Harry Thomas Johnson

Harry Thomas Johnson, 87, entered eternal life on July 7, 2026, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was a beloved son, husband, father, and grandfather. Harry was born on November 1, 1938, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Richard C. and Evelyn S. Johnson. 

During his childhood, Harry and his family lived in many locations in the United States, mostly in the Southwest, since the family followed Harry’s father when he served in the Army during the war and when he worked for the U.S. Forest Service. The family even lived in Benghazi, Libya for two years while his father worked for U.S. Foreign Operations Administration during Harry’s high school years. The hardest relocation for Harry was to return for the remainder of his high school years to Las Vegas, New Mexico after having lived overseas. The family often returned to Las Vegas to live with Harry’s paternal grandmother. For Harry, Las Vegas was as close as he ever had to a hometown, since he had lived there multiple times through grade school and high school. 

After graduating from high school as a National Merit Finalist, Harry attended California Institute of Technology and then transferred to New Mexico State University (NMSU) to finish his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1962. He soon started his studies for a Master’s degree in Chemistry, but the allure of the space program and the Apollo project pulled him to work with Aerojet in April 1965 at NASA’s White Sands Testing Facility. By the fall, he was made head of the Chemistry Laboratory. The work included grueling 12-hour days, six or seven days a week, but he was passionate about the space program and was known to pull his children out of bed to watch live television coverage of the Apollo flights.

 While working at Aerojet, Harry continued work toward his Master’s degree at NMSU, completing it in 1967. In the fall of 1968, he left Aerojet to begin work on his doctoral studies in chemistry, also at NMSU. Before finishing his doctorate, he started to look for a job in 1972, but the chemistry market was in a down cycle. After sending out hundreds of application letters, Harry took a job with Corning as a process engineer for a twin plant operation in El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. Working on weekends and at night, Harry completed and defended his Ph.D. dissertation in 1974. 

Harry then returned to the NASA White Sands Test Facility in the Chemistry Laboratory and advanced in management while working for both the contractor, Lockheed Martin, and NASA over his 36-year career. His laboratory’s mission was to ensure that spacecraft materials, components, and propulsion systems were safe for deployment and use in spacecraft before launch. Through Harry’s leadership, the laboratory became world renowned, and Harry was sent to Japan to certify a Japanese facility for their materials testing for the Shuttle. Harry received many awards during his time at NASA, but he was most proud of his Silver Snoopy Award personally given by the NASA astronauts for his outstanding achievements supporting the Space Shuttle Program. 

While attending NMSU he met Marilyn Ann Schultz. Although Marilyn was also from Las Vegas, and she and Harry had attended elementary and high school there, they did not know each other since they were in different grades. Marilyn’s mother claimed that they had chased one another around the Greyhound bus depot at age 5 or 6, but neither of them remembered it. However, when they met as adults, Harry was truly smitten, so Harry “placed his car in hock” in order to date Marilyn. Impressed, Marilyn accepted his marriage proposal, and the pair was married on July 31, 1965. They enjoyed a marriage full of love, children, and grandchildren for over 52 years. 

Harry is survived by his son Michael and wife Juana of Las Cruces, their children Joseph, Rudy, Michael, Sarina, and her husband Dustin; by his daughter Catherine of San Diego, her husband Charles, and their son Christopher; by his brother Lee of Bixby, Oklahoma; and by his brother Jerry and wife Joyce of Bellevue, Washington. Harry was preceded in death by his beloved wife Marilyn in 2018, by his parents Richard C. Johnson in 2014 and Evelyn S. Johnson in 2004, and by his sister-in-law Karen F. Johnson in 2016. 

The family held a private service on July 31st, at the Getz Funeral Home in Las Cruces, NM. In accordance with Harry’s wishes, his family will distribute his ashes at sea near his and Marilyn’s favorite location on the California coast. Please make any memorial donations to one of his favorite charities: any charity involved with animal rescue, the National Wildlife Federation, or the MD Anderson Cancer Center.