Carson Monroe Giesler

Mr. Carson ""C.M."" Giesler, age 83, passed away on Friday, March 1, 2013 at Autumn House. He is survived by his loving wife, Aline (Lin) Harrison Giesler; 4 daughters: Kimberly Sterling (Brian), Laura Johnston (Greg), Dana Giesler (Tommy) and Bari Clark (Jim); 5 grandchildren: Karalynne McCarthy, Lauren Johnston, Carson Greene, Eleanor and Liam Clark; 4 great grandchildren: Catherine and Phoebe McCarthy, Conner Reese and Annabelle Greene; 3 step grandchildren: Jennifer Mlynarski, Stefanie Johnston and Aaron Stehli; 5 step great grandchildren: Alexandra Kovats, Myles and Adyson Mlynarski, and Graham and Parker Stehli; a sister, Helen Easterwood. C.M. was preceded in death by his parents, George and Hughie Giesler; brothers: Mose and Douglas Giesler; sisters: Aneita and Juaneita Giesler, Mildred Cunningham and Ethel Pederson. C.M. was born November 9, 1929 (the year of the Great Depression) in Polk County, Arkansas. He grew up in a little town called Cove in western Arkansas near the Oklahoma border. C.M.'s family home, a 40-acre farm in the backwoods on Welcome Home Rd, lacked many amenities of modern living. His home consisted of 4 rooms constructed from rough sawn pine lumber and a sheet metal roof. There was no electricity, plumbing, or heat, except from a wood burning stove in the living room that doubled as a bedroom for his parents. C.M. shared a room with 3 sisters, his older brother had his own bedroom, but it lacked a ceiling. C.M. enjoyed many years in his youth playing town baseball. He had a natural athletic ability and played many positions. During a typical game, C.M. would play outfield 3 innings, first base 3 innings, and pitch 3 innings. He also had the gift of being ambidextrous and could swing a bat or throw a ball left or right handed. C.M. graduated from Cove High School in 1948. He received an athletic scholarship to the University of Arkansas. But, having never been out of Polk County in his 18 years of living, C.M. decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy and see the world. During the Korean War, he was stationed in Guam and then Hawaii, where as an Electronics Technician he made regular flights on MATS (Military Air Transport Service) from Hickam to Guam to Tokyo and back to Hickam, until he was honorably discharged as a First Class Petty Officer in August 1952. While stationed in Honolulu, C.M. met and married Joyce Curnutte. Following his military service, C.M. obtained a position with Chance-Vought Aircraft in Irving, Texas as the Test Conductor (Regulus I and II Guided Missiles). In 1959, when the U.S. Navy cancelled the remainder of the Regulus missile contract, C.M. was laid off. However with his considerable missile checkout experience, C.M. quickly gained employment with McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis, Missouri as Supervisor of Testing (Mercury Space Capsule), then worked as Supervisor of Design and Testing (Gemini Space Capsule). During this time, C.M. attended night classes at Washington University graduating in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics. With his 13 years of missile and spacecraft design / testing experience, and his new degree in hand, C.M. packed up his wife and 4 daughters in 1964 and headed for Florida to work for NASA. During his 26 year tenure at Kennedy Space Center, C.M. worked as Test Integration Engineer (Launch and Flight Operations / Systems Test Integration Office), Staff Assistant to Manager (Gemini / Lunar Excursion Module Operations), Lunar Module Test Manager (Apollo Lunar Module Spacecraft / Test and Operations Management Office), Lunar Module and Lunar Rover Contract Technical Manager (Spacecraft Operations / Technical Management and Planning Office), KSC Representative (Space Shuttle Phase B / Projects Office), Technical Assistant for Project Integration (Space Shuttle Project Manager's Office), Chief of Project Integration Staff (Space Shuttle Project Manager's Office), Technical Assistant and Advisor to Director (Space Shuttle Management and Operations), Deputy Director of Space Shuttle (Management and Operations), and was Manager, Space Station (Projects Office) when he retired on December 30, 1989. C.M. received two NASA Exceptional Service Medals for (1) his technical contribution to early Shuttle activities, and (2) his subsequent management of Shuttle operations. He received the coveted Center Director's Award in 1982 for his instrumental role in combining all Shuttle development and support contracts into a single Shuttle operations contract. In 1983, C.M. was appointed a Member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) by the NASA Administrator. In 1988, C.M. received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for his leadership in establishing the Space Station Office at KSC. Also in 1988, Ronald Reagan, the President of the U.S., conferred upon him The Rank of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service. In 1975 C.M. remarried. His wife, Lin, has been his best friend, devoted companion and soul mate for 37 years. For more than 30 years they enjoyed annual trips to Sky Valley, North Carolina to golf, visit with friends and experience the peace and serenity of the mountains. Sky Valley also enabled C.M. to feel closer to his ancestral roots and tap into the Indian blood he inherited from his full-blooded Cherokee Indian great grandmother, Mary Magdalene Clark. C.M. was multi-talented and had many interests. He enjoyed participating in numerous sporting activities including baseball, basketball, golf, volleyball, racquet ball and pool. He was famous for his cartoon art and humorous writing, and received many requests from friends and co-workers to create one-of-a-kind drawings to celebrate someone's birthday or special occasion. He was also a self-taught watercolor artist. C.M. loved to throw a hootenanny (folk-singing party) at his home. He would invite friends and neighbors to bring their musical instruments and sing along; C.M. would often use this opportunity to play his guitar and debut a new song he had written. C.M. was very detail oriented and was a close observer of nature; he spent many hours pondering questions of life sitting by the pond on the dock he built at his ranch in Mims, FL. In his memoir, ""Run with the Mules"", he poetically describes his surroundings, feelings and thoughts enabling the reader to see and experience life as he did. The many humorous stories he recounts in his book demonstrates his quick wit and the gift of storytelling he inherited from his parents. C.M.'s family is very proud of his participation in and contribution to the National Space Program. With his technical knowledge and expertise, and his ability to gather together the right group of experts, he inspired others with a vision of accomplishing incredible goals at projects never before attempted (such as man's landing on the moon), and which have led to countless technological and medical breakthroughs that have benefited everyone in the world. C.M. lived the American dream. From a poor country boy growing up in the hills of Arkansas to Director of the International Space Station he proved that by setting a goal, having a plan and working hard all things are possible. C.M. sums up his life experience in this quote from his memoir: ""I think the world would be a better place if people spent more time sharing dreams. To understand a person's dreams would promote understanding and sharing. But sharing dreams is difficult, for they are all very private. Life itself may be just a dream. In fact I hope it is. I am glad to have shared this one."" The family gives their heartfelt thanks to the staff of Autumn House and to C.M.'s Vitas Hospice team for their loving care and support during his valiant ""long goodbye"" struggle with Alzheimer's. Carson (C.M.) is participating in the Florida Brain Bank Research program, Alzheimer's & Dementia Resource Center, 1506 Lake Highland Dr., Orlando, FL 32803, www.adrccares.org. Donations in his honor would be greatly appreciated and help fight this devastating disease. Arrangements entrusted to Beckman-Williamson Funeral Homes and Crematory in Viera. Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.Beckman-Williamson.com. Inurnment will take place on a future date at the East Central Florida National Cemetery in Scottsmoor, FL. A memorial picnic to celebrate C.M.'s life is being planned by the family for a later date.