February 12, 2017

Delton “Del” G. Crosier passed away peacefully, surrounded by his wife, Nancy, of fifty-six years, and four children, Dawn (Kevin) Bleuel, Scott (Mary) Crosier, Karen Cottrell and Eric (Corinne) Crosier. Delton is survived by a brother, Gale (Sandra) of Westminster, Colorado; a sister, Barbara DeKeyser of Tucson, Arizona; eight grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Vera and Willford, and a sister, Patricia.

Delton was born July 17, 1933 in a private home in Akron, Colorado. His mother and father homesteaded north of Akron, and Delton spent the first two years of his life at that location. His schooling consisted of quite a full circle from a one room school house near Akron, to middle school in San Diego, California, where his father worked in the Defense Industry during World War II, and back to graduate high school in Akron, Colorado.

Delton attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, earning degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management. He joined Chrysler as a field engineer working on the Jupiter missile program. He left Chrysler to join Martin Marietta in Denver to work on test stands, which conducted testing on the Titan I and II missile programs. His assignments were with the electrical systems, propulsion systems, and stand manager. He was the test conductor for the Titan II Missile test program, with more tests than any other test conductor. He was the lead engineer, developing a leak test facility and program for the Titan II program. Mid-career, during the decline in the defense program and because Del and Nancy had a love for the outdoors, the family embarked on a new adventure to a ranch in South Dakota, where they raised cattle, sheep, and farmed. After six years operating the ranch, the family took on another challenge, operating an auto salvage yard in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The aerospace business drew him back, where he was assigned as a field engineer for the Titan II missile system in Wichita, Kansas. This program was eventually deactivated. Upon completion of the deactivation of the Titan missile program, he worked several missile systems out of Denver. He was assigned the field position in Ogden, Utah, responsible for the ground support equipment for the Peace Keeper program until he transferred back to Denver.

Delton’s love of the space program and the desire to contribute led him to take advantage of an exciting opportunity to join the Boeing Company to work on the Space Station program. He worked several different aspects of the program in the test area. Delton loved the challenges this program brought, as well as the wonderful people he worked with during this time. These people remained lifelong friends. He was responsible for the determination of the facility requirements for both the proof pressure and structural facility. He was the lead engineer for the proof pressure and leak testing of the hardware making up the US modules for the International Space Station. He took the module to Seattle to simulate the loads and stresses to be experienced during the shuttle launch sequence.

Delton and Nancy spent twenty years in Huntsville, where they enjoyed the company of wonderful friends and the ability to travel to many fascinating places. He retired from Boeing in 2001. A car accident meant that they needed to be closer to family, and he and Nancy then moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Delton enjoyed long walks, a mountain drive in his Porsche Boxster, and traveling with his best friend and love of his life. As his health deteriorated, he never lost his optimism and his wonderful sense of humor.

He will be missed.

Arrangements By: The Springs Funeral Services, Colorado Springs, Colorado, www.tsfs.co