Jerry Creel Bostick passed away

The life on planet earth of Jerry Creel Bostick ended on December 21, 2025. He was born June 9, 1939, in Golden, Mississippi to Orville and Lois Creel Bostick, the second of two children. He graduated as Valedictorian from Capitol Page School, Washington DC, in 1957, after serving as a Page/Doorman in the US House of Representatives. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a BS degree in Civil Engineering, class of 1961. From 1962 through 1968, Jerry was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Reserve, assigned to NASA. 

He worked at the NASA Langley Research Center as a structural engineer before the life-changing opportunity to be a part of the United States’ ambitious manned space program. He transferred to Houston in early 1962, serving as a mission planner/flight controller for the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs, notably as a Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO) in “the Trench” of Mission Control in the historic Apollo 11 moon-landing mission.

From 1973 to 1975, he moved to NASA Headquarters in Washington DC and served as Assistant Executive Secretary to the NASA Administrator and later as Director of Energy Technology Applications and Special Assistant for Programs in the Office of Energy Programs. 

He returned to the Johnson Space Center in 1975 to work on the Space Shuttle Program, serving in many roles including Chief, Technical Planning Office; Manager, Payload Deployment and Retrieval Systems; Deputy Manager, Space Transportation Systems; and Director of Mission Support.

In 1985, Jerry left NASA to become Grumman Aerospace Corporation’s Vice President, Space Systems Division, responsible for all Grumman civil space programs. After 11 years there, he went to work at United Space Alliance, the contractor responsible for Space Shuttle Operations, as Assistant Program Manager.

Upon his retirement, Jerry moved to Marble Falls, Texas to enjoy lake life and embarked on an invigorating new career opportunity to share his knowledge in Hollywood. He served as a Technical Consultant for several high-profile space-related feature films and television series, including Apollo 13, Armageddon, and the Emmy award-winning HBO television series From the Earth to the Moon. He was later featured in several documentaries including The Century with Peter Jennings, Failure Is Not An Option, Race To The Moon, The Daring Adventure of Apollo 8, and Earthrise: The First Lunar Voyage.

A man of faith, he was devoted to serving in churches throughout his life — as a founding member of the Clear Lake United Methodist Church in Houston and later as an active member and volunteer at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Marble Falls, joyfully serving as President of the Church School Board and on many other committees and councils. His civic engagement also included serving as the Floodplain Administrator and Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Meadowlakes and as a Charter Director of the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, among other community organizations.

Jerry’s interests and passions included music, sports cars, boating and water skiing, travel (especially to Paris), food of every cuisine, basketball and football, wine, crossword puzzles, the thrill of jet skiing, skydiving, zip lining, and NASCAR, and all things related to his beloved children and grandchildren.

He wrote his life story in the memoir The Kid from Golden: From the Cotton Fields of Mississippi to NASA Mission Control and Beyond and co-authored, along with his fellow mission controllers, From the Trench of Mission Control to the Craters of the Moon.

He received numerous NASA awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom Group Achievement Award for Apollo 13. He served on the University of Houston/Clear Lake Advisory Board, the University of Texas Aerospace Engineering Visiting Committee, and the Mississippi State University Research Advisory Committee. He also was a Charter Commissioner of the Texas Space Commission and a Charter Member of the Texas Space Grant Board of Directors. In 2019 he was designated a Living Legacy by the Texas Historical Association.

Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, Lois and Orville Bostick, sister Mary Bostick Childers, and wife Vickie Bostick. He is survived by partner Laverne Wiginton, son Michael Bostick and wife Andrea, Pacific Palisades, California, and grandchildren Dylan, Jordan, and Ryan; daughter Kristi Ray and husband Russ, Austin, Texas, and grandchildren Lauren and Bonner Youngblood, Preston, Patricia, and Rose; and daughter Marnie Castañeda and husband David, Rockwall, Texas, and grandchildren Cole, Case and Clay; and his first wife Linda Bostick Marks. He was joyful in anticipation of welcoming his first great-grandchild, expected by Lauren and Bonner.

Funeral will take place at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 1803 Hwy 1431 W, Marble Falls, Texas on Sunday, December 28 at 2:00pm, and livestreamed at youtube.com/@StPetersLutheranChurch.

Burial will follow at Lakeland Hills Memorial Park, 4219 Park Road 4 South, Burnet, Texas, followed by a reception at Double Horn Brewing Company, 208 Avenue H, Marble Falls, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Peter’s Building to Bless Fund or Youth Fund. You can give online by going to stpetersmarblefalls.org or send gifts to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 1803 Hwy 1431 W, Marble Falls, TX 78654.