Dana Brown worked at North American-Rockwell

DOWNEY –Dana Theodore Brown, 82, of Point Pleasant, WV., died Friday, May 29, at home.

He was born April 8, 1933, in Morgantown, a son of the late Dana Theodore Brown and Ruth Elizabeth (Rohr) Brown.

Dana was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Point Pleasant. He was a Point Pleasant High School graduate of the Class of 1952, attended Marshall University 1952-53, KonKol Design School and Electro-Mechanical School in Orange, Calif., for two years, then completed his education at North American Aircraft Design School in Long Beach.

He served his country honorably in the United States Marine Corps, was chief paymaster in the Washington, D.C., area. Dana was a retired aerospace designer with North American-Rockwell International. During his career, he helped with the design of the Apollo Saturn S-5 Engine Gimbles and Mounts and later with the redesign of the Apollo Spacecraft, B-1 Bomber and the original space shuttle. 

He had also served as councilman-at-large for the City of Point Pleasant and was a member of the Point Pleasant Gun Club.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Charles Jackson Brown and James Franklin Brown.

He is survived by his wife, Susan (McCutcheon) Raike Brown of Point Pleasant; a daughter, Tammy (David) Morrison, of Point Pleasant; stepchildren Kathryn Raike (Brian) Panuline, of Virginia Beach, Va., David Raike, of Point Pleasant, and Andy Raike, of Point Pleasant; six grandchildren; and two sisters, Wanda (Bill) Russell, of Gallipolis, Ohio, and Linda Ealey, of Point Pleasant.

A funeral service was held June 1 at Wilcoxen Funeral Home in Point Pleasant, with Pastor Jim Kelly officiating. Burial followed at Kirkland Memorial Gardens in Point Pleasant, with military rites given by West Virginia Marine Corps and American Legion Post No. 23 of Point Pleasant.