Frederick Pearson II

PEARSON, Frederick F. II, of Warsaw, Va., passed away Sunday, December 6, 2009. He received a B.S. in History from St. Louis University in 1961, a M.S. in Astronomy from Yale University in 1964, a diploma in Business Administration from the Hamilton Institute in 1968, a M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from VPI & State University in 1977, and a P.D.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1981. He had experience in applied science and engineering. He developed star charts and satellite trajectory programs and designed a celestial navigation device for the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center. At Emerson Electric Company, he conducted studies in orbital analysis and satellite rendezvous. He had also done vibration analysis and design work on spin-stabilized missiles. For TRW Systems, he conducted mission and devised emergency back-up procedures for the Apollo missions. At McDonnell-Douglas, he worked on the design of the control systems of the HARPOON Missile and the guidance of the Space Shuttle. He was employed as a manager at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Va., at the time of his retirement. His publications include Map Projection Equations, Map Projection Methods, Map Projection Software and Map Projections: Theory and Applications, CRC Press, 1990. He is survived by his wife, Shirley Kline Pearson; his children, daughter, Suzanne Jefferson (Craig) and their four sons, his son, Paul Pearson; and his two stepsons, James A. Kline IV (Becky) and their children, Jake and Rachel and John R. Kline II and his son, Jacob Walker. A private funeral service will be held later.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.