Walter Wiley Brandon, Jr., age 91, of Huntsville, Alabama, died at his home on Friday, July 16, 2021. Mr. Brandon was born in Gainesville, Georgia, to Walter Wiley Brandon and Nancy Catherine Logan Brandon.
As a child, he spent many summers at his grandparents’ home in Nacoochee, Georgia. At the age of 10, he was in attendance at the world premiere of the movie “Gone With the Wind”, and recalled his aunts straining to see the stars of the film as they walked down the red carpet.
He graduated from Gainesville High School in 1948 and went on to study at Emory at Oxford College and then Emory University. He studied physics, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in 1952, and Master’s Degree in 1953. He then moved to Huntsville, Alabama, working as a scientist with the Rohm and Haas Company from 1953 to 1964, and again from 1967 to 1971. From 1964 to 1967, he was employed as an aerospace engineer by the Boeing Company. He continued his career as an analyst with the U.S. Army Missile Command, from 1972 to 1987. In 1987, he began working as an aerospace engineer with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, retiring in 1998. While at NASA, he also acted as a Technical Consultant to both the U.S. Army Missile Command, and Morton-Thiokol Corporation, in the field of propellant detonation.
He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, where he occasionally taught Sunday School.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Patricia Donham Brandon; and children, Dean Corbly Brandon (Caroline), Miles Logan Brandon (Elizabeth), and Nancy Brandon Warren (Lincoln). His grandchildren are Thomas Walter Brandon, Katherine Donham Brandon, Grace Elizabeth Brandon, Claire Logan Brandon, Sophie Gregory Brandon, Samuel Flynn Warren, Charles Gatewood Warren, Mary Kinsey Warren, and Callie Greer Warren.
The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 24, 2021, at First United Methodist Church, Huntsville, Alabama. Visitation with the family will be immediately prior to the service, from 9:00 until 11:00.
