Annette M. McCusker

primary caregiver over this past year as she struggled against the

effects of a Glioblastoma Brain Tumor which ultimately took her

life on August 27th 2025, I have often pondered how to capture

her complex persona in anything short of a book length Obituary.

I have thought about the different facets of Annette life and

decided that they are distinct. Annette has led 3 lives - a

Public Life, a Professional Life, and a Private Life.

Her Public Life was mostly made up of Annette the wife, mother of

William III and Tracy, grandmother of William IV (aka Liam), Max,

and Alistair, traveler, quilter, and cyclist. She took pride in

and derived much joy from all of these roles. Her main loves were

her family, her cycling and her quilting in that order. Traveling

was another of her loves, she travelled extensively with me and

often with our children to many U.S. and European destinations as

well as to Australia.

Her Professional Life was characterized by a strong work ethic which

combined with her desire to excel that led to high performance levels,

steady advancement, and the esteem of many of her colleagues. After

being a stay at home mom until both of our children were in school,

she went back to work, initially at Cal Tech as a Computing Analyst,

later at MSC Software as a UNIX System administrator and Data Base

Administrator and her last 14 years in a number IT specialist roles

at JPL.

A important element in her professional success was her pursuit

of advanced degrees, a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Azusa

Pacific University while she was at Cal Tech, and an Executive Masters

of Business Administration from Claremont Graduate University while

she was at MSC.

Her Private Life was made up of hopes, dreams, special friends, and

confidants. Her early childhood was marred by a serious affection deficit

which in her adult life created in her a very strong determination to

excel in everything that she undertook to do. In her later years, she

had high hopes for a retirement full of adventure, love and laughter

as she gracefully grew older. This last dream was partially achieved

in her last year, when assisted by family and good friends, she lived

what time remained for her with a intensity and determination that

made that year one of the best in her life.