Mr. Joseph Donald Douglas, Sr., age 89, of Huntsville, Alabama passed away on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at Crestwood Hospital.
Mr. Douglas was born October 4, 1932 in Talladega County, Alabama to late Robert E. Douglas and Myrtle Bates Douglas. He served in the U.S. Navy as a Petty Officer in Japan during the Korean conflict. He was educated at B.B. Comer High School in Sylacauga, Alabama and a received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee.
While in college in Knoxville, Mr. Douglas met his loving wife of 64 wonderful years, Mrs. Loretta Gay Winsette Douglas. They were married on November 29, 1957 and three children were born from this union. The young family departed Knoxville in 1960 and moved to Huntsville, Alabama where he began his career with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an aerospace engineer. He retired from NASA in December, 1988.
“The Don” leaves to cherish his loving memory his wife, Loretta; his children, Joseph Donald Douglas, Jr. (Jada Lynne) , Ms. Julia Rachell Douglas, Mr. Mitchell Winsette Douglas (Janet); five grandchildren, Jamie Michelle Douglas, Marco Tordera (Amy), Autumn Borden (Jason), Jeremy Lawrence (Jennifer), Julie Livingston (Stanley); and six great-grandchildren, Mollie Hanners (Alex), Bronwyn Borden, Mason Lawrence, McCoy Lawrence, Lily Livingston and Hank Livingston.
A private family service will be held at a later date.
