John Michael Manning

John Michael Manning, age 85, passed away peacefully on December 14 in Conroe, Texas.
John was born on January 21, 1940, in Fulton, Missouri. He was educated at St. Elizabeth's Catholic Grade School and Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, graduating in 1957. He began his college studies at Rockhurst College before transferring to the University of Kansas, following in the footsteps of his father. While at KU, John played baseball as both a pitcher and infielder and pursued his lifelong ambition of becoming an engineer.
Inspired from a young age by aviation and air shows his father took him to, John earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. He began his career in Burbank, California, at Lockheed, where he met his wife, Shirley Culwick. They married and welcomed their first child, Michael, during their time in California.
John went on to enjoy a remarkable career in aerospace engineering spanning several decades. He worked on pioneering projects at Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas, contributing to early space program concepts, supersonic transport designs, and advanced fighter aircraft including the F-14 and F-15. He later played a role in the earliest design stages of the Space Shuttle program and became deeply involved in the integration of computer systems into aerospace engineering.
The Manning family ultimately settled in Houston, Texas, where John spent many years continuing his work on the Space Shuttle program while raising his family. He was a devoted father who rarely missed a game, event, or milestone in his children's lives. He took great pride in seeing all three of his children graduate from Texas universities.
In the mid-1990s, John and Shirley moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where John worked at Lockheed Martin at Dobbins Air Force Base. There, he contributed to the FAA certification of the C-130J aircraft and later worked on system testing programs for the F-22 fighter jet. He retired in 2010, closing a career defined by innovation, precision, and service to aviation and space exploration.
John is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Shirley Manning of Conroe, Texas; his children Michael Manning (Pam) of Montgomery, Texas; Michele Golden (Peter) of Manhattan, New York; and Staci Trojacek (Darrell) of Franklin, Texas, his sisters, JoAnne DeSmet and Beth Dold of Kansas City, Kansas. He is also survived by his grandchildren Lindsay Martinez (Michael) of Spring, Texas, Allison Holeman (Jacob) of Bryan, Texas, Mitchell Golden of Hanover, New Hampshire, MacKenzie Golden of Manhattan, New York, Summer Golden of Palo Alto, California, and John Trojacek of Franklin, Texas; his great grandchild, James and many extended family members.
John will be remembered as a devoted husband and father, a proud grandfather, and a passionate engineer. His legacy lives on in the family he cherished and the aircraft and spacecraft his mind helped bring to life.