the below is a correction:
Thomas E. Tesarek wrote in the RR Sign-in Book in May '09 that his father Thomas Rudolph Tesarek had passed away in 2002. Saying that his father worked at Cape Kennedy in the early 60's, then in the mid 60's worked on Grand Turk. He also worked on the USNS Arnold; on Johnson Atoll; then at JPL at Goldstone, finally retiring in Barstow CA. The son lived with him on Grand Turk and really enjoyed his time there, saying it was a great time to see all that was going on in the space industry.
- After the son made his entry, Lutisha Tesarek, the wife of the deceased, also made an entry in the RR Sign-in Book on 11 APRIL 2010, making this comment: "After leaving RCA, we returned and lived on the Black Douglas, a 150 foot converted mine sweeper helping Lou Black with his treasure hunting - he was building a one man submarine and bought a small island about 15 miles away." (But she didnt say where...)
- If anyone else knew Thomas Tesarek, like what sections he worked etc., and wants to comment further, let me know and I'll publish it here.
09 JUNE 2010: GOOD NEWS TO REPORT ! TODAY I HEARD FROM THE SON OF LEN MASHBURN:
- In May of 2005 I reported from a reliable source that Len Mashburn had died, however, today his son Tim emailed me that his Dad Len is still alive although very ill with Parkinson's. I emailed Tim back and am hoping to get anything more from Tim that he wishes to share with us. (I have since deleted all reference to Len's death on these pages).
- Len was stationed at Saint Lucia (SLU) in 1957, and several years in the D/R office at PAFB. I worked for him in 1957 when he was Telemetry Manager at St. Lucia, he was very easy to get along with and an easy going guy. Ain't the internet wonderful?
02 APR. 2010: DEATH OF "VERN" BONSALL REPORTED:
- Jim Edwards emailed me at the end of March that Vern Bonsall had died on 26 March saying that he didn't know if Vern worked downrange much, but he was a fixture at Tel IV for many years.
- I knew Vern from downrange but just what island I can't recall, maybe Puerto Rico or Antigua. I found his obituary on the internet after learning of the news from Jim, and learned his first name. I bet many of you didn't know his first name was "Oathel", I always knew his as Vern. In part his obituary reads:
"Oathel Vernon Bonsall of Rockledge FL was 78. A loving husband, wonderful father, community activist and a retired engineer, passed away Friday 26 March 2010 at Wuesthoff Hospice. He was born in Santanta, Kansas. He served two years in the U.S. Army Signal Corp before moving to Puerto Rico and meeting the love of his life Awilda Bonsall. The family moved to Merritt Island in 1965 where he continued to work for RCA for 37 years. He and the Bonsall family were founding members of Divine Mercy Catholic Church. He served as a volunteer at Cape Canaveral Hospital Auxiliary, Boy Scouts of America Adult Leader, Docent at the Air Force Museum Cape Canaveral."
- I emailed Bob Johnston who I knew would know more about Vern and this is what he wrote: "Vern was the telemetry leader at Antigua from 1962 to sometime in 1965. From there he went to Tel4 as a leader. Sometime after that he moved over to operations supervisor,(or coordinator), I'm not sure of the exact title. He was in that position when I left the range in November of 1976."
- If you knew Vern and/or worked with him and would like to add something to this report send me an email.
19 FEB. 2010: FRED PERKINS REPORTS DEATH OF A FRIEND:
- Charles Griffin. Fred said "I worked with Charlie at several locations, a great guy." The following info was taken from his published obituary:
Charles Griffin, 80, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, June 26, 2009. He bravely fought a two and a half year battle with cancer. "Charlie" joined the USAF in 1946 and participated in the Berlin Airlift, serving his country until 1953. Charlie worked for RCA/GE government services from 1954 to 1989, working as manager in various areas from Grand Bahama Island to PAFB, Ascension Island, Trinidad, Antigua, Colorado Springs, CO, Anchorage, Pt. Barrow, AK and Andros Island. After 35 years he and his wife Ann retired to Cocoa.
- If you would like to make a comment about Charlie Griffin, send me an email.
19 FEB. 2010: DEATH OF MIKE PASTERNAK REPORTED:
- Last year Barney "Mac" McDowell emailed me that Mike Pasternak had died about 10 years ago. Mike was a teletype/crypto tech and spent about 20 years on the Range.
- I remember the name and believe he worked at Grand Turk when I was there.
- Did you know Pasternak and what islands/ships he worked on? if so send me something about him so I can fill in the blanks about him.
19 FEB, 2010: JIM EDWARDS REPORTS 3 MORE DEATHS:
- In a Dec '09 email, Jim Edwards told me of these deaths, but he didn't know when they died:
- Mac McGee Brown was a Control Tower Operator at San Salvador for a
while and then many years at Ascension.
- Harry Larsen was a retired Navy Chief who was Supply Supervisor
on the USNS Twin Falls and finished out his career at Ascension.
- Charlie Whitetree was a Seneca Indian from Oklahoma. As an RCA
Tech he worked for Jim on the USNS Coastal Crusader. Jim also believes that
Whitetree also worked on the ARIS ships.
- Did you know any of these 3 above? Mac McGee Brown, Harry Larsen, or Charlie Whitetree?, if so send me anything you have so it can be added to this page.
25 JAN. 2010: DEATH OF TOM TEEL REPORTED:
- in a recent email, Gene Pugh, had this to report: "Was advised by Jim Gilmore (Comm Ctl ASC 1960's), that his ex-roommate, Tom Teel (ASC Tlm 1960's) recently passed away. Gilmore had kept in touch with Tom throughout the years.
I am sure many of you remembered Tom."
- Did you know Tom Teel, if so send me something about him so it can be added to this page.
25 JAN. 2010: LOUIS C. EMARD'S DEATH REPORTED:
- Jack Tolman forwarded this information about Louis C. Emard, also known by the name of "Bud" and "Buddy", was from Rockledge FL, and died on 19 January 2010 at the age of 78. Tolman said "I worked with Buddy for 2 years in Antigua when I was the site engineer at Radar 91.14, this was from 1973-75. I think Buddy spent many years on Antigua as he had a wife and kids there."
- Leon Lacy said Buddy was "the father-in-law of Joe Sutton".
- If you knew Louis and any other details about his life downrange, please send me an email so it can be recorded here.
25 JAN. 2010: JIM EDWARDS & OTHERS REPORT DEATH OF FRED CARMAN:
- Jim emailed me a few days ago that Fred Carman had died recently, saying Fred was a Fire/Security employee with Pan Am down range and that Fred worked for him at GBI for several years.
- Arthur Newport also wrote saying that he knew Fred Carman from 1966 and that they roomed together at Antigua and later on Ascension. as well as Art could remember, Fred was on almost every range station at one time or another and that he didnt stay in one place for very long. Art ended his email with this message: "ITS A SAD DAY TO SEE ANOTHER RANGE RAT GONE. Fred was a true friend."
- Jack Tolman forwarded additional info: Fred A. Carman of Melbourne FL passed away on 21 Jan. 2010 at the age of 86 and that Fred worked for Pan Am and Harris Corp. in Fire and Security. Calling hours will be 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, 25 January at Florida Memorial Funeral Home. A funeral service will begin at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26th in the funeral home chapel followed by entombment at Florida Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorials can made to the American Cancer Society or the William Childs Hospice House.
16 JAN. 2010: JACK LOUDHAN'S DEATH REPORTED:
- Joe Makeever called me a few days ago to let me know that another RR and ham operator Jack Loudhan had died very recently. Joe said Jack was the Antigua communications engineer, stationed there from 1961 to probably 1965.
- If you knew Jack and any other details about his life downrange, or of his death, please send me an email so it can be recorded here.
16 JAN. 2010: ARTHUR NEWPORT REPORTS DEATH OF "CHUCK" ROLLEN:
- On 05 Jan '10 Arthur sent me an email saying "Sad to inform every one that Charles "Chuck" Rollen died on 02 Jan 2010. Chuck was a retired supervisor at the cape. He was also down range at Grand Turk, Eluthera, Grand Bahama Island and probably other stations too".
- Did you know Chuck Rollen, if so send me something about him so it can be added to this page.
16 JAN. 2010: DEATH OF ED GLADSTONE:
- I often search the world wide web for deaths of range rats and recently came across an article about Ed Gladstone, who died in 1989. He was a Range Rat and worked on San Salvador for General Electric as an electrical engineer. His family wrote a nice article about his life downrange from his audio tapes that he left behind, which is published on Larry Brunetti's GE Range Rats website.
