- OFFUTT, JOHN DARREK - age 44, passed away at his brother's home in Riceville, TN, Wednesday, April 9, 2008 after a two year battle with pancreatic cancer. Born October 5, 1963 in Columbus, GA, Darrek grew up in Englewood, TN. He went on to graduate summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Engineering with Bachelor and Master degrees in Engineering Science. He worked as an engineering intern each summer of his baccalaureate with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. There he earned a commendation for his design of an electro-mechanical ground support system used during crew training exercises for Spacelab. Throughout his Masters program he focused on research dealing with stress analysis of ceramic materials and designed computer programs to perform evaluations of such structures. For the last eighteen years he was employed by The Boeing Company as a stress analyst, working on projects for Spacelab and Space Station, both Titan IV and Delta IV booster rocket programs, and Boeing's latest passenger jet the 787. Darrek was of the Christian faith and was an avid sportsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing as well as hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He spent a great deal of his vacation time entertaining and spoiling his nieces and nephews. He will be sorely missed and lovingly remembered by his parents, Dr. John E. and Judy K. Offutt of Athens, TN; brother, Dr. David Q. (Julie) Offutt of Riceville, TN; sisters, Mrs. Michele (Ken) Trofatter of Simpsonville, SC, and Mrs. Nichole (Joe) McLoughlin of Knoxville, TN; three nephews and eleven nieces; He is also survived by his grandmother, Anna Ruth Offutt; aunt, Sally A. Offutt, both of Clinton, TN, and aunt, Jeri B. Bell of Birmingham, AL. The family cordially invites you to attend a memorial celebration to be held at First Baptist Church, Athens, TN at 2:00pm, Saturday, April 12, with a receiving of friends to follow.
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Waller-Joos-Stetzler
1963 - 2008 (44 years)
