California

Southern California

Moving to California was not going to be easy. Before relocating the family, we first had to sell our home in Colorado Springs. We decided that Madeline and the children would remain in Colorado while I traveled ahead to begin my new position in Pasadena, California, and search for housing.

The decision was difficult for the children. They had lived in Colorado Springs for nearly thirteen years and had established deep roots through school, friendships, and their growing independence. As young adults, they wanted to remain close to their friends and familiar surroundings. Leaving them behind, even temporarily, was emotionally challenging. Madeline carried the burden of keeping the family together while I worked to establish a new home in California.

In March 1980, I began my new position at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. During that time, I rented a home in Simi Valley, California, and by the summer of 1980, Madeline, Mark, and Lisa joined me there. Julie was already living in California, while Yvonne, having just graduated from high school, chose to remain in Colorado Springs.

Unfortunately, we were unable to sell our house in Colorado. Because of this financial strain, Madeline decided to return to Colorado Springs. Just before Christmas, I moved the family back to Colorado and then returned alone to California to continue my work at JPL.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is home to NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), an international communications system that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions, radio astronomy, and scientific exploration throughout the solar system. Operated by JPL, the DSN provides the critical link between Earth and robotic spacecraft exploring deep space. The network consists of three major antenna complexes strategically positioned approximately 120 degrees apart around the globe:

The DSN software system performed several critical functions, including spacecraft command operations, telemetry processing, precision tracking, and radio science experimentation. My area of responsibility was the Command Subsystem software. I supervised the Command Subsystem software team and was responsible for implementing software modifications, testing system updates, and ensuring proper integration with the other DSN subsystems.

At the time, I was living in Chino, California, commuting approximately an hour each way to Pasadena. In September 1981, I suffered an acute myocardial infarction—a heart attack—and was hospitalized for three days. Remarkably, I returned to work only a week later. Madeline was understandably concerned about my health and wanted to return to California immediately. However, I convinced her to remain in Colorado until the house could finally be sold, assuring her that family members in California would help care for me if necessary.

In the spring of 1982, Madeline and the family moved to Montclair, California. Mark came with her, while Lisa chose to stay in Colorado with her sister Julie. Later that year, Lisa also decided to join the family in California. Madeline’s brother Jim and his son Jason drove to Colorado with a truck and helped move Lisa west.

By the spring of 1983, however, Madeline, Mark, and Lisa returned once again to Colorado Springs, where they remained until our home finally sold in 1985. During this period, Mark left for Navy boot camp in San Diego in April 1984.

Shortly after the family returned to Colorado, I experienced another serious cardiac episode involving acute angina and was hospitalized at Verdugo Hills Hospital in California. I was later transferred to St. Vincent Hospital in Los Angeles, where I underwent double coronary bypass surgery. After spending a week in the hospital, I returned to Chino for a month of rehabilitation.

A Family of Nomads

In 1985, we finally succeeded in moving the family permanently to California. Madeline, Julie, Lisa, Yvonne, and my grandson Joseph all relocated west. By then, Mark was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, with the Navy.

Over the next several years, we moved frequently, almost like a family of nomads searching for a place to finally settle down. Our first stop was a rental home in La Palma, California, where we stayed for about six months.

Only days after moving into the house, one of our dogs, Tiffany, disappeared. We were devastated and searched everywhere for her. Tiffany was not a dog that would simply wander away, so we feared something terrible had happened. A few days later, when the moving truck finally arrived with our furniture, Tiffany suddenly came running down the street toward the house. Apparently, one of the neighbors had decided they wanted a new pet and had taken ours. Needless to say, that did not sit well with us. Fortunately, we did not remain in that neighborhood for very long.

We moved to another home in La Palma, and during that time Julie decided to move in with her cousin Barbara in Seal Beach. Both of them worked for the Southern California Gas Company and wanted a little independence. They found a beautiful apartment near the beach with a rooftop terrace overlooking the ocean. Naturally, we visited often.

