Thomas Guy Wetheral was born in White Plains, New York on 23 April, 1934 to Thomas Joseph Wetheral and Elizabeth Martha Schultz Wetheral. He is survived by his wife, Shelba Smith Wetheral; two stepdaughters, Sandra Koralis Golding (Jim), and Johana Koralis Ramsey (John); one daughter Elizabeth Anne Wetheral; sisters Betty Ann Wetheral Haneman and Harriet Wetheral Chagnon (Art); two grandsons, John Patrick Ramsey Jr. and Joseph Thomas Ramsey; faithful canine companion Christie and numerous nieces and nephews.
He attended St. Bernard’s Grammar School and Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains and graduated from Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York with a degree in Electrical Engineering in June 1956. He was employed by Ford Instrument Company, Long Island City, New York, working on the development of the Guidance and Control System for the Redstone Missile. In January 1957, he was assigned to the ABMA Guidance and Control Laboratory at Redstone Arsenal and continued to work on the development of Redstone, Jupiter, and Jupiter C missiles.
Mr. Wetheral joined the Army Missile Command in 1960 as an Aerospace Engineer in the Control Systems Branch of the Guidance and Control Laboratory. He supported the development of control systems for missiles such as Pershing, Lance, TOW, Shillelagh, and Redeye. He received the Missile Command Research and Development Achievement Award in 1967 for the development of a fluidic missile control system and again in 1970 for developing a fix for the main gun stabilization system on the M-60 A1E2 Tank. From 1970 to 1977, he was assigned to the evaluation and selection of a foreign air defense system to meet the Army’s short range air defense requirements. From 1977 to 1982 he was the Chief, International Programs in the U.S. Roland Project Office and from 1982 to 1988 he was the Assistant Project Manager for a terminal guidance warhead being developed by a four nation consortium for the Multiple Launch Rocket System.
In 1988, the International Cooperative Programs Office was established at the Missile Command and Mr. Wetheral was assigned as its Chief. He activated a number of working groups and cooperative research and development programs with our allies including the Ducted Rocket Engine Program with Japan and the SAM Guidance System with Korea. From 1995 until his retirement from federal service in January 1997, Mr. Wetheral was the Deputy Director of the Security Assistance Management Directorate.
In December, 1999 he returned to International Cooperative Programs as a Support Contractor while the Chief of the Office served a tour of duty in the middle-east. He continued to work until 2014 when he finally retired for good.
Mr. Wetheral was a parishioner of Good Shepherd Catholic Church and member of the Knights of Columbus, Council No. 11672. Mr. Wetheral loved travelling with Shelba in their motorhome where they travelled to the lower 48 states with the Holiday Rambler RV Club and made many wonderful friends along the way. He also loved his family, reading and crossword puzzles.
Thomas Wetheral was predeceased by his parents Thomas Joseph Wetheral and Elizabeth Martha Schultz Wetheral; daughters Mary Wetheral and Jennifer Lee Wetheral; and brother Christopher Keith Wetheral.
Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, August 10 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. The memorial service will follow at the church with Father Louis Giardino officiating.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Good Shepherd Catholic Church.