Here is a link to the article "Memories of San Salvador". It's worth reading.
- If you knew Ed Gladstone and want to share any info. about him, send me an email. I'm listing him as "Ed" here but if his given name was Edward or something else, please let me know too.
24 DEC. 2009: MORE INFO ABOUT JOHN FACKER:
Your editor (thats me, Joe Frasketi) listed the first deaths of Range Rats on these pages which started in early 2005, of those who I personally knew and knew that died, one was:
- John Facker. John was one of the first RCA employees who I met when I went to the RCA indoctrination at Patrick Air Force Base, back in Oct 1956. John was a RCA transfer from Cherry Hill NJ, although there was a 25 year age difference between us, we hit it off good. I didn't see him again until the day I was scheduled to go downrange, and met him at the PAFB hanger 800 on 05 Dec. 1956, and learned that we were going to the same station: Dominican Republic, he as the IM and me as a timing technician. I later worked for John at Grand Turk and later at Ascension in 1971. Strange as it was that we started our downrange career at the same time, we both left RCA at the same time. John and I rode back to PAFB from Ascension in Aug. 1972, both of us taking the layoff. He was the first to start calling me "FRAS" while we were at the Dom. Rep. station and that nickname stuck with me during my range career and he preferred to be called just "FACKER". While we were on the range but at different stations we always kept in touch at Christmas time with a card and after we left the range with other correspondence or a phone call. On two occasions when I happened to be in the Melbourne FL area I looked him up. One time visiting with another RR oldtimer, Henry "Hank" Taylor, who we both knew from our Grand Turk days, and another time we traveled up to Port Orange FL to visit another retired RCA old timer Bert Berthelsen. Facker died in Aug. 1998 at the age of 89.
What other stations did Facker work at, can you can fill in the blanks? Or if you knew him maybe you would like to add something here too. I am surprised that so far I have not heard much from other RRs about Facker.
14 DEC. 2009: DEATH OF CHARLIE OWENS REPORTED :
- In late Oct '09 Bruce Watson emailed me: "I noted that the name Charlie Owens was not listed on your RR death page. Charlie was supply supervisor on Ascension in 1964 and on Antigua in 1965, 66 & 67. He was a retired army colonel and a lawyer who participated in the Nuremberg Trials in 1945 & 1946. He was one of the nicest people you would ever want to call a friend and boss. I am sure there are many of the old Supply troops that can attest to this. He should be listed on your site as a reminder of a gentleman and a friend.
"
- If you knew Charlie Owens and what year he passed away, or any other info. about him that you want to share, send me an email. I'm listing him as "Charlie" here but if his given name was Charles or something else, please let me know too.
20 NOV. 2009: BRUCE WATSON REPORTS DEATH OF JIM HOY:
- In Oct '09 Bruce wrote: "I attended Len Sluder's services recently and checked your site to see if Len had been added, which he had. However, while going over the other names on the list I noted that the name of Jim Hoy was not listed. Jim was the Admin Mgr at GBI in 1959 & 60. I don't know where he was stationed after that but I heard that he had passed away a few years back. Maybe one of the other RRs has info concerning Jim."
- UPDATE 14 DEC. 2009: John Gladden emailed me in late Nov with more info: "Jim Hoy went to Eleuthera after he left GBI and was the Admin Sup there for at least three years. He was there when MISTRAM was installed in 1963 when I first met him. He was instrumental in getting improvements implemented for Pan Am down range procedures."
- Did you know Jim too? What other locations was he stationed and/or what year did he pass away, if so, send me an email. I'm listing him as "Jim" here but if his given name was James, please let me know too.
20 NOV. 2009: DEATH OF BOB STATTS REPORTED:
- In Oct '09 I heard from Charlie Wright about the death of Bob Statts, he emailed me this: "I looked over the list of the Rats deceased & saw that the name Bob Statts is not listed. Bob was a Pan Am Supply Supervisor for many
years of the early Range. Later he served in the mid-east, then
back to the Cape. His wife Barbara and son Jon live it the PAFB
area. Bob was my boss at Antigua and Mahe, the best to work for
and always good times."
- UPDATE 14 DEC. 2009: John Gladden emailed me in late Nov with more info about Bob: "Bob Staats not only worked in Supply, he also did some base accountant work and he worked out of the Cocoa Beach offices for a while. He relieved me as Supply Supervisor in Mahe in 1972, after which he went to the middle east for a short time. The contract there was terminated because of the local government overthrow and all the U.S. personnel were sent home. Bob was one of the lucky ones who was able to come back to the range to finish out his career. I had seen Bob off and on in the Indialantic area along the beaches after he retired. He and Bob Husby, another former Pan Am supply supervisor, showed up at one of my old watering holes a few years back. We spent a couple of hours reliving our days down range and draining the keg."
- If you also knew Bob and if you'd like to add some info. about him please send me an email. I'm listing him as "Bob" here but if his given name was Robert, please let me know
08 NOV. 2009: UPDATE ON WOODY BOZARDT:
- In July '09 Charlie Wright of Micco FL emailed me this about Woody: "Today I'm remembering Woody Bozardt, a gentleman RCA early ranger. I think he died in the South Pacific while serving on one of the tracking ships."
Can anyone confirm this? If so, please send me an email.
- UPDATE 14 DEC. 2009: John Gladden who also knew Woody emailed me this in late Nov: "I had met Woody Bozardt earlier on the upper range, but my last contact with him was in 1971 when he relieved Bob Flowers as IM in Mahe. I had heard that after Woody left Mahe, that he left RCA and opened a Radio Shack business. But I never knew for sure what happened to him until the original posting of his death on your site.
- I am listing this new info. about Woody, near the top of this page, so it will be more readily seen, rather than listing it near the original listing of MAY 2005 when his death was first reported by Wally Tubell: "Woody Bozardt (whose real name was Wilton), passed away at the age of 53 in 1981".
- (SOON this one death page will be split up into 2 pages, as it is now getting quite lengthy).
08 NOV. 2009: A LIST OF SHIP RAT DEATHS REPORTED BY RAMON "RAY" SMITH:
- In Oct '09 Ray who worked on the USNS Arnold, Redstone, Twin Falls & Vandenberg, wrote: "Here are some names to include:"
- William "Bill" O'Sullivan, who served on the USNS Arnold, killed by a
motorist on 520 walking to Cocoa Beach FL.
- Roger Page, a USNS Redstone SIM, who died enroute to antigua.
- Dan Vida who served on the USNS Arnold, died in Cocoa Beach FL, of natural causes.
- Mel Linton, in telemetry at the cape then on the USNS Arnold, died by suicide.
- Roger Quilling, of the USNS Redstone, died at his home in Cape Canaveral FL.
- If you knew any of these ship rats above please email me, I would like to know approx. when they died. If you were a friend of any of these Rats tell me something more about them that might be of interest to others.
08 NOV. 2009: WALLY TUBELL & OTHERS REPORT DEATH OF ERNIE PEGHINY:
- In June '09 Wally Tubell wrote: "Sadly, here's another death to report, although many RRs already know about it. Ernie Peghiny -- the world's best
servo engineer -- passed away 24 April '09. He worked on the range for many years, starting back in the mid-1950s, traveled downrange and to ships extensively, and was much loved and greatly respected. He was also a wounded WWII veteran. Great guy. May he rest in peace."
- I did not report Ernie's death here as I had heard that Ernie was not downrange PCS, and I am trying to keep this list mainly for Range Rats and Ship Rats. If I was to include up range people this list would never end and so some other names that have been sent to me have also not been included here. From Wally email it looks like that Ernie did work downrange.
- Others who have also reported his death to me said his name should be included on the above list even though he was not a PCS downranger but he had spent a good portion of his work downrange, and it looks like Ernie was well thought of by many downrangers. Bill Bailey wrote me this in May '09: "Ernie Lee Peghiny's name will be recognized by many range troops as the 'Servo Expert bar none', my friend and mentor. One of the finest men I've known.
- I've located his obituary, which you can find by clicking here and scrolling down the page.
26 OCT. 2009: LEON LACY & OTHERS REPORTS DEATH OF LEN SLUDER:
- Received an email today from Lacy with brief info. that Leonard E. "Len" Sluder had passed away. Jack Tolman forwarded info. that there was a brief notice in "Florida Today" about Len's death.
