Charles Ray Biggerstaff was born October 15, 1930, in Abilene, Texas, the son of the late William Ray Biggerstaff and Euna Elizabeth Woodson Biggerstaff, and departed this life Saturday, June 5, 2021.
When he was eleven, the family moved to Gober in Fannin County, TX. After high school, he attended Texas A&M for two years before the Korean War intervened. Following four years on a Navy ship in the South Pacific, Charles completed his Mechanical Engineering degree at Texas Tech where he was a member of Tau Beta Pi honorary fraternity.
In February 1958, Charles came to Huntsville to work in the missile program at Army Ballistic Missile Agency. He was transferred to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in July 1960 and became a team member on the Mercury-Redstone, Juno I and II, Jupiter C, Saturn I, Apollo, Saturn V, Skylab, and Space Shuttle projects before retiring in late 1993.
He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Laura Tuck Biggerstaff; two sons, Grant Eliot Biggerstaff (Claudia) of Nashville, TN, and Craig Thomas Biggerstaff (Linda) of Nassau Bay, TX; four grandchildren, Lydia Lee Cheers (David) of Lebanon, TN, Bradley Charles Biggerstaff of Atlanta, GA, Anna Maria Biggerstaff of New York City, and Alec James Biggerstaff of Nassau Bay, TX; sister, Rita Sandridge of McKinney, TX; brother-in-law James Wiegreffe of San Antonio, TX; one niece, and four nephews.
Preceding him in death were two brothers, baby Signor; Bill Biggerstaff and wife Lillian; two sisters, Reba Wiegreffe, Betty Arblaster, husband Bob, and son Alan; and brother-in-law, James Sandridge.
Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 8th at Laughlin Service Funeral Home. The funeral service will immediately follow in the chapel with Dr. Travis Collins officiating. Burial will be in Huntsville Memory Gardens.
