John Twigg

John M. Twigg was born on April 5, 1930 to John and Ester Twigg in Cumberland, MD. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1954. In 1955, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and was stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL as part of Dr. Werner Von Braun’s team. His talents were noticed, and he was chosen for transfer to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in 1956, where he became part of the team working on development of the Redstone rocket. In 1958 he became one of the original NASA employees. He served as the test conductor for the second US manned space flight, Liberty Bell 7 with astronaut Gus Grissom. He continued to work for NASA until his retirement in Dec. 1987. In retirement John continued to be active in his community by volunteering with the Cape Canaveral Hospital Auxiliary for over 20 years. He was an avid traveler, active member of the Cocoa Beach Community Church for over 50 years and loved to play tennis. John was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 37 years, Marie Twigg. He is survived by a son, Steven Twigg and wife Pam of Madison, AL, a daughter, Ann Ingram and husband James of Rock Hill, SC and 6 grandchildren, Sarah and Rachel Twigg, and Chris, Rebecca, Tara and Brandi Ingram. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 3pm at Beckman-Williamson Funeral Home, 101 N. Brevard Ave., Cocoa Beach, FL. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Alzheimer’s Assoc. P. O. Box 96011, Washington DC 20090-6011 or online at www.alz.org