I was very saddened to learn of John's passing.  Like others sharing memories here, I met John at Lockheed.  It was my first job out of college and John started in the group around the same time having worked at other companies and on many cool airplanes.  He taught me so much more than just how to be a mechanisms designer.  We were all amazed at how he solved our most challenging problems.  Looking back now, though, I realize the great diplomacy he brought to the job and just how unique that skill was.  I still draw many of the same sketches for younger engineers that John drew for me repeatedly on his yellow notepad almost 25 years ago.  I caught up with him multiple times at Northrop and each meeting as if no time had passed.  My deepest condolences to Lisa and the kids.  John will be missed but never forgotten.

I was told once that a man was lucky if he could look back on his life and find more Friends than just acquaintances - John Rehfeldt was such a lucky man and I was lucky enough to call him a Friend. 
John and I met working for Lockheed in Palmdale on the JSF Program. Both of us were working away from our families so we had something in common from the beginning. 
I was sent to Chicago to  “babysit” a supplier for two years and since this supplier was working on one of John’s parts he spent several weeks a month with me. 
It was during this time I learned of John’s since of humor and I have never laugh so hard as I did being a part of his practical jokes on our Supplier. He was the first to throw a party for a worker or just help someone that needed a hand. 
John and I developed a “ Bucket List” of things we wanted do while in Chicago.  We “ cleared” a whole ice skating rink while attempting to skate without falling. We ate at all the best Steak Restaurants and then attempted “ creative accounting” to cover them on our expense reports- sorry Lisa sometimes we were a little short. We went to baseball games and then spent hours looking for our car, well there may have been a beer or two then as well. We traveled to upper WI and visited the islands each of us trying to stay upright on a very small scooter. 
We ate together, drank together, talk about our families but most of all I remember the laughter. 
Looking back over my life I have been lucky to have had friends but I have never been as Lucky as the day that I met my Friend John Rehfeldt. 
I will miss you Friend.  

I met John back in March of 1997 when I started working on the X-35 in Palmdale Ca. at Skunkworks.  I was truly in awe of his knowledge and ability.  I  felt then , it was a privilege to work along side such a gifted engineer.  Our paths crossed a few times after, on JUCAS and other efforts and he was always was kind and pleasant. 

Rest in peace John, you"ll be missed.

John was the most inspiring mentor and engineer I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with. John’s patience and breadth of knowledge is unlike anyone else I know. 

John always approached problems with a sense of calm that was contagious. Somehow, he always knew how to take on a problem even if it was something outside of his background.

John and I would often discuss personal projects in our spare time. We had great fun bantering back and forth whenever we could. He’d get a laugh out of shocking me with the costs and complexity of the various home upgrades he would take on when he wasn’t working. I couldn’t imagine the scope of work one man was taking on for “fun”.

I believe this is a core part of John’s sense of humor. He’d often convey projects in this funny, matter-of-fact tone that always made me laugh: “Yeah, well first the impossible thing, then the other impossible thing, then one more impossible thing and we’re done.”

The photo below conveys this. During our time on X-47B together we had this large night time test event that was a real hurdle. In the background I’m “mildly” panicked and John in the foreground has this subdued smirk on his face as if to say: “Yep, we’ll get through this”.

John was also a genuine and deeply caring friend to myself and many others and he is deeply missed.




John will be greatly missed. Not only did I live with John in Palmdale  (he was my roommate) but I worked with him for several years at Northrop & Lockheed. Once at Lockheed and living in Palmdale with John, we'd sometimes go to the gym together, share Yogurt after work, have lunch at Chronic Tacos or just sit and talk in the kitchen about family, vacation, work and his drive. John had nearly a 4-hour commute and I was always amazed of his level of patience to be on the road lol. He also loved to talk about his home and his family. From what he described he had quite the setup with his pool and backyard oasis. I thought to myself, yea I'd probably make that commute too for that paradise. I remember when he left Northrop our mechanism guru Rich Kagawa had commented "who was John Rehfeldt?"...he was impressed with one of the designs John had created for us. Rich had never seen anything like it, and for examples like that John was talented in so many ways. John you will be greatly missed.  John had impeccable qualities, an infectious laughter, and beautiful presence.  John had shared this picture with me and It spoke to who he was outside of work. A loving father, grandfather, friend, and family man. To the Rehfeldt family, my heart is with you and all of you will be in my prayers. Please do what you can to keep his memory alive. I know I will. 

-Steven Lopezlavalle  

I met John a few years ago.  He and I were working on the same project, and I badly needed his help and guidance.  He was an incredibly experienced and knowledgeable mentor, and we quickly became friends.  We would often go out to lunch to talk about stuff, sometimes work but mostly not.  We shared a love of outdoor projects and a love of family.  I feel his loss keenly and extend my deepest condolences to his family.

John was indeed the best mechanism design engineer that most of us have ever encountered. His X-35 inlet door design had nonparallel hinges on a pair of bifold doors (guaranteed to not work unless everything was spot-on) but it worked flawlessly. John really knew what he was doing. And in the high-pressure world of cutting-edge aerospace, his calm, confident demeanor was a comfort to those around him. I worked with him briefly on a couple of other projects after X-35 and he was always the same – courteous, knowledgeable, confident, and hard-working. He will be missed by all who knew him.

John was our most talented design engineer during our historic X-35 project, where he personally designed all of our many door mechanisms for all the STOVL bits and the landing gear. He was a job shopper then, and I told him I wouldn't let him leave till they were all assembled and operating. They all worked great!

John joined Lockheed Martin soon after, and eventually joined us at Black Ram Engineering, with NGC's X-47 and Insitu's Blackjack UAV's getting some Rehfeldt wisdom.

Was so glad all were able to support getting his family up to Clovis, close to many who loved you all. His family was always his priority, and we were all lucky to share some good times in the aerospacey world.

OBITUARY

John Frederick Rehfeldt, Jr.

January 31, 1964 – December 3, 2021

Boice Funeral Home

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Services