Arthur J. Pejsa

Pejsa, Arthur J. March 8, 1923 - Feb. 8, 2014 Arthur Pejsa was born and grew up in Custer, Wisconsin. He attended Wisconsin schools through high school and the University, graduating with a masters degree in physics and mathematics from Marquette University. For three decades Art Pejsa was a pioneer aerospace physicist. At the AC Electronics Division of General Motors, he headed the system design and analysis group for Thor and Titan II, the world’s first successful missile guidance systems. At Honeywell Aerospace, Art analyzed systems for Apollo moon missions and personally designed the difficult re-entry guidance system for the Space Shuttles. Later he headed design of a new inertiaI navigation system, used for decades on most of the world's long range aircraft. Before his aerospace career, Arthur Pejsa was a professor of math and mechanics at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. During World War II, as a young B-29 Superfortress pilot, he survived thirty combat missions over Japan, involving 400 combat flight hours. He won three Air Medals, a Presidential Citation and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In his later years, Pejsa wrote and published three books on small arms ballistics and a popular ballistics software package. In the realm of small arms precision ballistics, he is indeed the guru. A loyal alumnus of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, he has established and endowed the Arthur J. Pejsa Aerospace Scholarship Fund in support of senior students on their way to becoming the next generation of aerospace scientists. A year ago the UWSP faculty, students, and friends together celebrated the naming of the Arthur J. Pejsa Observatory atop the Science Building. Arthur Pejsa was preceded in death by his parents, an infant brother and four sisters, Lucy Pejsa, Eugenia Pejsa, Adeline Pejsa Brunner and Rita Pejsa Christ. He was also preceded in death by his former wife Jeanne Hill Pejsa. He is survived by his wife, Jane Hauser Pejsa; children, James Pejsa (Janice), Anita Pejsa Johnston, Arthur Pejsa Jr., Ilse Gayl, and Franz Gayl (Conchita). He is also survived by grandchildren, Laura Pejsa (Adam Buhr), Matthew Pejsa (Teresa), Gabriella Gayl Malloy (Rob), Joseph Gayl, and five great-grandchildren. Private burial in the St. Mary's Catholic Church cemetery, Custer Wisconsin. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday, February 15th, 10:30 AM at Stanislaus Church in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. A memorial gathering in Minneapolis will be scheduled at a later time. www.Washburn-McReavy.com in Minneapolis; www.shudafuneral.com in Stevens Point. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Arthur J. Pejsa Aerospace Scholarship Fund, UWSP, 54481, or donor's choice.

Tributes

Arthur J. Pejsa

February 8, 2014

Tributes

Arthur J. Pejsa

February 8, 2014

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