Arthur Rudmann - Obituary

rthur Rudmann, 75, died Oct. 27 at Anne Arundel Medical Center after a long struggle with heart disease. He was born Aug. 4, 1934, in New York City to Frank Joseph and Margaret Bartel Rudmann. He was raised in Bellerose, Long Island where he attended elementary school. He graduated from Jamaica High School in Jamaica Queens, N.Y. in 1952. In 1955 he graduated from the Aeronautical Academy in New York City with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. in 1960 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He and his wife Janice Staley were married on July 14, 1962 in Ilion, N.Y. They moved to Bowie where they lived for 26 years and raised their family. Arthur was involved in many activities there. An avid bicyclist, he was a member of Potomac Pedalers participating in competitive racing and long-distance touring. He often rode his bicycle from Bowie to Goddard Space Flight Center. He was a licensed pilot and a member of a flying club that kept a plane at the Bowie airport. He was active in the NASA model rocket club and Toastmasters Organization. He was appointed the representative from the Washington, D.C. Diocese as the Episcopalian representative on the board that formed the South Bowie Non-Denominational Ecumenical Church. In 1995 he moved to Heritage Harbour in Annapolis where he became a member of the Board of Directors. He spent many hours with committees and groups dedicated to the betterment of life in Heritage Harbour. He was a communicant of St Anne's Episcopal Church where he was an active member of the Men's Bible Study Group. The warm friendship and caring concern of the group's members were a great comfort to him and his family as his health failed. His career began with Republic Aviation where he worked on the F105 airplane as a stress analyst and then for Morton Thiokol in the solid rocket propellant section before becoming a contractor at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Greenbelt in 1961. He became a permanent employee in 1963, starting a career that lasted 37 years. In his early years at NASA he was a project engineer on the Black Brandt Sounding Rocket which had two successful flights in 1965 and 1966. He next worked on the Goddard Experimental Package, also known as the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory that was designed to look into the heavens. In 1968 he joined the Spacecraft Development Group as assistant project engineer. The spacecraft flew successfully in 1971. Later in the 70's he worked on the Application Technology Satellite that tested scientific instruments on the spacecraft to see how they worked. The satellite beamed educational programs into remote areas of India.In the 1980's he joined the Instrument Development Group working on detector mounting devices. From Goddard he transferred to the NASA office in Reston, Va., where he was a Space Shuttle Stage Manager. When that office closed in 1988, he was transferred to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where he worked on Space and Earth Optical Observatory Instruments. He did extensive research reporting on problems with the Hubble Telescope. He ended a career that was both a passion and an adventure in 2000. Arthur was a lively and vibrant man who loved life, his family, and his church. He loved discussing and debating an endless number of topics with his friends. His knowledge seemed to span the universe as did his career. He is preceded in death by his brother, Frank Joseph Rudmann and wife Jane; and brother-in-law, Richard Stover. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Janice; three children, Kathy of Hunt Valley; Andrew, wife Carolyn and their children, Christopher and Emily, all of Pittsford, N.Y.; and John, wife Nina and their children, Zachariah, Jeremy, Joshua and Mark, all of Morgantown, W.Va.; brother-in law, Harry Staley and his wife Jayne; a sister-in-law, Dolores Stover; and a number of nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Arthur's life will be held on November 21, 2009 at 2pm at St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Church Circle, Annapolis, MD. Interment private. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the AAMC Foundation, Sajak Pavilion, Suite 240, 2001 Medical Parkway Annapolis, MD 21401. Please sign the guest book at the link above.