Ernest A. Mackley

MACKLEY, Ernest A., a resident of Williamsburg and an international expert on scramjet propulsion and hypersonic flight, died Wednesday after a long illness. Mr. Mackley was born in 1925 in Grand Junction, Colo. and was graduated from the University of Colorado, in Boulder, with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Mr. Mackley moved to Hampton, Va. in 1951 to begin a career with the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) that spanned more than 40 years. At NASA's Langley Research Center, Mr. Mackley led research and testing in hypersonic flight and air breathing propulsion, eventually becoming Chief Propulsion Scientist and Assistant Branch Head for NASA's Hypersonic Propulsion Branch. During his career, Mr. Mackley received numerous Outstanding Performance awards and, in 1993, he was awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, the nation's highest civil service award. He is survived by his wife, Ruth S. Mackley; his daughter, Anna Mackley Cobb and her husband, Henry, of Richmond; his daughter, Jane Mackley Hohensee and her husband, Roger, of Williamsburg; and by his grandsons, Matthew White of Charlottesville and Benjamin Cobb of Richmond. He is additionally survived by a sister, Arlene Thurstonson of New Mexico; and two brothers, Dale Mackley of San Francisco, Calif. and Patrick Mackley of Seattle, Wash. Visitation will be held at Nelsen Funeral Home, 3785 Strawberry Plains Road, Williamsburg, on Monday, November 10 from 4 to 7 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 11, at First Christian Church - Disciples of Church, 1458 Todds Lane, Hampton. Burial arrangements are pending. Nelsen Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences may be registered at www.nelsencares.com.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.