- Further info. received today from Jim Edwards who knew Len, said: "Leonard Sluder died from cancer on 23 October 2009, he was with Pan Am about 20 years downrange and 10 years on the Range Bases staff at PAFB. He worked at Grand Turk, Grand Bahama, and mainland Sites. He was Base Manager at Ascension, Antigua a couple of times, Pretoria, Mahe, Eleuthera, and Grand Bahama. Was also a SOM on one of the knot class ships. He was a great guy to work for. He was 87 years old".
- John Gladden emailed me that he also knew Len: "Len was the BOM at Mahe and at Antigua when I was stationed at those bases. He was on the range a long time and was Base Manager at other stations, Ascension being one of the others and the one where I first met him in the early 1960s. Played a lot of golf with Len at Antigua and back here in the states after I left Pan Am and he retired. I knew his wife and daughters and my sympathies go out to them.
15 OCT. 2009: RECENT DEATH OF "WALLY" LANDERS REPORTED:
- Bob Johnston sent me an email 2 days ago telling me: "Joe, We received word last night that Walter L. "Wally" Landers had passed away Monday morning (12 OCT 2009) at his home in Ventura, CA. Wally came on the range 1n 1966 and worked at Eleuthera subcable. He transferred to GBI subcable in the summer of 1967 and transferred to GBI Telemetry in January 1968. Wally left the range in 1971 and worked for Kentron at Edwards AFB, CA and Philco-Ford at Vandenberg AFB, CA. Wally went to work for Comsat Corp. in Santa Paula, CA and Hughes Satellite in Fillmore, CA."
- If you were a friend of "Wally" & would like to make a comment, please send me an email.
15 OCT. 2009: SON REPORTS DEATH OF FATHER:
- I heard from Mike Sisk a few days ago telling me: "I am the son of Jim Sisk who was a range rat for about 12 years. I did not see my dad's name on the list of those who died. He was the Maintenance Superintendent at Eleuthera in the early 1960's. He died in 1968 of a heart attack on Grand Bahama Island. He
spent time on many of the down range islands that included Trinidad, Ascension Island, Eleuthera, and Grand Bahama Island.
."
- If you worked with Sisk and would like to add something to this entry, please send me an email.
07 OCT. 2009: DEATH OF DANIEL E. KAYLOR REPORTED:
- In Jan '09 I received an email from his daughter Lt Col Sandra Carol Allen saying that her father Daniel Estill Kaylor had passed away in March 2007. She noted that Daniel worked at Eleuthera probably in the late fifties or early sixties and finished his career at the Cape. All she remembers is that he was involved in missile tracking on the island and she was just a little girl at that time. One thing she remembers is that her dad was an artist and he created a statue on one of the islands to represent the people that did the job he did. She knows for sure as she has seen the photo.
- Does anyone remember Dan Kaylor and can you provide more info. as to what job he had at Eleuthera, and elsewhere, and perhaps has any details about the statue?
20 SEPT. 2009: DAUGHTER REPORTS DEATH OF FATHER:
- Colleen Johnson Davis emailed me in June 09 saying: "I would like to add my fathers name to your obit list as he passed away a number of years ago.....
William C Johnson, from Merritt Island, died in March 1994. Dad worked a good many ships under RCA and CSR I think, and his last position was as the Ships Inst. Manager on the Redstone. These are the ships he worked on:
USNS Arnold: May 1963 – April 1965 & Jan 1974 - June 1974;
USNS Vanguard: Sept. 1965 - Nov. 1966 & June 1974 - Sept. 1975;
USNS Twin Falls: Nov. 1966 - Dec. 1969;
USNS Vandenberg: June 1974 - Sept. 1975; and
USNS Redstone: Dec. 1969 - Dec. 1973 & Dec. 1975 - Oct. 1988.
I was able to witness the Vandenberg sinking this year in Key West-- it was a sight to behold. Since my father worked on that ship it had a special meaning. I started to wonder about the Redstone where he spent a number of years and it led me to you site."
- If you worked with Johnson and would like to add something to this entry, please send me an email.
20 SEPT. 2009: ASCENSION RANGE RAT BIVIN SMALL DEATH REPORTED:
- Kathy Gilson-Johnson from Kwajalein wrote me in May 09... "Joe, I heard from Deb Jackson, that Bivin Small had passed away. He worked in construction on Ascension Island. I don't remember the years - I think late 80's & early 90's.
- Did you know Bivin and can you provide more info about him and where he worked and when he died, etc. etc?...
20 SEPT. 2009: BOB McKINNEN'S DEATH REPORTED:
- "Mac" Monroe sent me this info in March 09 that was forwarded to him from another RR: John Bohrer, who said this news was for the people who served on the ETR and particularly to those on the ARIS ships, that Bob McKinnen, who was an AB on the Vandenberg and Redstone had passed away in March 2009, having lost his battle with lung cancer. He was 68 years old.
- Russell Fowler, who also wrote to "Mac" and commented that "Bob was a deck hand and very friendly, I knew him on the Vandenberg".
- Who else knew McKinnen and wants to share some info about him? Send me an email.
20 SEPT. 2009: SON REPORTS DEATH OF RCA TROOP IN RR SIGN-IN BOOK:
- Gary A. Smith signed the RR Sign-in book on 07 Feb 09 writing that his father Delone B. Smith, who was called "Smitty" by his friends, worked for RCA at the Cape and on the USNS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg from 1969 to 1972, working as an electronic Tech, also noting that "Smitty" was sent to Trinidad for schooling before joining the Vandenberg. Gary relates that he has a patch that his father gave him from the USNS Vandenberg-TAGM-10, that he will never give up. Gary said his father died November 6,1976 at the age of 48.
- If you worked with "Smitty" Smith, and would like to make a comment about him, I will publish it on this page
20 SEPT. 2009: DEATH OF BOB "DOC" GILL REPORTED BY SON:
- On 28 Jan 09 Peter Gill wrote in the RR sign-in book and later email corresponce to me that his father was hired in 1957 and worked at first at PABF and the Cape. Then he began his range career and was eventually stationed or worked on GBI, San Salvador, Eleuthera, Grand Turk, Mayaguez Puerto Rico, Antigua, Trinidad, Ascension, GBI and Mahe. He thinks Bob left the range in the early 70s and passed away in 1989. Peter said "Doc" and wife and some number of his four children lived with him on different stations at different times. Peter lived with him in Puerto Rico. "Doc" worked for PanAm and served on most of the bases, including a couple on the Pacific side at one time or another in the capacity of Med/Rec Supervisor.
- UPDATE, 15 OCT. 2009: John Gladden emailed me yesterday with this info. about Bob Gill: "I met Bob while I was still in the Cocoa Beach office in the early 1960s and he was working in Environmental Health out of the cape. Then when I went down range I was stationed with him at Mahe in 1970 - 71 and again at Antigua in 1974 - 76 where he was indeed the Med/Rec Supervisor. We played golf at Cedar Valley Golf Club in Antigua and after I was laid off in 1977 I met Bob back here in the states here we played some more golf in the Melbourne, Florida area until he moved to Oak Ridge, TN with his second wife. It was in Oak Ridge that he passed away. Bob was as fine a friend as anyone would ever want. He always had a smile for everyone and cheerful conversation. He was one of those people that could make the clouds disappear on a gloomy day. I never heard anybody say a disparaging word about him." Thanks John, for this personal info on Bob.
- Anyone who wants to add something further to this entry about "Doc" Gill, I can publish it here.
20 SEPT. 2009: CATHY GORETSKY REPORTS DEATH OF HUSBAND:
- On 28 Jan 09 Cathy wrote in the RR sign-in book that her husband Larry Goretsky had passed away on 28 Jan. 1986, stating that he had worked for RCA downrange in 1956 and in 1958 they got married and they lived in the Darlington
Apartments in Mayaguez Puerto Rico. In the fall of 1960 Larry put in for a transfer to the Cape. She remembers so many friends and the family activities at the Clearview Club, saying that living in Mayaguez was a wonderful time in their lives.
- If you remember Larry Goretsky and want to add something to this entry, let me know and I can publish it here.
28 AUGUST 2009: BOB BONNER REPORTS DEATH OF FRIEND:
- In July 09 Bob emailed me that his good friend Dennis Davies who worked at Grand Turk in the PanAm weather station had passed away. He said "Frank O'Leary, who he knew on the range, read the RR page where I was seeking info on Davies, and told me Dennis had passed away a few years ago. With Franks info I was able to talk to Dennis's wife in Hawaii and indeed Dennis passed away in 2006." Bob had told me earlier that Dennis met his wife, a South African girl from Cape Town and he believes they were married in 1960, when Bob was on a trip to Cape Town on the USNS Timber Hitch or Coastal Crusader.
