Frank Deis Jr.

Obituary Frank Robert. Deis, Jr., 74, of Colorado Springs, passed away Monday, October 23, surrounded by family, after a 17-year battle with Parkinsons disease. He is survived by his beloved wife of 52 years, Donna R. (Barnes) Deis; brothers Brian Deis (Kay) of Dadeville, AL, and Gary Deis (Nancy) of Livermore, CA; sons Robert F. Deis (Bobbie) of Falcon, CO, and Kenneth A. Deis (Jennifer) of Chester County, PA, and grandchildren Jacob, Alex, Leah, Nathan, Tatyana, Jonathan, Caleb, and Michael Deis. Frank was born Dec 17, 1942, in Hampden VA to Frank R. Deis, Sr. and Clarabelle Beaman Deis, both now deceased. He was the first of their three sons. From his earliest days, Frank was a builder and lover of airplanes and rockets. In high school, he and his brother Brian made their own rockets and engines. With their father, they built and flew model airplanes using control lines and the earliest radio control equipment. In 1960, Frank began studying aerodynamics at Purdue University. As a summer intern, he built a wind tunnel model of the Saturn V moon rocket for the Apollo program. Also at Purdue, he met Donna Ruth Barnes of Ft. Wayne, IN. They were married in September of 1965. After graduating with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering, Frank worked on the F-4 Phantom II, at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, and then moved to Orlando, FL, where he completed his Masters degree in Systems Engineering at the University of Florida. Later, in Huntsville, AL, he became a vital part of the early development of missile defense at Teledyne Brown Engineering. His entire adult life, he had a passion for designing and building R/C gliders, and flew them with his buddies nearly every week. He rarely missed a chance to enter a local soaring contest. Frank won multiple soaring competition honors, culminating with the Unlimited Grand Championship at the 6th Annual LSF R/C Soaring Nationals in 1975. He also learned to fly a full-sized glider and soloed in Tullahoma, TN, while they lived in Huntsville. After moving to Colorado Springs in 1983, he was instrumental in establishing a new office for Teledyne Brown Engineering. There, he continued his work with the forerunners of the modern Missile Defense Agency. Frank was, at various times, the Chief Engineer, Chief Scientist, and Chief Architect at what became the Joint National Integration Center on Schriever AFB. In time, both of his sons joined him working at the JNIC. Frank enjoyed camping and fishing with his family, working with his sons in his workshop, and spending time with his eight grandchildren. He took great satisfaction in applying his intellect, experience, and creativity in problem solving, and loved leading and teaching others to do the same. He worked hard at home, in his education, profession, and recreational pursuits. He passed those values on to his sons and other students, boy scouts, and cadets that he mentored. A memorial service will be held at 11:00am, Saturday, November 4, at St. Pauls United Methodist Church, 2111 Carlton Ave, Colorado Springs, CO. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the Jeanne Taylor Parkinsons Support Group, c/o Colorado Parkinson Foundation, 1155 Kelly Johnson Blvd. Suite 111, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. Services St. Paul's Methodist Church 2111 Carlton Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80909