Obituaries - William Buckner "Bill" Haile Jr
W.B. Hailes Jr., aerospace expert, dies at age 68
Monday, Nov 24, 2008 - 12:08 AM
By JOHN D. CLARKE AND HOLLY PRESTIDGE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS
When Wilbur and Orville Wright flew the first successful powered airplane in 1903, part of their success came from what they learned building bicycles. Lacking a wind tunnel, they tested different wing shapes by mounting them on a free-turning wheel attached to a bicycle's handlebars. When Dr. William Buckner Haile Jr. commuted the 25 miles to his job early in his career in the aerospace industry, he did so by bike.
"He was always interested in a challenge," said daughter Jessica Haile of Laguna Niguel, Calif. He rode a bicycle 2,007 miles in 2007 after being challenged to do it by his son, she said, and played lunchtime basketball and volleyball with colleagues. And when he died Nov. 1 of a heart attack in his hometown of Port Republic, Md., at age 68, it was while riding his bike enjoying a beautiful fall day, his daughter said. She described his love of outdoor sports, including sailboat racing, kayaking, canoeing, sailboarding and skating. All very basic means of getting around, very different from the spacecraft he helped design.
Dr. Haile was the chief structural engineer for 20 years on the Lockheed Martin project to construct the 43.5-foot, 12-ton Hubble Space Telescope. He also worked on the building of telecommunications satellites and was involved in a project using satellites to study the nature of gravity. He was a noted consultant on the mathematics and engineering of space vehicles that could survive the immense stresses of liftoff. Another project that was important to him, his family said, was the Earth Observing Satellite for the study of global climate patterns and influences.
Dr. Haile was born in Washington and spent childhood summers with his family in Tappahannock on the Rappahannock River near the Chesapeake Bay. His ashes will be buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in nearby Miller's Tavern in Essex County at a future date.
Dr. Haile was a graduate of the Virginia Tech School of Engineering, the third generation of his family to be a Tech alumnus, his daughter said. He completed his master's and doctoral studies at Tech as well. He was an ROTC cadet and joined the Army after college, serving as a captain at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. His specialization was missile tracking systems. He would later work for Swales Aerospace, ATK and Lockheed Martin.
In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, Joy Ann Bartholomew of Port Republic; former wife Phyllis Andis Haile; another daughter, Rachel Haile of Chicago; a son, Adam Haile of Durham, N.C.; a sister, Jane Haile Dawkins of Key West, Fla., and Tappahannock; a brother, Edward Wright Haile of Champlain in Essex County; and a granddaughter.
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Thursday, December 15, 2008 Hillside Farm, Meigs County
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Hillside Farm,
Meigs County
Today is the fifth day of Chanukah, it is also Christmas and by coincidence two days after my sixty eighth birthday. It is a time of year filled with the ultra pressures of merchandising and marketing and sometimes it is hard to focus on the love of family and friends. I remember that this year the sound of Seasonal Music was filling the stores in Athens as we shopped for Thanksgiving. Anyway, such is life in the 21st century.It had been a busy year for me and it was such a blessing to be home for the Holidays. Vanessa cooked a fabulous birthday dinner for me and Wally and Donnie came down from Columbus and John came over from Carpenter and as we lit the candles for the third day of Chanukah a peace settled over the house as we said our prayers. As we were sitting at the table, Wally was remembering his father who was an Auschwitz survivor. All of a sudden, Izze said, ‘Excuse me, excuse me people’s.’ We stopped talking and listened and she followed up with, ‘I’m Jewish!’ Laughter and hugs filled the room. A Christmas card from my friend Bill Haile’s daughter had arrived earlier in the day. Bill had been my best friend from back in the neighborhood when I was a kid and he passed away suddenly the first of November. In envelope was a picture of Bill and I back in Tappahannock when we were kids. It was summer and Bill and I sit next to each other in his Dad’s boat. There is a little seven horse power motor on it and Bill is in command of the vessel with his hand on the tiller. We are still in the dawn of our lives and a long day stretches out in front of us. In my memory the boat was a little speedboat… a mini yacht. In reality, the paint is peeling and the motor would be a valuable antique today. It reminds me of that Alan Jackson song, ‘Daddy Let Me Drive.’ There we were……and here I am. My son is about the same age we were in the picture and as I look about our house on this morning of the 25th of December, our daughter is playing with her first electric train set. Thomas The Tank Engine is ruling the roost. Last night we went to Vanessa’s Mom’s house and there were sisters, brothers and cousins there. Lila and Montana sang Christmas songs. Lila Mae’s voice was so beautiful it brought tears to my eye… well they both brought tears to my eyes. In this moment on this day it is very peaceful here at Hillside Farm today. May this moment embrace all the dear ones.
