Roger A. Burg
August 25, 1932 - June 12, 2015
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Roger A. Burg
August 25, 1932 - June 12, 2015
Obituary
Roger A. Burg, 82, passed away June 12, 2015 in Laguna Niguel, CA.
Raised in West Palm Beach, FL and graduated from U of Florida in 1954 with a BSME degree, he spent 35 years in Aerospace. He retired from Rockwell International in 1991 as Director of Advanced Launch System.
His career focused on Propulsion and Power Systems resulting from early assignments at North American Aviation, as test conductor and launch controller for Hound Dog and NAVAHO missiles. This prepared him in the 1960s at ‘the Cape’ to lead Engineering/Propulsion groups working on Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Saturn test and launch programs. As part of the Rockwell Space Division team, he was a true ‘rocket Pioneer’: an important participant in the most thrilling, spectacular and innovative times of the US Space Program. In the 1970s he joined Rockwell Management on the new Space Shuttle program becoming a leader in the Propulsion group responsible for the powerful Saturn SII engines that thrust the Shuttle into near orbit. In 1982 he received a NASA Public Service Award acknowledging his ‘Unusually Significant Engineering Contributions for US Space Exploration’.
Travel, tennis beach living, the Florida Gators and a 2001 Saab convertible were his joys in retirement.
He is survived by wife, Nancy, of 56 years; daughters Terry Noon (Gerald), Debbie Hjelmstrom (Steve) and Sandra Gorzeman (Scott); 5 incredible grandchildren; and brother, Don E. Burg.
O’Connor Mortuary handled arrangements and his ashes will be scattered in the ocean near his beloved Florida beach cottage.
1 responses to Roger A. Burg
Sally Carter says:
June 1, 2016
Roger was always so nice to my whole family and me. I will never forget his kind smile and deep, soft-spoken voice. He was smart and loved his wife Nancy and three daughters so much. He was also one of the most masculine men I’ve known; my mom even described him as “virile,” which surprised me because she didn’t extol people that much. I will always remember our Florida family vacation to Key Largo in the 1960’s and his and Nancy’s cruise to the Bahamas with my parents and other couple friends. I will definitely miss Roger and am thankful that I knew him.