Edwin Q. "Ed" Rainey

Edwin Quattlebaum Rainey, Sr. of Hilton Head Island SC passed away unexpectedly and peacefully on February 12, 2018. Born in Columbia, SC in 1936, Ed grew up in Atlanta, GA, on and around the Georgia Tech campus, where his father taught for 44 years. Ed graduated from Grady H.S., and from Georgia Tech with an engineering degree. He served with distinction as an officer and pilot in the U.S. Air Force, primarily flight instruction at Moody AFB. Ed and his first wife had 3 children, and he began his career as an extraordinarily kind, patient, and caring father. After his military service, Ed joined NASA, while also serving in the Texas Air National Guard. At Johnson Space Center in Houston, he served as a research and instructional pilot and in multifaceted roles such as simulation supervisor for the space shuttle program. He helped to train astronauts for the Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz, and space shuttle programs. His dedication to the mission of NASA, his conviction that space exploration offered progress to humankind, and his excitement over serving there remained strong throughout his career.

Ed co-founded and served as coach and president of Bay Area Youth Sports, a baseball and softball league for boys and girls in the Clear Lake area. Ed advocated generalized athletic development in children, rather than specialization, and in making sports fun for all participants. Although he won numerous championships as a coach, he is remembered fondly by his players for his humor. As one former player put it, "he always made it fun and kept our asses in line." Ed enjoyed future studies and science fiction; he published poems in newspapers in Houston and wrote short stories. In pursuit of these interests he completed a MS in Studies of the Future at the University of Houston at Clear Lake City. He was an enthusiastic handball player and golfer, and a disciplined exerciser. While living in the Houston area, his sister Mary, a geophysicist, introduced him to Jannette Boyer, a geologist and colleague. Ed and Jann married in 1987 and moved to Kingwood, TX. After retiring from NASA Ed took up golf and writing with greater intensity, publishing a mystery novel based in the Sea Islands of SC. In 2008 Ed realized a long-time dream of relocating to the Low Country, where he had vacationed as a boy with family. In Hilton Head, Ed and Jann loved walking on the beach at dawn, studying the birds and shore critters. He could spot an osprey or an eagle before anyone else noticed, and appreciated their magnificence in flight. He loved animals and they knew it - the dogs on the beach often came up to greet him.

In addition to his wife, Ed is survived by the children of his first marriage to Frances Lloyd of Atlanta: daughter, Jan Rainey Hoffman (John) of Baton Rouge, LA and two sons, Lloyd Rainey (Laura) of Austin, TX and Edwin Q Rainey, Jr. (Casey) of League City, TX. He is also survived by grandchildren Ben, Aaron, Rachel, Emily, Mikaela, Joshua, Rebekah and Sarah Hoffman, and Brooke, Lindsey, Rocky, Emme, and Brody Rainey; and great-grandchildren Bradley, Aaron, Aroa-Joy, and Eden. He is survived by siblings Glenn Weddington Rainey, Jr. (Jane) of Richmond, KY, and Hal Griffin Rainey (Lucy) of Athens, GA; niece Nancy and nephew Willis; and three first cousins. Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Glenn W. Rainey and Dorothy Quattlebaum Rainey, and by his sister Mary Tindal Rainey Medlin. A celebration of Ed's life was held in Hilton Head in March. A Texas edition will be held June 17, 2018, 2-5 pm at the Villa Capri in Seabrook. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hilton Head Humane Association, Humane Society of Fairfax County, VA, and the Georgia Tech Foundation.