Wesley Melvin Dreyer

Wes is survived by his wife Marilyn, daughter Kelly, three brothers, and various in-laws, nieces and nephews, and grand nieces and nephews.

Wes was born in Wadena, MN, on Sept 27, 1947. He earned an engineering degree from the University of Minnesota, and relocated to San Diego in the late 1960s to work in the aerospace industry. He then earned two Master's Degrees, from San Diego State University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. It was in San Diego that he met Marilyn, and they married on June 24, 1972.

Wes was critically involved in developing and designing structural components of aircraft, helped determine the cause of the Challenger space shuttle tragedy in 1986, and designed modifications to prevent similar accidents. He also worked on development of the Tomahawk missile, but was most proud of his work baby, the Global Hawk. It flew many successful high altitude surveillance missions over Iraq and Afghanistan, and intriguingly, was in the background of a scene from Marvel’s Iron Man movie.

Wes had an adventurous spirit. He enjoyed water skiing, theatrical and musical events, snow ski trips with friends and family, and enjoyed driving his Corvette on CA highways. He also enjoyed traveling by land and sea to places like Europe, Russia, Australia, China, Korea, and the Caribbean. Above all, he was a devoted father, involved in the various sports, theatrical, and dance events in his daughter’s life. He happily helped build sets for plays and musicals, took on coaching softball, and cooked pounds of pasta for dance fundraisers.

Internment and celebration with family and friends will take place in Chancellor, SD. There will be a celebration of life in San Diego on November 22, 2024. Please contact [email protected] for more details.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials may be directed to the San Diego Rescue Mission, Feeding San Diego, or to the charity of your choice.