ALTSEIMER, John Henry

Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Arizona, Thursday, February 21, 2013 John Henry Altseimer passed away at his home in Flagstaff, AZ on Sunday, February 17, 2013 from age related causes. He was 93. He was born on July 1,1919 in Milwaukee, WI to Lucas and Helen Altseimer. John grew up in Milwaukee exploring his interests in aviation and space. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of WI, Madison where he majored in engineering. During World War II, he was assigned by the Navy to use his engineering talents on war plane development at the Glenn L. Martin Company. He worked on the Martin "Mars" Flying Boat, the PBM "Marauder" Flying Boat, the A-22 "Maryland" Attack Bomber, the B-26 "Marauder" Bomber, and the XB-35 Flying Wing Bomber. For his post-graduate studies he attended CA Institute of Technology obtaining advance degrees and working at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA on hydrogen peroxide rocket engines still used on small thrust spacecraft devices today. It was while he was at Cal Tech, that John met and married his wife Charlotte. They were married for 64 years. After graduation, he was hired by Aerojet in Sacramento, CA. He worked on liquid propellant combustion processes, including the Second Stage propulsion package for the Vanguard satellite launch vehicle, the feasibility of launching very large payloads into space, and recoverable sea-launch systems. Also interested in manned space travel to our planets, he worked with Aerojet's "Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicles Applications" or NERVA, a NASA/Atomic Energy Commission program. Next he moved to Los Alamos, NM and was employed by the University of CA at the Los Alamos National Laboratories working on energy sources and uses, an unmanned Jupiter mission, and as a consultant for President Reagan's "Star Wars" program. Special thanks go to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Wall of Honor profile records where John's name and profile are displayed. John has been a member of several Unitarian congregations including Green Valley and Flagstaff, AZ. He loved the mountains, bicycling, rock climbing to the top of Mt. Whitney with the Sierra Club, hiking and anything to do with space exploration. He truly reached for the stars. He is survived by his wife Charlotte, his children John Altseimer and Christine Altseimer, both of OR, Wendy Hamilton and husband Lee, of NM and two grandsons, John and Lucas Hamilton. A local memorial service will be held at The Peaks Lodge on Saturday, February 23rd at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice Compassus of Flagstaff, AZ. This obituary was prepared by the Advertising Department (928) 556-2279.