Jack Ely Leibee, of Derwood, Md., died Nov. 8 at age 79. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol Curtiss Leibee, twins Julie and Rob, his dog Nikki, and his brother, Alan, among many other family and friends.
Jack considered himself lucky to have been born and raised in Ann Arbor, Mich., where his mother Helen (Kelso), known as Mate (short for Mater) taught Latin, and his father, Howard, known as Pate (for Pater), was a physical education professor at the University of Michigan. A highlight of Jack’s childhood was playing in the gymnasiums with his big brother, Alan, on Sundays and sleeping on piles of coats at the Ann Arbor Square Dance Club, where Pate was a caller.
Jack graduated from the University of Michigan and then spent several years in California, where he worked in the emerging field of satellite operations, acquired a Triumph 650 motorcycle, and attended the infamous Rolling Stones concert at Altamont, Calif., in 1969. In 1970, he traveled to Europe and bought a new red VW camper bus in Germany. Back in Michigan, he taught math. In 1971, he and Carol married. They moved to Silver Spring, Md., in 1977, where they had the twins. They moved to Derwood in 1989.
Jack took great pride in his work on ground systems and satellite development. Among the projects he worked on were the Hubble Space Telescope, EOS Terra - the flagship earth-observing satellite, NPP, Fermi, DSCOVR, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is expected to launch in 2027. He received the Distinguished Service Medal at NASA, where he is remembered as a friend and teammate who was not afraid to confront problems.
In addition to his family and friends, Jack loved: Michigan football, golf, all animals, books about true survival stories, cafeteria food, listening to “Gunsmoke” on Sunday nights and traveling as often as he was able.
A memorial gathering will be held at the family’s home.
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