- If you knew Dennis, and would like to make a comment about him, let me know and I can publish it here.
15 AUGUST 2009: "MAC" MONROE SENDS OBIT OF WILFRED P. ELLIS.
- Wilfred P. Elllis of Cocoa, FL. died 10 Aug. 2009, age 87,at his home. He served in the military for over 25 years encompassing World War II, Korean Conflict, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. He received a special commendation for his participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis awarded to him by President John F. Kennedy. After retiring from the military Wilfred was employed by RCA Company as the navigator, tracking missiles from his last assignment on the USNS General Vandenberg.
- You can read his full obituary and sign his guest book by clicking: here.
- Mac didnt know or remember meeting Wilfred, but someone else out there should have known him and can send me more info. about his work on the Vandenberg. (I bet he wasn't called Wilfred on the ship either).
15 AUGUST 2009: DEATH OF LARRY LUDWIG REPORTED.
- Steven Thomas of Apex NC wrote me in May '09 of the death of Larry Ludwig in Merritt Island FL in 2007, of cancer. Saying Larry worked many years in range communications and then wrote computer programs for the USNS Vandenberg and USNS Arnold and made many TDY trips to the ships.
09 AUGUST 2009: DEATH OF GERALD "JERRY" MELLOTT CONFIRMED.
- in April 2009 Dev Hunsley wrote asking about Jerry and said that Jerry was
a commcenter leader on San Sal, Antigua, Ascension & GBI. Dev thought Jerry had passed away several years ago. I wrote him back and said he had died, as I had checked the social security records some time ago, and learned that Jerry had died 15 May 2000 at age 60 in Orlando FL. But that I had not yet recorded it on this page. Which I am now doing.
- If anyone else knew Jerry and would like to add something about him, I will include it here, just send me any email.
17 JUNE 2009: RR FRIENDS REPORT DEATH OF JERRY CALLENDAR
- In an email sent to Mo Calvert Jerry's sister, Beverly Martindale, reported that on 17 May 2009 Jerry Callendar had passed away in the Scottsdale (AZ?) hospital. Jerry Blackerby sent a message via the Topica Message Board saying that he knew Jerry when he worked at the GBI radar. Bob Doane also reported that he knew Jerry well during their radar days at GBI.
- What years did Jerry Callendar work at GBI or anywhere else downrange? Please share your info and send me an email.
17 JUNE 2009: DAN CARNEY REPORTS DEATH OF RR SHIPMATE
- In May 09, Dan reported to me that Dave Martin had passed away in the mid 1990's, saying "Dave was the Comm Mgr. on the USNS Arnold and served in similar capacity aboard the USNS Vanguard. Dave was my first supervisor aboard the Range Ships... I never had a bad day aboard these ships. Some were better than others, but never a bad one."
- Who else knew Dave Martin and wants to share some info about him? Send me an email.
17 JUNE 2009: DEATHS OF DR. NEWLANDER, BOWSER AND SHUBERT REPORTED:
- In May 09, Jim Edwards sent me news of 3 more RRs who are missing from the above list
- Dr. W.O. (Bill) Newlander, he was the Pan Am medical doctor at Ascension for many years. Also served RCA in the same capacity at Thule Greenland at one time. Died 17 April 1998.
17 JUNE 2009: Joe Frasketi (that's me) said: I found his obituary on the Albuquerque NM Journal website today. Dr. Bill's first name was Willet, and he served in the Army Air Force in World War II as a B-24 pilot. He graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and was Chief Surgical Resident at the University of Michigan Hospital. He died just two days before his 76th birthday).
.
- Bob Bowser, an RCA tech and Instrumentation Manager on the knot
class ships. He was on the USNS Sword Knot with Edwards in 1966-67. (Don't have any info. on when Bob died).
- Dave Shubert, he was a tech aboard the knot class
ships: USNS Sword Knot and others. Died in 2001 .
- Who can supply more info. on these 3 RR's above? send me an email.
17 JUNE 2009: BRUCE WATSON REPORTS DEATH OF 3 MORE RR'S TO ME IN APR 09
- With this information, all three below worked with him on Eleuthera in 1961 and 1962
- Gene Banes, Bruce said he believes Gene died in 1991, but not sure and says that Gene was the aide to General Sands and left the AF and came to Eleuthera to save up to attend college. After he received his degree he worked at Range Bases in the legal department.
- Gordon Chase, passed away in 2007 according to Bruce, he goes on to say that Gordon was the son of Mr. Chase who was a BOM but he can't remember the elder Chase's first name.
- Walt Taylor, died in 2008, according to Bruce, and doesn't have any more info. on him, saying he is sure there are a lot of RR's that can add to Walt's assignments.
- If you can supply anymore info. on the 3 RR's above send me an email.
17 JUNE 2009: DEATH OF GLADYS (WEY) SINGLETON REPORTED
- Jim Edwards has reported in MAR 09 of the death of Ms. Singleton, she replaced Paul Buyers, the GBI base accountant. Jim says when GBI shut down she worked on the property inventory team downrange until the end of the PanAm/RCA contract in 1988. She died about 10 years ago.
- Anyone who knew Ms. Singleton and would care to share something about her, please send me an email. What does the "Wey" stand for? Her Maiden name, nick name or ???
16 MAR. 2009, DAUGHTER REPORTS DEATH OF TOM KING:
- I received an email today via the Topica.com Range Rat message board with this information: "I am sorry to do this via e-mail but was not sure how to reach many people otherwise. I am Tom King's daughter Marcia & I regret to inform you that my father passed away on Sunday 15 March 2009. Services are tentatively planned for Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Sharpes / Cocoa, Florida on Monday 23 March 2009 at 10:30 a.m. My home telephone number is 321.426.4790 and my e-mail is memking@cfl.rr.com. I do not have any way to access his voice mail at his home at this time so please do not leave any messages at his home.
- Tom was another Range Rat old timer, who I knew back in the late 50s when I worked at Grand Turk Telemetry when he was the Northrop telemetry engineer. You can read Tom's entry of 30 March 2007 in the Range Rat sign-in book, where he summerized his work on the range: "Many Years of working with and for wonderful, talented, dedicated people on a 'real', meaningful functional space effort."
Tom also wrote this excerpted piece in the Topica message board on 12 April 2007: "It is great that the people that made such a contribution to the space effort are being recognized for their efforts and sacrifices. For all the high level puffery we see and read about; without the range rats, none of it would have happened." This was in response to Tom McCarthy's suggestion of a Range Rat Hall of Fame.
- If anyone wants to add more info about Tom send me an email.
06 MAR. 2009, DEATH OF HOTALING AND GAGNER REPORTED:
- Jim Cook from Rochester NY emailed me in Jan 09 about these two range rats with the following info:
"Rick Hotaling, RCA was at GBI in 60-62 at the FPS-8 radar, my first work place downrange. Later I saw Rick on ASC in about 1972 when he was working for PAA weather at the cape. About the first range getogether I heard he had killed himself. A search of Fla Today newspaper obits might confirm this.
Some years ago I heard that Dick Gagner had died in Pretoria. Dick had originally worked at Pretoria telemetry, but he later worked at the radar computer van after we got there. Dick and Jake Moore were famous for their (Christmas in
July) parties, that being Pretorias'winter. Dick was ex-navy I think and really smart. He taught himself the radar computer, designed and built his own computer, (including the P.C. boards). He married a S.A. girl, started his own business in S.A. and died there about 6-8 years ago. If Jake Moore is still w/us he might have details."
- If anyone wants to add more info about Hotaling and Gagner send me an email.
06 MAR. 2009, ELLIOT PHILLIPS REPORTS MORE RR DEATHS:
- In an email to me Elliot listed these Range Rats who have died and were not on my list:
- Paul Leger
- UPDATE 20 SEPT. 2009: Tom McCarthy wrote me in June 09 that the name that Elliot reported as Paul Lejuare (of which Elliot wasn't sure of the spelling) is most likely spelled Paul Leger who was Manager of Trinidad Radar as he recalls. Tom further writes that it seems like Paul was actually up range, but the Trinidad Radar was his responsibility and that Paul was a Canadian therefore the French name, which was pronounced 'Le ghere. THANKS TOM FOR THE INFO.
- Jim Mershon
- Paul Buyers
UPDATE 23 APR. 2009: John Gladden wrote a few days after I posted this info, and said: "I knew Paul at GBI in 1969 when Thor Tessem was BOM and Dave Avseck was Admin Supt. Paul was the Base Accountant and did my local purchase for me in Freeport to support the Supply operation. That was forty years ago, but seems like only a few months."