Saturday, November 22, 2008, Parsippany, New Jersey
My childhood friend Bill Haile passed away a couple of weeks ago and his passing touched me in a way I find difficult to express. We were boys together in the beginning of the second half of the last century. We had reconnected late in life and in spite of the different paths our lives had taken, we were first and foremost... friends! His daughter Jess sent me a link to this obit from the Washington Post. I reprint it in it's entirety. Short as it is, it gives a glimpse into the life of a most remarkable man. I already miss him, and I shall continue to do so. As my Mom used to occasionally say about him, 'That Bill Haile, he's a good man.' Mom knew her stuff!
William Buckner Haile Jr. Aeronautical Engineer William Buckner Haile Jr., 68, an aeronautical engineer who had a key role in the development of the Hubble Space Telescope and several NASA satellites, died Nov. 1 after a heart attack while bicycling near his home in Port Republic. Dr. Haile worked for many years at Lockheed Martin and later was a senior engineer for Swales Aerospace and Alliant Techsystems, also known as ATK.He spent more than 20 years as the chief structural engineer for the Hubble telescope, helping design the vehicle that would carry it. He aligned the mirrors and instruments of the orbiting telescope that was launched in 1990.?ad_icon??When the telescope sent back out-of-focus pictures from its initial voyage, Dr. Haile worked on formulations that helped correct the problem.Later, he was a consultant and designer during the development of an exhibition about the telescope at the National Air and Space Museum.He also worked on the Earth Observing-1 satellite, a NASA satellite designed to monitor climatic conditions around the world. It has become an important research tool in the study of global climate change.Dr. Haile often was consulted on problems related to the unexpected flight performance of spacecraft. He was an expert in understanding the stresses and vibrations on a spacecraft during takeoff. Dr. Haile was born in Washington and was a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School. His family had settled in Virginia in the 17th century, and he spent summers at an ancestral home in Tappahannock, on Virginia's Northern Neck.His best friend in childhood was guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, who became a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Dr. Haile graduated from Virginia Tech, where he also received master's and doctoral degrees in engineering science and mechanics in 1965 and 1967, respectively.He enjoyed sailing, canoeing and other outdoor sports. He often bicycled 25 miles from his home to his office in Beltsville and in 2007 rode his bicycle 2,007 miles on a challenge from his son. His marriage to Phyllis Andis Haile ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of eight years, Joy Ann Bartholomew of Port Republic; three children from his first marriage, Jessica A. Haile of Laguna Niguel, Calif., Adam A. Haile of Durham, N.C., and Rachel A. Haile of Chicago; a sister, Jane Haile Dawkins of Tappahannock and Key West, Fla; and a brother, Edward Wright Haile of Champlain, Va.
Sunday, November 02, 2008 Hillside Farm, Meigs County
?I was just thinking today that it has been a while since I wrote anything on my Thoughts Page. I just haven’t felt thoughtful of late… well I guess I really just didn’t feel like sharing my thoughts. As time passes my body hurts more and well, I just feel my age. Who cares about that stuff anyway… I’m not the only one. While I was lamenting the end of the journey, whenever that might be I got an email from an old friend’s sister. When I saw that it was from her and that the subject was Bill Haile, I knew immediately what it was about.
