Dr. Larry C Atha

Dr. Larry Clinton Atha, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother passed away at his home in Athens, AL on Sunday, January 21, 2018. Born on May 31, 1936 in West Plains, Missouri, he was preceded in death by his sister Loretta, his mother, Hazel Mae (Lile) Atha, and his father, Urie "Bo" Clinton Atha of West Plains, Missouri. He is survived by his wife of sixty years whom he married on August 28, 1958, Patricia "Patty" Louise (Callihan) Atha; his brother and best friend, Dr. Daniel "Danny" Atha and wife Bettie Atha of New Bern, NC; his sister, Brenda Jackson, and her husband, Robert Jackson of West Plains, MO; his daughter, Sabrina Holt, her husband Tom Holt of Athens, AL and his grandsons: Alexander Holt and Clinton Holt; his son Larry Atha II and his wife Dr. Janet Cotter Atha of Huntsville and his granddaughters: Mary Elizabeth Ignatiadis and Patricia Elaine Atha. Dr. Atha graduated with both Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy at Rolla, Missouri. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1969 from The University of Missouri at Columbia. He was appointed as a Sloan Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a post-doctoral Master of Science in Management in 1982. Dr. Atha was assigned to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama in 1962 and performed research in missile control systems for the U.S. government for 30+ years, including management of the Delco Ballistics Range at Goleta California and the New Technologies Active Search Program. He became the first chief engineer of the Joint Anti-Tactical Ballistic Missile Project Office before becoming acting chief for the Research Directorate and then chief of the Key Technologies Division. Dr. Atha served as president of the AIAA in Huntsville, and was key in the development of the UAH Aerophysics facility on the Arsenal. He retired from the government and became director of UAH's aerophysics facility for several years. Dr. Atha was a keen pilot throughout his career, having earned his private and commercial pilot's licenses. After retirement he resumed flying, and built a high performance aluminum mono-wing airplane, the tail number NC701LA bearing his initials. Larry's hobbies included canoeing through Missouri, Arkansas and the Yukon River in Alaska. He traveled around the world multiple times with friends through the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. In the spring of 1982 on an MIT field trip, he met the Vice Premier of China, Bo Yi-Bo, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Larry was a early member of Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville. He performed services for his church, the community and his profession. He taught Sunday school classes, and worked in the Cumberland Outreach Ministry, building homes in rural Kentucky with his brother. He served as Cubmaster of Pack 306 at Covenant Presbyterian Church. There will be a memorial service Saturday, January 27, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. at McConnell Funeral Home with the visitation one hour before the service.

In lieu of flowers, his family asks for donations to be made to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency for direct assistance to refugees.