For most of his adult life, Howard “Joe” Engle travelled the world living in various countries on different continents. He experienced the Alps of Austria, the permafrost tundra of Alaska, the magnificence of the Andes, the snow-capped volcanoes of Ecuador, and the red clay of Madagascar. He learned more of the natural world while living in a mud hut on the island of Madagascar, with its zebus, lemurs, tenrecs, and brightly colored chameleons; from the jungles of Mahajanga on the coast to the zuma markets of the capital city of Antananarivo; from the mysterious remains of the ancient Inca civilization at Machu Picchu. Chasing the elusive aurora borealis in Alaska with his three young daughters impacted their lives, as well as his, as they still recount stories of driving miles through the dark night watching the dancing lights.
While in Quito, Ecuador, Joe could look out his office window at 12,000 feet and see llama and alpaca roaming the plains at the base of Mount Cotopaxi. His dream was to reach the snowline of this 19,344-foot stratovolcano, so one day he hopped in his Jeep and said to himself, “I’m doing it.” He drove until the Jeep lost power and settled into the volcanic ash. Slowly hiking upward, barely able to breathe, he finally grabbed a handful of snow at approximately 16,000 feet and felt the satisfaction of a mission accomplished – a beautiful metaphor for the way he approached life.
Another humbling experience was studying the galaxy using the Baker-Nunn camera system while tracking unmanned scientific satellites as part of his work with NASA. He was responsible for tracking stations in Madagascar, Peru, Ecuador, and Alaska.
Joe could recount many other stories but suffice it to say his appreciation for the wonders of our universe had not diminished, and he chose the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina for his summer home.
Joe was born October 7, 1940 in Baltimore, Md. to Lucy Cosentino Engle and Howard Francis Engle.
He graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1962 from the University of Maryland, where he was honored with selection to Tau Beta Pi and Etta Kappa Nu engineering societies. In 1979, he received his M.B.A. from Loyola College in Baltimore.
Joe began his professional career in 1962 working for NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center as an aerospace technologist responsible for designing circuits for spacecraft. It was here that he met and later married Nancy Dianne Archer, with whom he enjoyed 37 years of marriage while they traveled the world together. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2000.
In 1965, he joined Bendix Field Engineering Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Signal Technical Services Corp., now Honeywell, based in Columbia, Md.
His record of achievement in technical management positions culminated in 1989 with his appointment as the company’s chairman/president and CEO. He was responsible for the direction, management, and administration of various government contracts involving communications that developed proposals for new business, liaison with DOD officials, recruitment of personnel, and control of classified information.
Under Joe’s leadership, the company grew to $600 million in revenue with approximately 8,000 personnel and provided technical managerial services to the U.S. federal government, foreign governments, and private industry at more than 120 worldwide locations.
Among the company’s major customers were NASA, with an established relationship of support on every manned and unmanned space mission since the agency began in 1958; the U.S. Navy; the U.S. Army; the U.S. Air Force; the U.S. Marine Corps; Ames Research Center; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; the Federal Aviation Administration; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Defense Nuclear Agency; the Department of Agriculture; the U.S. Geological Survey; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Department of Health and Human Services; and various Department of Defense organizations.
He was active in various community relations programs including serving as a member of the Board of Governors of the National Space Club, member of the American Astronautical Society, and charter member of the U.S. Space Foundation.
After retirement in 1994, Joe joined ManTech International Corporation in Fairfax, Va. for two years as vice chairman and chief development officer, after which he retired for a second time and moved to Amelia Island, Fla.
In 2003, Joe met and married Harriet Hilton Kennedy, also of Amelia Island and formerly of Thomasville, N.C. They later moved to Palm Coast, Fla. and in 2012 established their summer residence in Linville Ridge Country Club, Linville, N.C.
He is survived by three daughters, Jodee Engle McGrath (Mike) of Cape Coral, Fla., Julie Gale Engle Chapin (Stephen) of Leesburg, Va., and Jenna Anne Engle Kielman of Leesburg, Va.; six grandchildren, Stephen Ramsey Chapin III, Joseph Powell Chapin, John Archer Chapin, Katherine Denice Kielman, Olivia Dianne Kielman, and William Frederick Todd Kielman.
He is also survived by his wife of almost 15 years, Harriet Kennedy Engle; three step-children, Wallace Andrew Kennedy III (Linda) of Beaufort, N.C., Kathy Leigh Kennedy (Eli) of Efland, N.C., and Anthony Hilton Kennedy (Cherri) of Santee, S.C.; three step-grandchildren, Kristy Anne Kennedy (Tomas Infantes) of Greensboro, N.C., Wallace Andrew Kennedy IV (Melissa) of Charlotte, N.C., and Elizabeth Burton Kennedy of Lawrence, Kansas; two step-great-grandchildren, Sophia Angelika Infantes Kennedy and Vera Grace Infantes Kennedy; one sister, Virginia Buettener (Ed) of Preston, Md.; and one nephew, Eric Fischer.
A celebration of life is planned in Maryland on or about October 7, 2018.
Preferred memorials are National Space Club & Foundation at https://secure.spaceclub.org/donation.html.
Condolences may be sent to the family at Harriet Engle, P.O. Box 705, Linville, NC 28646.