UPDATE 17 JUNE 2009: In MAR 09 Jim Edwards wrote me that Paul was the Pan Am Base Accountant at GBI for many years, retiring about 1981. Jim didn't think he worked at any other downrange bases. His replacement at GBI was Gladys (Wey) Singleton, and she died about 10 years ago.
- Anyone who knew these gents, especially Mershon of which nothing is known, and can supply any info about them: where they worked down range, what time periods they were on the range, etc etc., send me an email.
15 FEB. 2009, ANOTHER VANDY SHIPMATE GONE, 12 FEB 09:
- "Mac" Monroe's email of 12 Feb 09 reports that Philip F. LaGana who had been suffering with a brain tumor had lost the battle today. Mac forwarded an email from his wife Debbie which stated that Phil, who was 79, did not want to have a viewing or memorial service at a funeral home. His request was that a party be held for the rejoicing of his life. His wife is working with the Coast Guard and the higher echelon on seeing if his ashes can be sunk with the USNS Vandenberg in Key West (where the ship has now become an artificial reef). Phil loved the Vandy and the people he worked with both on the Vandy and the USNS RedStone.
- Mac goes on to say: "Hopefully arrangements can be made for Phil's ashes to be emplaced on the Vandy. It is hoped that there will be a grotto onboard for urns, as I am aware of several people who's wishes were/are that their ashes be interred on the Vandy after she is sunk."
- If you worked with Phil, and would like to make a comment about him, I will publish it on this page
15 FEB. 2009, GEORGE TERZIAN DEATH REPORT:
- "Mac" Monroe sent me the obituary recently of George Terzian of Merritt Island FL, who died on 05 Feb 2009 at the age of 76. George came to Cocoa Beach in 1960 with RCA. He worked on tracking ships USNS Twin Falls Victory and the USNS Redstone. Later with GE he sailed on the Observation Island in the Pacific. He worked with Grumman and ARC on J STARS. He retired from GE/RCA after 25 years. (info taken from his obituary).
- If anyone would like to add additional comments about George, send me an email.
15 FEB. 2009, JACK TOLMAN REPORTS DEATH OF JOHN V. THOMAS:
- Tolman forwarded Jacks obituary to me in late Jan., John V. Thomas of Melbourne FL died on 23 Jan 2009 at the age of 86. He joined RCA as a radar manager in 1957 and came to Florida in 1958 and worked at Patrick AFB FL and at downrange radar sites. (info taken from his obituary).
UPDATE 23 APR. 2009: In Feb 09 I received this info from Bill Redman: "In answer to your request about John Thomas's downrange experience, I know he was radar manager at Ascension in September 1965 when I left for South Africa. He had only been there a short time before I left. I believe he replaced Gordon Clark. I don't know where he went after Ascension. Hope this helps."
- UPDATE 17 JUNE 2009: In MAY '09 Bill Bailey said he spent a couple of years with J.V. Thomas at Andros (AUTEC).
- Can anyone else provide info as to what downrange sites John worked, or if you want to make comments about him, send me an email.
23 JAN. 2009: CHARLIE ANDERSON ADDS TWO NAMES TO THE ABOVE LIST
Charlie Anderson of Colorado Springs CO, recently made a comment that he was saddened to see so many former friends on this death page, and sent me news of two more of his friends who have passed on:
- Lonny Higdon, a Pan Am F/S (Fire/Security) employee. I first meet Lonnie in 1960 on San Salvador. We worked together on Antigua too. Lonnie was
assigned to the Indian Ocean Tracking Station (Seychelles) as F/S Chief. He later retired to Greensboro, GA where he died of a massive heart attack while walking in his yard. Lonnie and I remained great friends and had many, many great times. I can't remember the exact date of his demise."
- Charles "Chuck" Maner, A Pan Am roving electrician. Chuck, as many will remember died in a private plane crash off Grand Turk Island. Chuck was a "Stunt" pilot and I had the pleasure of going up with him on several occassions. However, I was in the "Conch Club" on Turk the day he went down.
UPDATE 09 AUG. 2009: MORE INFO ON "CHUCK" MANER: In Feb. 09, Debba Wainwright Smith from Greenville, SC wrote...
"Dear Joe: Thank you so much for setting up these wonderful RR pages. So many
names bring back so many memories; some good; some bad; some sweet; some sad, and some really funny!
You asked about "Chuck" Maner, here's what I know: He and Don Schultz died on Sunday, June 7 1970. Don had been to lunch with my father and I, and he and Chuck set out from there to fly to South Caicos to refuel the plane Don had brought down from Grand Bahama that morning, (he shared the plane with Jim (?)Base Manager from Alaska). Doing aerobatics on the way back to the Grand Turk airstrip, as you know, they stalled out and went into the sea by South Beach. I was working for them both at the time and socializing with Chuck!! The sadest part was that he had promised me if he flew to South Caicos he would buy me a hat with blue ribbons. One of the few things that came to the surface after the crash was a hat with blue ribbons!"
Anyone who has more info about Lonny Higdon and "Chuck" Maner that they would like to share please send it so I can include it on this page. I had asked to know more about Maner's untimely death and when it occurred and Debba Wainwright Smith came through with more info as published above. Thanks Debba for telling the rest of the story.
15 JAN. 2010: AM SEEKING MORE INFO ON "CHUCK" MANER... Does anyone know if he resided in the Seychelles during 1966?
23 JAN. 2009: FRIENDS REPORT DEATH OF LARRY HAZELBAKER
- Wally Tubell forwarded this info from Jim Caskey: "Larry's nephew said that Larry Hazelbaker passed away 24 December 2008 due complication from a stroke he suffered in late November." There is now an obituary on Shermie's Kwaj web site click here and scroll down the page. Wally goes on to say "Some of you undoubtedly knew and worked with Larry back in the 1960s. On the ETR, as best I can recall, Larry worked on ships as a tech and leader in the mid 1960s, He was a great guy. Really smart and wonderful to work with. A real friend."
- From his obituary I saw that Larry was in the U.S. Marine Corps where he became a sergeant and trained as a electronics technician. He was later employed by the RCA, General Electric Aerospace and Martin Marietta companies.
- Jim Caskey, sent me more info on Larry's background: "He worked on range ships in support of NASA programs and KREMS Project(TRADEX Radar), Republic of Marshall Islands. Retired in 1993 to Rifle, Colorado. A memorial service is planned in June 2009 in Rifle." (Caskey, worked on the ETR MTP Ships Program in 1967 and later went to kwaj and enjoyed island living so much that he stayed 25+ years).
14 JAN. 2009, BOB PENCE ADDED TO ABOVE LIST:
- Jack Tolman forwarded this info. to me about Bob Pence who had passed away some years back, killed by a family member. He worked at Fernando, Ascension and Pretoria.
- 15 FEB 2009, Jim Cook from Rochester,NY sent more info about Bob Pence who was with RCA: "I first met Bob at GBI in the fall of 1960. Don't know for sure why he was there because he was sent to ASC and worked on the FPS-16 there I'm sure. When we went into Pretoria with the MPS-25 Bob came as the first radar leader. He married a South African girl and I heard later he had left the range to go to school at the U of Fla. I lost track of him but I also heard he had been killed."
- If anyone had any additional info. about Bob, forward it to me so I can publish it here.
21 DEC. 2008, FRIENDS REPORT DEATH OF TERRY HEIDBRIER.
- The Dec. 18th issue of "FLORIDA TODAY" newspaper reported that "Tyrone B. Heidbrier, of Cape Canaveral FL passed away Monday, December 15, 2008. Terry was born in Detroit, MI on July 11, 1938."
From the email I received I learned that Terry worked for RCA on the USNS Redstone and saw that he also worked at the Trinidad tracking station, by looking at Jack Tolman's website that lists a great number of Trinidad Range Rats.
If anyone wants to provide more info. on Terry, I will report it here.
21 DEC. 2008, GEORGE TAVLARIS NAME ADDED TO THE ABOVE LIST.
- This Dec. 2008, I received an email from John Gladden, about George Tavlaris who was the Admin. Clerk & Base Accountant at Antigua for years. John also received info. from Bob Tucker, ex Pan Am Weather, that George had gone to Guam to work and that is where he suffered a heart attack and died. John thinks he died some time ago.
- 22 JAN. 2009, Charlie Anderson, from Colorado Springs CO wrote: "I had the pleasure of working with George Tavlaris in the Seychelles and on Guam in the mid 80's.
