Cary Hixon Rutland went to be with his Lord and Savior on December 15, 2018, at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Evelyn Hooks Rutland; daughter, Christy (Neal) Fondren; son, David (Teresa) Rutland; grandchildren, Kyle (Katie) Fondren, Anna (Adam) Mitcham, Erin Fondren, Austin Rutland, and Will Rutland; great grandchildren, Campbell Fondren, Claire Fondren, Jordan Mitcham, and Parker Mitcham; and brother, James Rutland. He was preceded in death by his parents, Rufus Hampton Rutland and Christine Swann Rutland and his brother, Rufus Burr Rutland.
Cary was born on April 26, 1934, and grew up in Cuthbert, GA. He put himself through college at Georgia Tech as a Co-op student and graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He would later return to Georgia Tech to earn his Master of Science degree. While at Georgia Tech he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and was an Army ROTC cadet. He served in the Army for two years following graduation. Cary next joined NASA as one of its original engineers and worked there for 48 years. During his distinguished NASA career, Cary worked on many critical projects including Hubble Space Telescope and became the Deputy over the Solid Rocket Booster program immediately following the Challenger Shuttle accident.
Cary has been a member of First Baptist Church Huntsville since 1957 where he served in numerous capacities including Deacon, Sunday School Teacher to both Youth and Adults, Gideon, and as a sports coach. He also loved woodworking and used his skills to help with various mission projects including helping others with home repairs and making wooden toy cars for children in Guatemala.
He will be greatly missed by his loving family, his First Baptist Church family, and his NASA family.
The family invites you to celebrate Cary’s life on Thursday, December 20, 2018, at First Baptist Church Huntsville, AL. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. with the funeral to follow in the chapel.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Missions Foundation or the Mosaic Restoration at First Baptist Church Huntsville, AL.
