Bill will be missed here at Pinehurst. He was very protective of his wife and enjoyed being with her. I am so glad that they were able to be together, safely.
Laura Robbins

I will carry Bill's smile with me.  It was a sly smile, the smile of a boy up to something.  He was a great man with a good sense of humor even to the end.  I am truly honored to have shared his last days and weeks with him and his family.

Bill and his wife, Mary, were a part of our family here at Sunrise Senior Living at Pinehurst.  Thank you Spieth family for sharing them with us even though Bill was only here for a few months.  Some of my favorite mental snapshots include Bill holding the hand of Mary wherever they went.  He was solitious of her well-being and watched over her each day.  Where one went, the other went.  I'm sure you have wonderful mental snapshots of your own that will bring comfort to you as you learn to live life without Bill's physical presence.  Ronda Knuth

My father was a man that had an impact on everyone, and everything thing he did. He took great pride in his career, and his family. He was also very proud of his contribution in WWII, and at Lockheed-Martin. I will miss him, but I carry alot of him with me each, and every day. He would have been very proud to see all of the people who paid their respects to him Saturday.

We can't be there in person but our thoughts are certainly with Mary and the family.  God made Bill -- and then broke the mold.  Unfortunately, we lived in different parts of the country but when Bill & Mary were dating and then first married, I was a younger cousin who spent a lot of time with them.  I thought Bill was brilliant, even then.  So sorry for the loss -- but so happy for Bill and the great life he has now.  Pray for us, Bill!   Pat & Ted Borrecco

Bill contributed greatly to the space business in Denver. One of the last WWII survivors from the European campaign, he graduated from Kansas and worked for Beech Aircraft in Wichita. He helped establish the Beech cryogenic facility in Boulder, Colorado, and then joined Martin Marietta in Waterton Canyon for a long career. In the meantime, Ball Aerospace bought the Beech cryo facility, which has led to their strength in cryogenic tanks and cryogenic infrared optical sensors (such as IRAS and SIRTF/Spitzer). In the 1960s, Bill made numerous trips to Huntsville to sell NASA on Martin's Space Shuttle, basically back to back huge Space Shuttles. If NASA had adopted his team's concept, there would have been no SRBs that blew up the Challenger, nor External Tank whose ice builup damaged the wing of Columbia. After sucessfully landing Viking 1 & 2 on Mars, Martin was in the satellite business, with radar imaging satellites to see the surface of Venus, and winning virtually every Mars satellite mission to date. The Viking missions led to the development of many new buildings in Waterton that housed classified satellite programs and led to the creation of thousands of Denver jobs. Bill was especially proud of beating Lockheed Sunnyvale out of a multi-billion dollar program, that are still the largest satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) next to the Space Station. A couple of these large satellites can still be seen occasionally during twilight hours. He was program manager of the Space Based Laser (SBL) program before his retirement - "I'm having so much fun, I don't want to retire." He was again proud of beating Lockheed, and the Air Force later said they couldn't manage either Lockheed or TRW, whereas Martin Marietta could do so. Although none of the SBL star wars systems were ever put in orbit, there were numerous tests with high energy lasers at White Sands and elsewhere. The Star Wars programs were reduced to research programs after the Berlin Wall came down and the USSR dissolved. We were doing so well in the 1980s, that Martin had to lease space in the Denver area. One of the most bizzare locations for the SBL program was the upper floor of the Cinderella City Mall behing locked doors. After Bill retired, Lockheed and Martin Marietta merged to form what is today known as Lockheed-Martin.  - Dean

Uncle Bill was a wonderful man that lived a full and meaningful life, we will miss him. Our hearts and prayers are with Aunt Mary, Dave and Rick. 
Love, Charles & Sherill

Our heartfelt condolences
Larry & Bonnie Brock

Thoughts about Uncle Bill:
He was a gentleman that I looked up to and wanted to emulate. He is a man that will be truly missed buy his family and friends but also buy the aerospace industry for all of his contributions. It seemed that my life parallel his in a unique way. Beginning in 1967 when I entered the Army it seemed that I was destined to man (work with) weapon systems that he and his design teams worked with. It was with great pride that I would tell my students and cadet about my Uncle Bill. He was a true man of ideas and management skills. Family was so important to him, not just the present but the history of the Spieth and Hodges was one of his many interest. I know he is with God now. Bill was truly a man that helped man â€œreach for the starsâ€.

I was little baby brother and was his shadow every where he went, tomato fights,making caves,swiming & fishing in pond our dad built. Bill was great to put up with me. Our home was a chicken farm and always had 3,000 long horned combed hens which kept us kids cleaning chicken houses(Park Poutry Plant) just a quarter mile south of Columbus,Kansas. Many great memories & I will miss him. Donna & Jack had good times with Mary & Bill.thru many years. Adios Bill, Love forever, your brother, Jack

OBITUARY

Charles William Spieth

October 26, 1925 – September 29, 2010

Olinger Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery - Crown Hill

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