- If anyone had more info. about George Tavlaris that they want to share, about where he worked, what stations, where he went after the range, and when he died, etc, please email me so it can be reported here.
12 DEC. 2008, RANGE RAT CEMETERY WEBPAGE.
- In Sept. 2008 I heard from George Hilley with this message: "I started my own Range Rat Cemetery on the findagrave website.
click here,
this will show the 20 entries I have in it. As you can tell I got some entries
from your site and some from information I had. I like the site
because people can add comments and pictures like the one I
added for Ottie Wayne Doyle. Let me know what you think of the site. I enjoyed looking thru your site."
- I wrote back to George and I did find his webpage of interest and so I am mentioning it here and also added 4 RR deaths he had listed but have not appeared on this webpage:
Curtis Chastain, who was a Unit Manager for the USNS Arnold for 24 years, George thinks he might have been the SIM; also
Ottie Doyle, who was a CCO (Comm Center Operator) with RCA, George knew him in 1964 on Ascension Island; also
Jack Hilley, who Fred Perkins said Jack was a Comm Center Leader on Trinidad when he worked there in 1963, and then went from there to GBI, from where he left the range. Jack apparently died in Atlanta; and lastly
Eugene Zink who George said was the NASA Station Director on the USNS Vanguard when he knew him during 1973 to 1977.
10 DEC. 2008, DEATH OF "JACK" VANCLEVE REPORTED.
- Jack Tolman sent me an email of the death of John "Jack" VanCleve, as follows: "John (Jack) VanCleve of West Melbourne FL, age 86, peacefully went home to be with our Lord on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, while a patient in the William Childs Hospice House. He was preceeded in death by his son, John Price, and daughter, Michelle Lynn (Klein). Survivors include his wife of 50 years Lois; and son, Glenn VanCleve.
- "VanCleve's" picture was sent in by Tolman, who I recognized seeing many times, he was an RCA radar manager for many years. Who can send info as to what stations he worked and the approximate time periods? Or any other info about him.
13 NOV. 2008, CARL WHITE ADDED TO THIS DEATH PAGE.
- In Sept. 2008 Dick Rettig inquired about Carl White (RCA), Dick said that in 1970 at Grand Turk Carl was his next door neighbor in one of the barracks and would like to know his whereabouts. I also knew Carl when I was at Turk in the 1960s, I think he was working on the Minitrack system. Rettig recalls Carl as "a remarkable man". I seemed to recall that Carl was pretty gung-ho on doing his job, even sleeping nites at his work station. So I asked for info. on the "Where Are These RR's Now" page about Carl, well it wasn't too long after that page was published that Bill Redman send me this email: "In regards to Dick Rettig inquiring about Carl White's whereabouts: Carl's been dead since the early 1980's. He took his own life. I don't have or remember a lot about the circumstances. I didn't know Carl that well, but do remember him as a very intelligent individual, and always willing to help a fellow tech out. He was working as a programmer at the Cape/Patrick just prior to his death. Working on communication protocol programs as I recall."
18 OCT. 2008, NEPHEW REPORTS DEATH OF ROBERT "BUTCH" FORADAS.
- James Foradas, nephew of Robert "Butch" Foradas, wrote this October: "My Uncle was a 'Range Rat' as you call them, on Mayaguana in the 1950s. He passed away ten years ago. He had pictures of his days there but I'm not sure what became of them. He was a Greek-American guy in his early 30s back then. He also told me that one guy went swimming and was never seen again because of sharks. I was a teenager when I saw the photos and heard these stories. 'Butch' was an RCA/Philco Tech Rep. working missile tracking stations at the time. I wish I had those photos!
If anyone remembers him please e-mail me at jforadas@gmail.com ."
18 OCT. 2008, FOUR MORE DEATHS TO REPORT....
Jim Edwards wrote recently: "from time to time I remember more ex-range troops that have passed on , even though many years have passed for some of them".
- Jim "Red" Damron: he was a vehicle mechanic with Pan Am in the
early days of the Range, and worked at GBI, Ascension and Antigua
and probably others. Retired at Antigua to a life of raising livestock
and farming. Died 07 October 2008 at Antigua.
- Warren Dutton: he was the last Pan Am Manager at Antigua before
they lost the contract, and was on the staff of Range Bases before that.
- Richard "Gunny" Russell: As the nickname implies , he was a
retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant. His retirement occupation of cook and later Commissary Supervisor at Antigua and Ascension seems odd considering his military career, but he did it with a definite flair.
- Gene Bergeron: Construction and Facilities foreman at Antigua,
and many years at Ascension.
13 OCT. 2008, SON REPORTS DEATH OF FATHER.
- Jim Griffith, the son of William "Bill" Griffith, wrote on 28 Sept.: "My father was a down range rat from the early 1960s on Grand Bahama Island
and then Grand Turk Island. My father passed away suddenly on Sunday, 21 Sept 2008. He was so looking forward to the upcoming reunion and was preparing all his old photos. His obituary in the St. Petersburg Times recognized his time down range. I hope you will share this with everyone. I am so sorry he is unable to attend the reunion."
18 SEPT. 2008, MANY FRIENDS REPORT DEATH OF DOMINIC MANCINI.
- Gene Pugh, Jack Tolman, Bob Johnson, John Gladden all have sent me emails saying that Dominic Mancini had passed away. Dom who was 72, died 15 Sept 2008 and lived in Merritt Island FL. He worked downrange at Antigua 1962-66, and signed the Range Rat sign-in book on 01 Oct 2005.
11 SEPT. 2008, FOUR MORE DEATHS TO REPORT....
Bill Redman wrote recently: "Here are names of four range rats that have gone to the big tracking site in the sky and I thought I would pass their names on in case there were any troops out there that had known them and/or worked with them, and were curious as to whatever happen to them. With the exception of Quentin Tallent, I'm unsure of exact dates of death and can only give a general time".
- Quentin Tallent: "Q" as he was known to friends was a Telemetry
engineer at Ascension and Pretoria, South Africa. I believe he served some time on one or more of the tracking ships also. Q died in an automobile accident in Pretoria the day before Thanksgiving 1965.
- George Havermahl: George was a Telemetry technician, engineer
and supervisor on the range. He was at GBI, Ascension, Pretoria, South Africa and I believe spent some time at Antigua. George's final RCA position was at Kirtland AFB, NM. When RCA lost the contract at Kirtland, George and his wife Greta
emigrated to South Africa. This would have been roughly around 1976. George died, I believe from a heart attack approximately 8 years ago in South Africa.
- James "Little Jimmy" Powers: Jim was a 4101 and 1206 computer
technician at Ascension and Pretoria, South Africa. I believe he also spent a short time at Trinidad. Jim finished his career with RCA at BMEWS. Jim was killed in an ultralight plane crash near Daytona FL several years ago.
- Tom Purdy Tom was a technician at the TPQ-18 radar at Ascension
in the mid-1960's. Tom is to be remembered for convincing the powers-that-be to allow him to bring archery equipment to the island and to construct an archery range. Tom died from complications from an appendectomy operation, also in the
mid-60's.
01 SEPT. 2008, BOB BONNER REPORTS DEATH OF FRIEND.
- Bob who lives in Spokane WA now, wrote "I want to report a death of a range rat friend of mine James A. "Jim" Bennett. I knew Jim well on the USNS H. H. Arnold, he was the supply supv for PanAm. Jim worked on the Coastal Sentry as well. Jim died in Aug of 1985 and I attended his funeral. Would like to see his name on the list of departed range rats."
01 SEPT. 2008, NICK TAMIROFF DIED IN NOV 2007.
- Another RR death that I failed to report when it was sent to me: Range Legend Nick Tamiroff died on 06 Nov 2007, as was reported in the newspaper. This info was sent in by Larry L. Smith, via Jack Tolman. Larry goes on to say: "Hadn't heard much of Nick in many years. Last time I saw him, Bill Redman and I were sipping a brew in a hole-in-the-wall beer joint south of Patrick AFB (not on Co. time, of course) and in came Sid Landau (then a juke box mogul) and Nick Tamiroff. Nick had a contract at the base to install tile in the bathrooms of the south housing quarters. That must have been 20 years ago. Nick was 68 at the time of his death. Tempus fugit."
03 JAN. 2009, MORE RANGE RAT DEATHS TO REPORT
- I did some super sluthing of old RCA Range Rat names, and these are confirmed deaths.
