Walter Corwin

Walter R. Corwin, 77, passed away at his home on Saturday, January 30, 2016 after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Frances Corwin; father to Mark A. (Martha J.) Corwin, Elizabeth (Joseph C.) Corwin-Arnold, Steven S. (Cheryl) Corwin; grandfather to Nina Marie Arnold, Shelby Lynn Arnold, and Austin Corwin, Hannah Corwin, Ryan Kelley, Brett Kelley, Michael Fisher; great grandfather to John-Michael Fisher, Madison Fisher, Birdie Kelley. Walter Roderick Corwin was born April 1, 1938 at his home in Nappanee, Indiana to Loyal and Iola Corwin. His brother, Allan, was born May 12, 1942. His sister, Anita, was born September 25, 1943. In high school Walter was student council president, he was a running-back on the football team, and he ran the 220, the 440, and the mile and quarter-mile relays on the track team. After high school Walter went on to study at Valparaiso Technical Institute. At the end of June, 1958 he met Frances Marie Morris at Indiana Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan. Three months later they were engaged. Walter married Franny on January 3, 1959 while working at a TV station in Elkhart, Indiana. Two weeks later they moved to Alamogordo, New Mexico where he joined Land-Air Inc. at Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range. He later transferred to mobile ground stations to preflight missiles and high altitude instrumentation. Walter and Franny had their first child, Mark Allan, on December 15, 1959. In August 1960, Walter checked the instrumentation system for Colonel Joe Kittenger’s historic high altitude balloon record mission (Kittenger flew up to 102,800 feet before bailing from the craft and reaching a speed of 700 mph before opening his chute. Kittenger’s mission set the record as the only man to break the sound barrier without a vehicle). On May 14, 1962, Walter and Franny had their second child, Elizabeth Ann. The family moved to St. Louis when Walter joined McDonnell Aircraft in July, 1962. He worked in the Flight Test Spacecraft Instrumentation Lab, modifying, testing, and maintaining the Astronauts’ tape recorder for project Mercury and later Gemini. Walter and Franny had their third child, Steven Scott on December 27, 1965. In 1969 Walter operated and maintained the EROS Collision Avoidance Ground Station. With the start of the F-15 Flight Test program in 1972, Walter maintained the F-15 Preflight Consoles at Edwards, AFB and St. Louis. In 1980 he helped install the equipment in the Flight Test Mobile Ground Station and was responsible for its calibration and maintenance. In 1985 Walter transferred into the Development Branch and worked in the Ground Support Systems group, later becoming the design group’s VAX system manager. Walter and Franny had their first grandchild, Nina Marie, on October 30, 1989. Three years later their second grandchild, Shelby Lynn, was born on November 3, 1992. In 1994 Walter designed the hardware portion of the F/A-18 E/F Ground Support Unit. Working with the software team, they put together the most sophisticated Ground Support Unit in the free world. On February 19, 1996 Walter and Franny had their third grandchild, Austin John. In 1997 Walter worked on developing the JSF Ground Support Unit. Walter and Franny had their last grandchild, Hannah Nicole, on May 11, 1998. After 39 years and one month at McDonnell Douglas/Boeing, Walter retired. In his retirement, Walter spent a great deal of quality time with his family, including numerous vacations with his grandchildren. Walter and Franny had the privilege of enjoying 57 years of unparalleled joy in their marriage. Visitation will be Thursday, Feb 4, 4-8pm at HUTCHENS Mortuary, 675 Graham Rd, Florissant MO. Funeral Services will be 10am Friday at Hutchens Mortuary. Interment will follow at St. Ferdinand Cemetery, Florissant Donations may be made to American Cancer Society.

Walter Corwin

April 1, 1938 - January 30, 2016