Richard E. Orzechowski age 73. Beloved husband of Marlene J. (nee Drzewiecki). Loving Father of Suzanne Wack and Mark (Deborah). Grandfather of Alexis and Kayleigh Wack and Jason and Eric Orczechowski. Brother-in-law of Joan M. Drzewiecki. After completing his degree at the University of Toledo, Richard began his career with the
rocketry division at Chrysler and later was employed by Boeing in Seattle. Prior to his retirement,
Richard worked for over 32 years at NASA. He was a Mission Engineer in the Launch Vehicle Project Office. He was involved in the management of design, building and launch of
Atlas/Centaur and Titan/Centaur booster vehicles that launched a variety of communications,
weather, planetary exploration, and scientific payloads. Most notable are the Surveyor, pioneer, Viking, and Voyager missions that studied the moon, Mars, and outer planets, respectively. Richard, among others, was mentioned in Carl Segan's book "Murmurs of the Earth". His specialty was the telemetry support critically needed during launch operations. This involved close coordination between ground and aircraft telemetry stations around the world and the launch site tracking the progress of the mission from the time the vehicle was launched until the spacecraft was safely positioned in its final earth orbit. Richard found enjoyment with his grandchildren, fishing, tennis, golf and travel including Europe. June 20, 2009. Funeral Mass Tuesday June 23, 2009 St. Richard Church (26855 Lorain Rd North Olmsted) at 9:30 AM. Interment Sunset Memorial Park, Friends may call at
CHAMBERS FUNERAL HOME 29150 LORAIN ROAD AT STEARNS NORTH OLMSTED MONDAY 5-8 PM. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in his name to the Moll Cancer Center of Fairview Hospital or Southwest General Health Center Hospice.