03 JAN. 2009, names added to this page
- Joe H. Chestnutt, died 14 Dec. 1991, age 82, at Chattanooga TN
(I do remember Joe, he was a stamp collector, who worked on Ascension Island.
UPDATE 23 APR. 2009: John Gladden emailed me this info on Joe: " I knew Joe at Mahe when I was there from late 1970 until June of 1972. Joe was the Pan Am Motor Pool Foreman while I was there. I remember him as being quite affable.
- Thomas S. Campbell, died 18 Jul. 1980, age 42, at Merritt Is. FL
- John D. Cartlidge, died 11 Aug. 2005, age 67, at Malakoff TX
- John H. Cave, died 13 May 2002 age 74 at Houston TX
- Clyde W. Cato, died 03 Mar. 2008, age 67 at Okeechobee FL
(Clyde was an RCA clerk at Ascension, I personally knew him when i was there in 1971-2).
Clyde's obituary can be found at this Kwaj page, click here and scroll down the page. From his obit it tells that he was in the Army and served a tour of duty in Korea. He later spent many years in the South Pacific working for RCA – Range Systems, Lockhead Martin and Raytheon Engineering where he retired. However his obit left out that he also worked on Atlantic side too: the Eastern Test Range, thats where I knew him from.
- Joseph L. Collins, died 20 May. 2003, age 64, at Sebastian FL
(I worked with Joe in Telemetry at GBI in the 1960s, his death was reported earlier on
this page but then I did not know the date he died, where he died and his age
at death).
- Ralph N. Cron, died 09 Aug. 1999 age 87 at Pharr TX
(Ralph and I first met at St. Lucia in 1956, & shared an adjoining barracks room for a few months. I dont know what he did at St. Lucia, we used to do a lot of hiking on that island with George Fritz, one big hike was up Little Piton mountain. We both got transferred to Grand Turk and he worked in Timing.
After he left the range we keep in touch for a good many years then he went into a nursing home in Pharr TX & thats when I lost contact with him, I considered him a good friend, he too was a stamp collector like myself).
- William "Bill" J. Cipulis, died 12 Jul. 1999, age 84 at Enfield CT.
(I personally knew "Czip" when I went to work at Telemetry in 1971 at Ascension, look for more info. on " Czipulis " at one of the May 2005 entries below), [I am pretty sure thats how he spelled his name when i knew him at Asc].
21 DEC. 2008, names added to this page
- Frank J. Blatnik, died May 1995, age 75, at Riverview FL
- Bobby H. Boulineau, died 12 Jan. 2001, age 65, at Middleburg FL
- James Brady, died 15 Aug. 2003, age 81, at Brick NJ
- Johnny C. Brown, died 27 Apr. 1997, age 55 at Jacksonville FL.
(I do remember Johnny who was our RCA clerk at GBI and later at ASC).
- Harry E. Brownlee, died 22 Feb. 2000, age 62 at Tallahassee FL
01 Sept. 2008, names added to this page
- Jack M. Ake, died 17 Aug 2004, age 86, at Daytona Beach FL
- Fred W. Arnold, died 11 May 2007, age 74, at Richmond VA
- Richard Beben, died May 1987, age 56, at Biloxi MS
- Valentine Bee, died Jan. 1985, age 61, at Cocoa Beach FL
- Alvin Blakely, died June 1981, age 42, place of death unknown
- I dont know most of these fellows listed above, but someone out there does, if you knew any of these RR's listed above, let me know what stations they worked and approx. what time period, etc. etc.
13 AUGUST 2008, IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT GERALD "JERRY" O'DONNELL HAS DIED.
- Jerry died on Thursday 07 Aug. 2008, he was living in Savannah GA, this was reported to me by Vinicio Lembert of the Dominican Republic who worked with Gerald "Jerry" O'Donnell at the weather station near the Dom. Rep. tracking station. Jerry came to work at the weather station in May 1956 and I knew him when I started working at the station in Dec. 1956 and became good friends. We even roomed together. I've added at picture of Jerry on the DOM REP AAFB webpage, just
Click Here.
13 JUNE 2008, DEATH OF BENNIE LaROCHE REPORTED:
- Jack Tolman forwarded me an email from "LL" that told of the death of Bennie LaRoche, as follows: "Any of you who ever worked on Ascension will remember Bennie. He and Tab Coleman were like part of the lavaworks down there and both wonderful characters. LL".
Bennie's full name was Benjamin B. LaRoche III, and he passed away on 31 May 2008 at his home at Merritt Island. He was born in Merritt Island, FL and was a fuel mechanic manager for Pan Am Down Range. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elfreida.
01 JUNE 2008, DEATH OF M.M. "MANNY" NORIEGA REPORTED
- On 27 May, Glenn Brown has reported the death of M.M. "Manny" Noriega, saying he died of cancer about a month ago, which would make it sometime in April 08. Manny worked on the Apollo ships and Antigua radar, then to Ely, Nevada tracking station (radar) with RCA. He leaves behind his wife Gloria and two daughters.
20 MAY 2008, RAY MILLER REPORTS DEATH OF RR FRIEND
- Ray, located at Hanapepe HI, wrote today: "Jim Roberts passed away this past weekend. He was a tech onboard the American Mariner before he decided to come out to Hawaii and work at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. We will all miss him."
14 MAY 2008, JIM EDWARDS REPORTS DEATH OF 4 MORE RANGE RATS.
- Roy Smith: was a Pan Am maintenance/support superintendent
downrange, notably GBI and Ascension. Originally from Texas, he had mastered the art of making great chili beans . Was also a great guy to be around.
UPDATE ON ROY SMITH: 07 OCT. 2009: Debba Wainwright Smith who was a range rat in the 1960s, married another Range Rat: George Smith, the son of Roy Smith. Debba relates that Roy, who spent
many years down range, was famous for "the Gulch" on Ascension!
- Jack Steele: Radar manager, SOM on the ARIS ships. He eventually
became manager of Range Ships.
- Dick Stricker: started out on the FS boats, then went rapidly
up the management ladder to eventually Pan Am Manager of Downrange . He left the range in 1968 to go with ITT and died by his own hand in late 1970.
- Ed "Tiger" Jones: Pan Am manager at GBI in the late 50's. Later
at Trinidad, I believe. Most remembered by those of us that worked for him for his obsession with security measures around the base.
13 MAY 2008, RICHARD "DICK" REMSTEDT ADDED TO THE ABOVE LIST:
- Jerry Blackerby emailed me about a friend of his saying in part: "Richard "Dick" Remstedt worked with me on an RCA contract in Oklahoma during 1956-1958. When RCA lost that contract we both accepted transfers to MTP. We ended up in the data-handling section at GBI in mid-1958. In late 1959, Dick transferred to the Cape and remained there for quite a while. I lost touch with him and recently did a google search for him and found him in the SSDI. He died in Brevard County in March, 2003.
10 MAY 2008, WAYNE WITHAM REPORTS DEATH OF JAMEY DILL:
- saying that Jamey Dill worked on ships for many years and gave me his wifes email address. Laura Dill then said Jamey Dill passed away Feb 1987 and spent his 25+ years with RCA. First on the USNS Twinfalls and then on the USNS Redstone.
10 MAY 2008, 3 DEATHS REPORTED BY KATHRYN GILSON-JOHNSON:
- Tom Armstrong was a chief Tech at GBI and Radar 12:15 on Ascension. when he retired he operated a bird sanctuary in Costa Rica. He died several years later of pneumonia.
14 DEC 2009 UPDATE: It was originally reported that Tom Armstrong retired in 1981, however Michael Savinon
from Melbourne FL sent in more info. on Tom, and said "I came on the Range in 1983 and I knew Tom personally afterwards on Ascension. He died sometime in the late 1990's or early 2000's. He was a very nice guy that loved his birds. The last time I saw Tom was around 1990 on Ascension. He retired afterwards and settled in Costa Rica where he passed on within the last 10 years.
- Art Mobius was Radar Leader at Antigua and Ascension during the 1970's - 1980's. In the late 1980's he transferred to Patrick AFB, then passed away a few years later - 1 year after his wife's death.
- Harry Smith was a Transmitter Engineer on Ascension Radar. He retired to Mississippi in the late 80's due to health problems, then passed away 2 years after that.
10 MAY 2008, DEATH OF JOHN FARKAS REPORTED:
- This death was reported to me in Oct 07, (but got lost in my emails until now!) by Ray Cartwright, St Augustine FL, who wrote that John Farkas, a programmer on Grand Turk ('77-'79) and Ascension ('79-'83) died of an apparent heart attack in Dec 2003.