Jorma, Billy died suddenly yesterday, November 1st, while riding his bike. Other than his heart, he was in good condition, full of life and energy and humor, and he enjoyed his job, loved his wife, was a very positive person, as you undoubtedly remember. I don't know any details about the funeral, or even if there will be one, but he will be buried near Tappahannock.Sincerely,Jane
Bill and I lived on Northampton St. in NW Washington, D.C. We both went to Lafayette Elementary School, Alice Deal Junior High, and we both graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. We rode our bikes together in Rock Creek Park when it was still safe for kids, or anyone, to do that. We built model airplanes together… we were in Cub Scouts together and in the same Boy Scout Troop. He was my best friend all through school. His was a southern family and they had deep roots in Tappahannock, Virginia. The Hailes had a little summer place on the water down there and one year they invited me to spend a couple of weeks with them. Bill’s dad taught us water skills, handling a canoe, driving their little outboard motorboat, fishing and the like. There is nothing like being young in the country. The Hailes had a beagle named Jeb. My dad had given me a .22 rifle… a bolt action Mossberg from the early 40’s. Bill and I would walk the dirt roads together with that dog. ‘Get a rabbit Jeb!’ Bill would shout, and Jeb would take off through the forest singing that beautiful dog song that only hunting dogs can sing. We would be ready with our .22’s, but you know, we never did get that rabbit. Jeb did though. What a dog! What a time! I don’t know if the Haile family ever knew how important those days were to me back then. Life at the Kaukonen house was volatile to say the least and I always thought that all other families were happier than ours. Such are the neighborhood dreams of children. This was in 1952 or 1953. Bill was a year older than I. When we came back from my dad’s post in Pakistan, I was fifteen. Bill was sixteen so he already had a driver’s license. We double dated in their 1953 Buick and then in their 1956 Plymouth which was a stick and had a V-8. These were indeed teenage dreams come true. When I started to play the guitar, Bill encouraged me to come with him on a church retreat. My first ‘public’ appearance was on talent night on that weekend. I played, ‘Worried Man Blues.’ ‘What do you know about being worried?’ my Dad used to say. Teenagers know lots about being worried, but that’s another story. Bill graduated high school the year before me and went to school at Virginia Polytechnic Institute… that’s Virginia Tech today. He left his 1939 Ford four door with the full race ’48 Mercury flathead in it to keep for him until he got back so he could sell it. It was a much cooler car than my 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe. Of course, any of those cars are cool today. Bill went in the service when he got out of school. I went to school in Ohio and wound up in California. Sometime in the 60’s, I wish I could remember when, Bill spent some time in California. Indeed, I wish I could remember. We really re-connected in the 90’s. I was working in Annapolis, and there was Bill. We rekindled our friendship and kept in touch via email from time to time. I remember on time he came to see me when I was working at the Birchmere. He had been diagnosed with cancer and was just beginning treatment. ‘Bring it on!’ he said. That was Bill. I would occasionally see him over the ensuing years. Last year he came to the Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore with his sister Jane. I hadn’t seen her in years and it was nice to touch the family again who was so important to me as a kid. My eleven year old son Zachary was there with me that time and it gave me great pleasure to connect the generations. I was sorry he never got to meet Izze, but that was not to be. We talked about our lives and the paths and choices we had made. He pointed out that our paths in life had taken us to places where we would have never encountered each other. At the end of the day, our roots transcended whatever differences there might have been. We knew where we came from… our boyhood memories were steeped in the sameness of our time. Friends and loved ones are the foundations of our lives. Old friendships have the strength of bedrock. As long as there is one who remembers, they will endure. I just recorded a song by my friend Roy Book Binder and I would like to include a verse of it here. ‘Winter, Summer, Spring or Fall You got to go when the good Lord calls He made us laugh, until we cried But we never got a chance to say goodbye Another man done a full go round’ Another good man done a full go round. Fair wind and following seas, old friend. I will miss our occasional meetings but you will live in my heart for a very long time!
http://jormakaukonen.com/thoughts/