George Conrad

George R. Conrad, 85, beloved husband, father, cherished co-worker, teacher and mentor, passed away Wednesday, March 2, 2016 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. George was born February 16, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. His parents were Albin Conrad and Dorothy Hunter Conrad. George earned his Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering Degree from the University of Detroit in 1953, and started as a Junior Engineer at the Bendix Missile Facility in Mishawaka, Indiana. He designed components for the TALOS missile, but was drafted into the Army in 1954. He was assigned to White Sands Proving Ground, working as a missile technician on the LACROSSE missile program. He met the love of his life, Juliana Silva, at a party at the Amador Hotel and they were married in 1956 at St. Genevieve Church on Main St. That same year he was honorably discharged from the Army, but stayed at White Sands, working for Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. In 1957 George joined the NMSU Physical Science Laboratory's Rocket Section. For the next five years he worked on projects including Pogo-Hi target missiles to the single-stage Apache (HIGHBALL) vehicle and the two-stage Nike Apache (SPEEDBALL) vehicle, used as targets for the Army's Nike-Zeus and follow-on systems. In 1961, George earned a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from NMSU. George was named Rocket Section Chief in 1962. The Section was engaged in programs ranging from support of the ballistic missile defense program to the design and test effort to develop an oil skimming device for use on harbor and river waterways, funded by the Federal Water Quality Administration. Section contract support dwindled by the 1970s; in 1971 the Section disbanded and layoffs occurred, including George. He then owned and operated a hardware store until 1973 when he accepted a research engineer position with Calspan Corporation (formerly Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory) in Buffalo, N.Y. In 1978, George rejoined the NMSU Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) to work in the Energy Research Section, primarily in solar collector testing. He was named manager of the Technical Service Branch. When PSL won a NASA Balloon Contract in 1987, George was transferred to the NASA Wallops Facility to establish an engineering support group. He returned to Las Cruces in 1990, continued projects initiated while at Wallops, and supported a major ECM-related modification of a Russian MI-8 helicopter. Coincident with the completion of the helicopter project, George retired from PSL in 1993. George enjoyed an active retirement. He was involved in a planned manned round-the-world flight for team RE/MAX as part of a global competition launching from Australia. And he mentored a group of senior NMSU engineering students in a project to design, build and fly a balloon autonomously from Jett Hall to Corbett Center. Throughout his life he was active in choral singing. He sang with his parish church choir, Los Pastores, and Voz Vaqueros. He was also an active volunteer at Holy Cross Church, serving with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and various project committees. His hobbies included woodworking and fishing. He was preceded in death by his parents and his son, Eric Conrad. George is survived by his wife of 59 years, Juliana, his son, Karl Conrad, his daughters Celeste Conrad and Laura Myers, his son-in-law, Timothy Myers, his brother, James Conrad, as well as three granddaughters, Crystal Berger, Danielle Scott and Bianca Myers, two nieces and numerous cousins in Ohio. A viewing will take place at 9:30 a.m. followed by the celebration of a funeral mass at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 11th at Holy Cross Church, 1327 N. Miranda with Monsignor John Anderson, Celebrant. Interment of cremains will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to the St. Vincent de Paul Society or the National Parkinson Foundation would be appreciated. Arrangements are with Getz Funeral Home, 1410 E. Bowman Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88001.