He loved the planet Earth and all that lived upon it. His fascination with the sciences was without bounds, and his love of knowledge never ceased.
Wallace Mayer worked as an engineer for Douglas Aircraft (1936 to 1974) on projects ranging from the DC-3 to the Saturn launch vehicle. He retiried after 36 years to travel with his wife Bette Jo.
Mr. Mayer's life was unalterably influenced by his heroes: John Muir, Enrico Caruso, Yogi Berra, John F. Kennedy, Neil Armstrong, and Mr. Ricksecker, the retired teacher who took him to the mountains as a child and taught him the names of every flower, every tree, and all the distant stars. It seems so fitting that this unsung hero of the American space program will soon join that exclusive fraternity of space travelers that he so greatly admired.
The loved ones that Mr. Mayer leaves on Earth will miss him greatly as they turn their eyes to the stars and wish him Godspeed on his exploration of the heavens.
"A few days after my husband's death, while all the family was still gathered at our home, one of the grandchildren designed a tee shirt for us all saying, "Grandpa went to outer space and all I got was this lousy T-shirt." We spent the day enjoying Wally's favorite mountain retreat and we all wore our T-shirts. Inquiring hikers were intrigued with his upcoming adventure . . . .
I think Wally would be pleased to be remembered this way.
The inscription to be engraved on the vial of ashes is, "'Our Shining Star'.
He truly is."
-- Bette Jo Mayer
