Cecil A Baumgartner

Born on a farm to Mable Izora Baumgartner and Samuel Ernest Baumgartner on September 7, 1920, West of Fair Oaks, Indiana, Cecil was their fourth son. The family grew to nine children with eight boys and one girl. Money was tight and Cecil used his resourcefulness to make his own toys, a kite, a hoop and a raft. His family moved several times during his youth changing schools seven times which made learning challenging and surviving new social situations at times difficult.

Cecil was determined to finish his education against his father's pressure to work full time as a farm laborer. His three older brothers were already full-time farm laborers. He believed education was the key for improving his life. Through his determination, Cecil became the first in his family to graduate from New Lisbon High School. After graduation, Cecil worked odd jobs to pay for the Central lowa Business College. He learned Typing, Shorthand, Spelling, Accounting, Business Law and Vocabulary.

When he received his mandatory military draft notice, he registered for the Navy on December 3, 1941. Four days later the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. Cecil pursued clerical duties in the Navy and was sent to San Diego for schooling in the middle of winter. The temperature change from -20F of the Great Lakes region to a balmy 70F of the West Coast made a lasting impression. Cecil vowed to himself he would come back to southern California. He was assigned to the Destroyer DD605 USS Caldwell. His duty station was the ship's office, his battle station was number 2 gun mount just forward of the bridge. The ship patrolled the Aleutian Islands in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea. He later transferred to the USS Detroit which lasted for three weeks, when a position was opened on the Admiral's staff. The Admiral's staff position led Cecil to qualify for the V12 Navy Training Program. This opportunity gave Cecil the choice to pursue Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University. At Purdue he met Bernetha McGinnis and was married in 1945. Cecil and Bernetha graduated from Purdue in 1948.

Cecil's aeronautical engineering career started with Curtiss-Wright in Woodridge, New Jersey in

1948. He then recommended Bernetha for a mathematician position with the company. Cecil worked in Experimental Test and Bernetha in Research. He relocated to Pennsylvania pursuing new technology and job opportunities in Nuclear Physics at Curtiss-Wright Quehanna. Cecil and Bernetha enrolled in Atomic Physics class at Penn State University to further their knowledge.

Fulfilling his dream, in 1962 Cecil and Bernetha and their family moved to Glendora California to work at Aerojet General on the space Nuclear Rocket. He had security clearances of "Secret".

Q, and Crypto. In 1966 he was employed by TRW to conduct thermal analyses on classified space satellites and operate the thermal testing laboratory. Beckman Instruments employed him to do thermal analyses on the gas chromatograph for the first Viking Lander on Mars. Rockwell employed him to analyze the critical leading edge of the wings of the Space Shuttle. The company thought the wing was good for 100 missions. Cecil's analysis showed it would last for 5 ½ missions. He emphasized that the ½ mission would mean loss of life. The material was subsequently modified. He published the NASA Tech Brief "Remote Operated Quick Disconnect: - concepts for nuclear pressure vessels and pipes. He received a NASA Honor Award for the Quick Disconnect mechanisms. At Interstate Electronics in Anaheim, he worked on the budding plasma panel display process from Owen Illinois. Other projects included GPS and Voice Data Entry. He also worked on launching and tracking of Trident missiles. He was very proud to have developed and patented his Electrostatic Method of Treating Metals (altering the physical properties of metals) and worked extensively to market his method.

Cecil was a volunteer for his children's activities as Scout Master and Band Booster. He participated with Merry Methodist group and hosted lively pinochle and domino parties. He was active in Toast Masters. He learned to play a variety of instruments - banjo, piano and electronic keyboard. He'd take the keyboard to the bowling alley to help celebrate birthdays. He really enjoyed bowling and participated in 3 - 4 leagues including bowling up to his last days

SURVIVED BY:

Children: (5)

Rochelle Caballero, 1946

Michelle Baker, 1953

Annette McCusker, 1958

Thomas Baumgartner, 1961

Renee Miller, 1963

Grandchildren (5)

Ryan Caballero, 1973

William C. McCusker III, 1982

Anna Baker, 1982

Tracy McCusker, 1984

Andrew "Drew" Baker, 1987

Great Grandchildren (4)

William "Liam" McCusker IV, 2015

Simon Baker, 2017

Maximus "Max" McCusker, 2018

Alistair McCusker, 2022

Preceded in death:

Wife: Bernetha Baumgartner, 1926 - 2018

Child: James Baumgartner, 1959-2017