Earl Oliver Fletcher

1923 - 2017

July 10, 1923 - November 24, 2017 Earl Oliver Fletcher, born on July 10, 1923 in Hutchinson, Kansas, to Lily Agnes (Merriweather) and Robert E. Fletcher, peacefully passed away at his home in Los Angeles, California, on Friday, November 24, 2017. He was 94. He graduated from Hutchinson High School with a music scholarship to Drake University but was inducted into the US Army in March 1943. He was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division, with multiple drops into Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge. He held the rank of Master Sergeant upon his honorable discharge in 1949. Earl moved Los Angeles after the war and was the 5th employee hired at TRW Systems Group, well-known for building NASA's Viking spacecraft that landed on Mars. Earl's entire professional career was at TRW and he retired from that organization in 1985. His passion was music, especially opera, travel and his dogs. He was a regular visitor at the major opera houses in Europe and planned his vacations around the opera season and then annually when he retired. He always said Kansas was too small and enjoyed every minute of his extensive worldly travels. He is survived by his spouse, Mark Emerson, his sister Mary Meyer of Hutchinson, Kansas, nieces, nephews and his dog Lily. He was preceded by his mother, father, stepmother Leah, brother Robert and his sister Ola. At Earl's request, there will be no memorial service. Also at his request, his ashes will rest with the ashes of his beloved dogs in the city that became his home.