Billy B. Bourne; July 25, 2012
Billy B. Bourne, 80, of Madison, passed away Wednesday, July 25.
Mr. Bourne entered the Army at Fort Jackson, SC in 1949. After completing training in Radio/Radar repair, he served in Korea and Japan. He was assigned to the Army’s Missile Development Agency at Redstone Arsenal and participated in the development of the Army’s First Combat Missile System as a member of the Von Braun Team in the 1953 era. Mr. Bourne served over 21 years in the Army, with all but three of those years directed in the area of missile development and testing. After retiring from service in 1970, he was employed in the Aerospace Industry for more than 20 years, and retired from USBI in December, 1992 as Director of Operations Support for the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters.
Mr. Bourne was a member of Trinity Baptist Church. He was also a 32nd Degree Mason, a member of CAHABA Shrine Temple and Order of the Easter Star.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Louise Bourne.
Survivors include daughters, Joyce Murphy (Brian) of Atlanta, Ga., and Sylvia Douglas of Huntsville; son, Barry Bourne (Cheri) of Houston, Texas; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; sister, Elizabeth Lambert of Georgetown, S.C.; and brother, John Bourne of Andrews, S.C.
Visitation was from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 at Laughlin Service Funeral Home with the service immediately following. Burial was in Valhalla Memory Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society .