- I didnt know if Ray Cartwright was a Range Rat or not when he reported the above, however he finally signed the Range Rat Sign-In Book on 14 Jul 2009!
- I do appreciate anyone reporting deaths of known range rats, even if they are not a range rat.
12 APRIL 2008, DAVID T. DONALDSON ADDED TO ABOVE LIST:
- UPDATE 10 MAY 2008: Mac Monroe send more info on David T. "Dave" Donaldson saying that he was a long time RCA/GE employee, known by many on the Eastern Range, and that his obituary was listed in the online version of the "Florida Today" newspaper for 10 May 2008.
- Dwight "Speedy" Collier, has reported that Dave Donaldson, age 79, of merritt Island died on 04 April 2008. Speedy said that he worked with Dave at GBI and that he remembers that Dave replaced Jim Falkenstein as IM there, and that Dave flew his own plane.
- Fred Perkins said that he relieved Dave Donaldson as IM at Pretoria in 1968. and believes Dave held IM positions at a number of other stations over the years.
12 APRIL 2008, LARRY SCHWARTZ TELLS OF DEATH OF FRIEND IN 2007:
- Bill Daggett, 52, a Range Rat who once worked at GBI in the 80's died unexpectedly on 29 June 2007. Bill, at the time of his death, was a telemetry systems engineer for CSR at Jonathan Dickinson Missile Tracking Annex (JDMTA). Fellow employees said, "JDMTA and the Eastern Test Range has lost one its greatest assets and a vast storehouse of knowledge with the passing of Bill. He will be greatly missed by his coworkers, friends and extended family at JDMTA."
Bill was born in Tampa and lived in Hobe Sound FL. He is survived by his wife Zita and other family members.
05 APRIL 2008, NEPHEW REPORTS DEATH OF ROBERT E. SHEAN:
- Stephen J. Shean wrote in the RR sign-in book on 27 March 08 that his uncle Robert E. Shean served for many years with pride on the USNS Redstone AGM-20. He goes on to say that Robert, who was 83 at the time of death, was a lifelong sailor, spending some 40 yrs at sea joining the Navy for WW2 and Korea, then sailing with the MSTS/MSC aboard the Redstone, and now Neptune has called him home. He will be missed.
Anyone else who remembers Shean, please let me know what he did on the Redstone.
24 MARCH 2008, DAVE ROEBUCK ADDED TO ABOVE LIST:
- John Walker (who I knew at GBI in the early 70s) has reported that Dave Roebuck (who we both knew from GBI Telemetry) had died in the late 1970s.
- UPDATE 17 JUNE 2009: Jack Tolman wrote me in MAR 09 that Dave Roebuck worked at Trinidad in the late 60s as a shift leader.
Who can tell something more about Dave Roebuck, what his job titles were and what stations he worked at?
24 MARCH 2008, R.N. RICHARDSON ADDED TO ABOVE LIST:
- Arthur Newport, of Melbourne FL has reported that R.N. "Ritchie" Richardson died in the early 1990s, "Ritchie" was in Fire Security at ANT, ASC, TURK and probably other stations too.
04 MARCH 2008, BILL REDMAN TELLS OF DEATH OF FRIEND FRED LETH-STEENSEN:
- Bill said recently: " I'm kind of surprised that this has not been brought to your site's attention before this, but Fred Leth-Steensen died in 2001 in New Mexico. Fred was a long time range rat. Fred started on the ETR as a technician and left as a manager. I know for a fact, that he was on Grand Turk, Antigua, South Africa, Ascension and GBI. He may have been on other stations also. I first met Fred when he came to Pretoria, South Africa as Radar Leader. Many an evening he was over my house in Pretoria, where we solved the world's problems over a bottle of brandy. The only problem was, that the next morning we couldn't remember the solutions we came up with! Fred left the ETR in 1972 as did I.
We later joined up on the USNS Wheeling, a tracking ship on the Pacific Missile Range. We later worked together at the White Sands Missile Range. We parted again in 1977, when Fred went to Kwaljalein and I went to the Yuma Proving Grounds. Fred and his wife visited my wife and I a couple of times here in Florida. His wife, Alison is currently living in Dallas, Texas. I miss him".
04 MARCH 2008, WILLIAM C. ROPER ADDED TO ABOVE LIST:
- Richard E "Rick" Marshall, a Computer Operator / Programmer at MISTRAM, Eleuthera, 1965-67, signed the RR book, and reported that William C. "Sweet Old Bill" Roper, Data Analyst, died c2000.
04 MARCH 2008, ADDED TO ABOVE LIST, THE RR'S WHO WORKED AT TRINIDAD:
- A few years ago Scott Fetterman, (who recently died 05 Feb. 08) sent me a list of 176 Troops who were PCS at the Trinidad tracking station, today I went over the list and compared it to my list and have included the 9 he had listed as deceased that were not on my list. These were:
Richard Banke;
Dick Best (Programmer);
Jim "Hymie" Burbage, TLM Engineer, who died at the age of 63 in 1997 in Satellite Beach FL);
Ken Dunham;
Jim Hatley;
Ed Norton (CCO);
Gene Pool;
Bill Thomas (Photographer); and
Ken Willoughby (Comm. Leader).
Scott had Sam Currier listed as deceased, but new information as of 14 May 2008 confirms that Sam is alive and well in Oregon!
- As an extra note, with the mention of Jim Burbage above, it reminded me, (the guy who keeps these pages up to date), that when I went to work at the Dominican Republic tracking station in 1956 (my first downrange station), Jim and Hector Trujillo were two people that I worked with in the Timing Section, two longtime friends.
- I now add Hector Trujillo's name to the above list. He was treated like a VIP when he worked in the Dominican Republic as he had the same name as the president of the country!
12 FEBRUARY 2008, DEATH OF JOHN BECK REPORTED:
- Fred Perkins sent me this email yesterday: "Am reporting the death of John Beck today 11 FEB 2008. John was an RCA Resident Engineer on a number of stations including Antigua, Ascension and Mahe, I believe he also did brief stints at Pretoria and Eleuthera. He was an avid ham radio operator, and won first place in the world in a a couple of ham radio contests while operating his ham station at Ascension. John left the range for an assignment at RCA Alaskom in Anchorage Alaska, subsequently retiring from there to the Sebring FL area. When his health failed, he entered a nursing home in October 2004, and subsequently passed away there today."
- 03 JAN. 2009, Fred Perkins later set up a tribute page about John Beck and his ham radio experiences, which can be viewed by clicking here.
09 FEBRUARY 2008, GRANDDAUGHTER REPORTS DEATH OF DAVE STARK ON 07 FEB 08.
Angelique Bedwell ( tazzywolfy@aol.com ) from Sherman, TX wrote: "I am the granddaughter to fellow range rat David Earl Stark. I wanted to let you know that David passed away today 07 FEB 2008, and his wife, my grandma Imelda Kamlan Stark passed in SEPT. 2007. If any one wants information on David or my father Ira Thomas Bedwell, another former fellow Range Rat, who passed in 2002 they can email me."
07 FEBRUARY 2008, DEATH OF FRIEND AND FELLOW RANGE RAT:
- Charlie Wright sent this info. yesterday: "Scott Fetterman, long-time range rat RCA radar troop died 05 Feb. 2008 at Melbourne FL. He was 64. There will be no services. Scott served (of the stations I know of) at ASI, POS, SJH, GBI and JDIF. He had been in ill health for some time and then got Red Tide
toxins from eating seafood, which led to the loss of functions from the waist down, and that caused his death.
So long, Scotty. I'm remembering all the good times we had on
the range, and since retirement..."
- 10 FEB 2008 Bill Bailey wrote "I knew Scott Fetterman too. I was on Ascension on radar haul job for CEMS. In one of those philosophical sessions that went into the early morning Scott mentioned he might like a transfer off ASC, I suggested KWAJ since they also had 1206 computers there. I told him that I could arrange an interview for him just now. He doubted I could do that, which led to a bet that I could, if he could get the PAFB operator. (I had been to KWAJ and had Caskey's phone #)I won that bet by calling Jim Caskey on KWAJ just before quitting time there,(12 hours difference from ASC) Don't think Scott went out there. Why trade one rock for another? I've got a lot of fond memories from those late night philosphical? discussions.
Sorry to hear of Scott's passing: One less Range Rat is not a good thing."
End of PAGE ONE of Range Rat Deaths.
Click here to go to PAGE TWO: Death Notes from 2007.
Click here to go to PAGE THREE: Death Notes from 2005-06.
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