Dr. Raynor L. Duncombe Dr. Raynor L. Duncombe died at his residence in Austin, Texas on Friday, July 12, 2013 at the age of 96. Born in Bronxville, N.Y. in 1917, he was educated at Wesleyan University, with an M.A. from the University of Iowa in English literature and a PhD from Yale University in Astronomy. Dr. Duncombe worked as an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. and was Director of the Nautical Almanac Office; until recently, he served as a professor of aerospace science at the University of Texas at Austin and was recently made professor emeritus. Dr. Duncombe was predeceased by his first wife, Avis Bailey Duncombe and by his second wife, Julena Steinheider Duncombe. Dr. Duncombe is survived by one son, Raynor Bailey Duncombe (Janice) of Middleburgh, N.Y., two grandchildren, Christina L. Duncombe of Chesapeake, VA and Raynor L. Duncombe (Heidi) of Mooresville, N.C. and their two children, his great grandchildren, Ava and Zack. Dr. Duncombe was a member of the NASA space science steering committee having worked on the Vanguard, Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects and was instrumental in determining the orbit of Sputnik when launched by the Russians. He was a member of the Hubble Space Telescope Astrometry team and was past executive editor of Celestial Mechanics. He was a fellow of various astronomy associations and received numerous awards. Dr. Duncombe was a true renaissance man. He was as comfortable reciting poetry as he was discussing the universe. He learned to fly a plane, had perfect pitch and played several musical instruments, and was skilled at plumbing, carpentry and electrical work. Most of all he had a contagious sense of humor and a well grounded sense of self that was never boastful. He loved encouraging and aiding students in pursuit of their education. He enriched so many lives and will be sorely missed by those who knew him. A service will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. followed by a visitation with light refreshments at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home located at 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin. An additional service, followed by a visitation will be held on Saturday, August 3, 2013 at noon at Bryant Grant Funeral Home located at Highway 64 E., Highlands, N.C. Highlands was Dr. Duncombe's summer home. Burial will be at a later date in Newtown, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the University of Texas, Department of Aerospace Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton C2100, Austin, Texas 78712-0287 with checks payable to UT Austin. Please include in the memo line: In Memory of Ray Duncombe. Obituary and guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Austin American-Statesman on Jul. 24, 2013.

Memories and Condolences
for Raynor Duncombe

Sponsored by Christine von Braun.

2 Entries

Christine von Braun

July 30, 2013

Without a doubt, the world has lost one one of its finest. “Dunc” was such a rare individual who touched so many lives, particularly in Austin at UT. Always incredibly generous and kind to the many aerospace engineering students, in particular, he and Julie would open up their home every year for a wonderful catered BBQ, along with Julie's hard to resist brownies. It was always a highlight of the year and very much appreciated by all of the students, in particular. He treated the staff at UT like members of his family. Everyone loved him. I have so many wonderful memories: Friday night dinners at his beloved “Luby's”, trips out to Big Bend, joy rides in that sports car “thing”, gutting a bathroom in our first fixer-upper home, Thanksgiving dinners, feeding and trying to tame several generations of backyard raccoons, glasses of sherry (and the biggest pecan halves I've ever seen) before dinner, Whitman's chocolates, Texas Ruby Red grapefruits, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, outdoor hiking near his home in Highlands, and who can forget that heartiest of laughs that only Dunc could produce. His gracious response to any of our “thank you” replies was always “just pass it on.” I carry that with me every day and always think of him in that sense. He was there for all of the life changing events in my family, from wedding to the births of our children. He was both surrogate father and friend. There will never ever be another “Dunc” ... to be sure. But, then again, I don't think any of us would want it any differently; Dunc was one-of-a-kind. It is certainly a sad, sad day. He will truly be missed, but never, never forgotten.

Grace Ashworth

July 28, 2013

We will miss all the wonderful stories he told about him and my dad, his cousin. He always told them in a way that made us laugh. We were lucky to have him in our lives. We will miss you Uncle Raynor. Love, Grace Louise and family

Showing 1 - 2 of 2 results