Michael "Mike" George Woolley

Michael G. Woolley Lt. Colonel USAF Retired March 2, 1952 - September 9, 2013 Michael G. Woolley, Lt Col USAF Retired, 61, was surrounded by his family when he lost his battle with cancer on Monday, September 9, 2013. Born on March 2, 1952, in Evansville, Indiana to George and Marie Woolley, Mike was active in both school and community organizations while growing up. He participated in his church, was a school crossing guard, a boy scout, and discovered a love of theatre, sports, and space which carried on through his life. In 1970, he graduated from Reitz High School where he was an Equipment Manager for football, basketball, and track teams. Upon receiving a scholarship to be the Equipment Manager for the athletic teams, Mike continued his education at The University of Evansville. He was the Basketball Team Manager when the Purple Aces won their NCAA Division II Championship in 1971. He jokingly said that he dodged the draft by joining the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Mike graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computing Science and was commissioned as an Officer and Gentleman in the United States Air Force. After an initial training period at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Mike was assigned to Minot North Dakota where he was part of the Missile Combat Group. In his spare time he was involved in the "After Hours Players" (the base theatre group) where he acted in multiple productions and even took a turn at directing as well as the "Young Life Singers" where he met Patricia Long, who would later become his wife. Mike often said that 1977 was the biggest year of his life - he was selected as the 91st Strategic Missile Wing Junior Office or the year, won the Comedy Division in the major command level "Tops in Blue" competition, and got married on June 18th to Trish. While in Minot, he also devoted many hours to community service helping plan Christmas Parties for the special needs individuals at the Minot City Rehabilitation Center, manning telephones for the National Muscular Dystrophy Telethon at the local TV station, sponsoring a weekly Disco Night at the Officers Club, participated in library hour for base children doing readings, puppet shows and magic shows, to name a few. In 1979, Mike was selected to enter the Master's Degree program at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. Just two weeks shy of beginning the program, his first child Michelle was born. In between studying and classes, one of his favorite things to do was spend time with his new daughter. The thesis which he wrote for the Logistics Management Master's Degree was so superior that the commanding General selected it to be briefed at Headquarters, United States Air Force and was published in the Air Force Journal of Logistics. After graduation in June of 1980, the family moved to McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas but before beginning duty he was sent to Squadron Officer School (SOS) in Montgomery, Alabama where he earned the honor of Distinguished Graduate and then to Titan II Maintenance Officers Training at Sheppard AFB, Texas where he received Honor Graduate Status. After 6 months of school he then began to work in the 381st Strategic Missile Wing where he began in Missile Maintenance and quickly rose to Job Control Branch Chief with the Titan II Program. During Christmas of 1981, he received the best gift in the birth of his son, Sean. In 1982 Mike was awarded the 8th Air Force Junior Officer of the Year. Satellite Beach became home in 1983 when Mike received orders to report to duty at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was at this time that he was assigned permanently to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) which was a classified organization and he could not tell his family he was a member until 1998. The NRO is one of the Big 5 US Intelligence Agencies which includes the CIA, DIA, NGA, and NSA. As part of the 6555th Aerospace Test Group and NRO, Mike was very hands on in various aspects of the Titan program. Through his hard work and dedication he was sent to the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) in Montgomery, Alabama in September 1987. To counteract all the studying and fill his time as his family stayed in Florida, Mike joined the Little Montgomery Theatre Group and won the title "Second Funniest Man in Alabama in 1987" (the funniest went to a fire-breathing magician - go figure!) Upon graduation, he was asked to consider staying at ACSC as a faculty member; however Mike had a different plan in mind. Arriving in Los Angeles in June 1988, he was assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force Special Projects working satellite interfaces with space launch vehicles. This particular position kept him rather busy and on the road quite often. During this time, he created and implemented the role of Commander of the Cape Canaveral Operating Location for the NRO which he would eventually assume in July 1993 when the first Commander decided to retire. Once back at the Cape his efforts included ensuring National Missions were launched with care they needed. During his tenure he trained 4 new Mission Directors and instructed numerous newcomers on how to "do launch". In between launches and projects he was extremely active in the lives of his family, where he along with his wife, assisted in many Girl Scout and theatre activities with their daughter and sporting events with their son and encouraged/included them in community service projects. After nearly 24 years of service Mike retired as a Lt. Colonel and begun a new career with Boeing in January 1998 working with the Delta IV Missile Program. When Boeing and Lockheed Martin began the joint venture of United Launch Alliance, he was part of the original staff that worked on the project. He held many roles with these 2 companies and was very involved in the refurbishment of Launch Pad 37 at Cape Canaveral as well as helping to oversee the development of the Horizontal Integration Facility. Most recently, Mike was part of the Communications Team of ULA where one of his favorite activities was giving backstage tours and sharing his immense knowledge of the Space Program and the history of the Cape. Mike was extremely generous with his time to various organizations. He participated greatly in the Softball Program at Satellite High School as an announcer and scorekeeper. With the National Management Association, he held multiple leadership roles including President of the local chapter and received both the Silver and Golden Knight of Leadership award from them in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Mike loved working with the Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and many other organizations where he could positively impact the life of others. Always quick with a joke or story which would put a smile on someone's face, Mike strove to ensure that anyone in his proximity was enjoying themselves and would have a better day for it. Survived by his wife Trish of 36 years of Satellite Beach, his children, Michelle and Sean of Orlando, his siblings Terrell and Susan of Texas, and Christina of Indiana, and his father-in-law Howard B. Long, ret. Lt. Col. Mike will be dearly missed. A Celebration of Life will be held on October 19th, 2013 at the Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront at 4pm. To let the family know you will be attending the event, or to send a message or share a story, please email [email protected] . In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mike's name to two organizations dear to his heart: the Special Olympics of Brevard County or the National Veterans Homeless Support - Harry T Moore Social Services Center in Titusville, FL.