Alexander S. Paczynski

In the early morning hours of March the 26th, 2012 Alexander S. Paczynski passed away quietly in his sleep. His oldest son Jeffery Paul preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife of 56 years Audrey Louise Paczynski, his son Douglas James Paczynski, brother Donald Paczynski and his wife Ray, nephew Robert and nieces Debra and Elizabeth. Alex was born August the 28th 1931 in Niagara Falls, New York. He attended college at the University of Cincinnati, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering on June 3rd 1955. The following day he was wed to Audrey. After several interim engineering positions they moved to New Mexico in 1956 where he was employed with the federal government at NASA. Subsequently he earned a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University. Alex continued his education working on his PhD. During his career, he was instrumental in creating an emergency-landing site for the space shuttle at White Sands Northrup Strip. On March 30, 1982 the third flight of the shuttle landed at the site and the U.S. Congress changed the name of Northrup Strip to the White Sands Space Harbor after the landing. Alex was inducted into the White Sands Hall of Fame for his professional contributions in August of 2000. He was an avid golf enthusiast and played several times a week in his retirement. After more than 50 years in Las Cruces, family, friends and colleagues will dearly miss Alex. Services will be held at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 518 N. Alameda, Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 11:00 AM followed by a reception. In lieu of Flowers, friends may donate to St. Andrews memorial fund in Alex's name. PDF Printable Version