Yvonne, Joseph, and Greg Flume,Yvonne’s boyfriend, eventually moved to Buena Park. Before long, it was just Madeline, Lisa, and me living in the La Palma house. After about a year there, we decided to downsize and moved into a condominium in Fullerton.

Buena Park California

We stayed in Fullerton for nearly a year before Madeline found a house she absolutely loved in Buena Park. It was a large five-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home with a swimming pool and a two-car garage. The owner offered a rent-with-option-to-buy agreement, and after seeing how much Madeline liked the place, I told her we should go ahead and rent it.

The neighborhood was beautiful, with well-kept yards and attractive homes. The inside of the house, however, looked as though it had been frozen in the late 1960s. There were wood-paneled walls, bead curtains hanging in the doorways, red shag carpet in the bedrooms, velvet wallpaper, decals on the mirrors, and paint colors that desperately needed updating.

Despite the outdated decor, we saw its potential and agreed to rent the home with permission to redecorate. In late 1987, we moved into the house on Barrett Circle in Buena Park. In December 1999, we purchased the property for $181,500, and it would remain our family home for decades.

As we were settling into the house, Lisa announced that she planned to move in with her boyfriend, Chuck. Madeline was not thrilled about renting such a large home only to watch everyone move out. To Lisa’s surprise, Madeline suggested that Chuck simply move in with us instead. They lived with us for several years before eventually moving into their own apartment. Lisa and Chuck were married in May 1992.

In 1988, Mark was discharged from the Navy and moved back home. To our surprise, he arrived with a girlfriend from Norfolk, Virginia. Suddenly the house was full again—Lisa, Chuck, Mark, and his girlfriend all under one roof.

Madeline and I were not especially pleased with the situation, and she made sure Mark understood our concerns. Later, I learned that the woman had left behind both a husband and three children to come to California with him. After several difficult conversations, I finally convinced Mark that she needed to return home to her family. About three months later, she left.

By the late 1980s, most of the family was once again living in Southern California. Lisa and Mark were living with us, while Yvonne and Joey lived nearby in Fullerton with Greg. Julie remained close by with her cousin Barbara. Madeline continued working in the travel industry, and I continued my work at JPL.

Those years brought some stability back into our lives. Madeline loved having the family together again and often hosted large Sunday breakfasts that frequently turned into all-day gatherings filled with conversation, laughter, and family stories.

In the summer of 1990, Mark told us that his girlfriend, Stacy, was pregnant. On February 12, 1991, we welcomed our grandson Daniel into the family. Mark and Stacy eventually moved into an apartment in Buena Park.

The Mars Observer Project

Around this same time, I was selected to work on testing the new Mars Observer spacecraft being assembled at the General Electric Aerospace facility in Princeton, New Jersey.

In May 1991, I left California for Princeton to begin work on the Mars Observer Project. My primary responsibility involved testing spacecraft software during installation and later during flight testing.

The spacecraft’s onboard computer system was remarkably advanced for its time. It could store approximately 2,000 commands in only 64 kilobytes of RAM and execute them at rates of up to 12.5 commands per second. These capabilities allowed the spacecraft to operate autonomously for as long as sixty days. Two digital tape recorders were also onboard, each capable of storing approximately 187.5 megabytes of scientific data for later transmission back to Earth through the Deep Space Network.

During my stay in Princeton, Madeline and her sister Irene came to visit for a week. I took some time off from work, and together we visited Washington, D.C., the Jersey Shore, and New York City. Afterward, it was back to work.

While assigned to the project, we were allowed to return home once each month. The original plan was for us to remain in New Jersey for approximately twelve months.

I returned to California in January 1992. Then, in April, I traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to help prepare for the launch of the Mars Observer spacecraft. In May 1992, I briefly returned home for Lisa’s wedding before heading back to Florida.

Mars Observer was successfully launched on September 25, 1992, aboard a Titan III launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Shortly after the launch, I returned home to California. About a month later, due to ongoing health issues, I was medically retired from JPL. After years of demanding work and several serious heart problems, my career had come to an end.