John Allen Fehsenfeld died peacefully on September 27 in Fernley, Nevada. He was 79. He is survived by his sister Nancy Smith and husband Warren, brother William Fehsenfeld and wife Cecile, brother Thomas Fehsenfeld and wife Carolyn, and many nieces and nephews. His sister Ruth Mary Fehsenfeld predeceased him. A funeral for him will take place at 1:00 PM on Friday, October 16 at Palm Northwest Mortuary, 6701 N Jones Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89131.
John grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Frank and Virginia Fehsenfeld. His younger brothers remember how kind John was to them. He always took time to help them build things, taught them about electronics, and got them interested in sailing. His older sister Nancy remembers how much fun she and John had sailing and playing duets—he on the cornet, she on the piano. John went on to win several medals for his cornet playing and sailboat racing.
John was able to pursue his boyhood dream of exploring space by studying engineering at Michigan State University and Stanford University, then going to work for Jet Propulsion Laboratory. At JPL he was a member of the team that designed and launched the Voyager space probes that explored the outer planets. John wrote the computer program that used data from the Sun sensor and Canopus Star Tracker to keep the high-gain antenna pointing toward Earth. The two Voyager space craft, launched in 1977, spent 12 years exploring Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus. 43 year later, they are still sending data back to earth from beyond the solar system.
Once while at JPL, he was called in the middle of the night to come to the laboratory and solve a problem. A command had been sent to the space craft, millions of miles out in space and it turned the wrong way. John had to go through thousands of lines of computer code until he found that someone had put a plus sign where there should have been a negative. The code was changed, and the mission was put back on course.
After his work with JPL, John took up a new career in Michigan working on energy conservation before retiring to the Las Vegas area. There he led a full life that included learning Spanish and sponsoring kids in Central America, ballroom dancing, and reading about public affairs. Several times a year, he wrote letters in Spanish to the kids he sponsored and was always proud when they finished school. He and brother Tom often carried on lively debates about politics in their weekly correspondence. For many years John and his siblings would gather each fall in Seattle, home to his sister Nancy, for a weekend of good food and great conversation, sharing stories and many laughs.
While in Las Vegas, John met the Rose & Head family who became a big part of his life. John met Angie Rose in 1998 at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. They became very close friends. John soon after met her future husband Shauwn, children Tiffany, Ruby, Myranda, and her parents Charles and Cathy Head. For many years John and Angie’s family maintained a close-knit relationship which became more like extended family. John spent almost every Christmas, and many other holidays, with them. Angie and John were best of friends. They shared a very special relationship and were right by each other until the end.
John had a big heart and was always trying to help people. He never worried about who they were or what they had done. He just gave freely to help everyone he came in contact with. Tom remembers John stopping to give a homeless man $20 because he had heard that is what a person needed to get through a day.
John cared deeply about the homeless people of Las Vegas and donations in his memory can be made to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission at vegasrescue.org.
letters in Spanish to the kids he sponsored and was always proud when they finished school. He and brother Tom often carried on lively debates about politics in their weekly correspondence. For many years John and his siblings would gather each fall in Seattle, home to his sister Nancy, for a weekend of good food and great conversation, sharing stories and many laughs.
While in Las Vegas, John met the Rose & Head family who became a big part of his life. John met Angie Rose in 1998 at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. They became very close friends. John soon after met her future husband Shauwn, children Tiffany, Ruby, Myranda, and her parents Charles and Cathy Head. For many years John and Angie’s family maintained a close-knit relationship which became more like extended family. John spent almost every Christmas, and many other holidays, with them. Angie and John were best of friends. They shared a very special relationship and were right by each other until the end.
John had a big heart and was always trying to help people. He never worried about who they were or what they had done. He just gave freely to help everyone he came in contact with. Tom
remembers John stopping to give a homeless man $20 because he had heard that is what a person needed to get through a day.
John cared deeply about the homeless people of Las Vegas and donations in his memory can be made to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission at vegasrescue.org.
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