Rob Tillett

The friends and family of Rob Roy Tillett sadly announce his passing on April 18, 2011 due to cardio-pulmonary failure. Rob was born February 22, 1931 in Lovell, Wyoming to Besse and William Tillett who were cattle ranchers in northern Wyoming adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. Rob attended high school in Lovell and was serving in the Wyoming National Guard when his unit was deployed to Korea. After that war, he attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie, where he met and married Geraldine Moore in 1953 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1955. Following graduation, Rob was employed by Thiokol Chemical in Brigham City, Utah, then went to Convair in San Diego, California to work on the Atlas ICBM project; that rocket subsequently launched the first American astronauts into Earth orbit in Project Mercury. He joined NASA at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston in 1962, then in 1963 transferred to the White Sands Test Facility near Las Cruces, known then as the "Apollo Site". He served first as Chief of the Test Operations Branch, then as Chief of the Propulsion Test Office, where he oversaw the development and qualification testing of the rocket propulsion systems used on the Apollo Service Module and Lunar Module, leading to mankind's first steps on the Moon in 1969. Following the conclusion of the Apollo Program in 1972, Rob was responsible for overseeing the testing on all the rocket propulsion systems for the new Space Shuttle Orbiter, culminating with the first Space Shuttle mission in 1981.

In 1982, Rob was promoted to Manager of the entire NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) and its 800+ civil service and contractor employees, encompassing not only the propulsion test mission, but also the laboratories and materials test functions, the contracts and budget administrative department, the safety and quality assurance department, and the facility engineering/construction support functions. Rob served as the longest-tenured Manager of WSTF until his retirement in 1992. After retirement, he was able to indulge in his many and varied hobbies: fossil-collecting, photography, star-gazing, reading, hiking, archery/target shooting, and helping his wife with wild bird rehabilitation. He was predeceased by his father, William, his mother, Besse, his brothers (Royce and Lloyd), and his son Clay in 1998. He is survived by Geri, his wife of 54 years, his daughter Robin, and four grandchildren: Cassandra, Trevor and Rachel Dixon, and Clay's daughter Rebecca London. A memorial service will be held at 4:00 PM on Friday, April 22 at La Paz - Graham's Funeral Home Chapel at 555 West Amador in Las Cruces. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Chihuahuan Desert Wildlife Rescue would be appreciated. To sign the guest book log on to www.lapaz-grahams.com