Roy Willis

Roy Willis

Roy was born in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. When trying to complete an engineering degree, he joined the Army to avoid being drafted, and served in a communication reconnaissance outfit. After his service was complete, he finished his degree at Vanderbilt, and went to work for Thiokol-- first as a summer job, then eventually as a permanent position (in June 1958). He began work on the HAWK project, then on the Nike Zeus team, and eventually was assigned to the Advanced Concepts Department, working in both design and early computing. He would be briefly reassigned to engineering and "general proposal support". He was let go from Thiokol in 1971, and worked in the car industry for approximately a decade, working in parts and service divisions. Roy would return to Thiokol after this detour, eventually formally retiring in January of 1992. He also discusses his post-Thiokol employment, such as managing a religious phoneline, and bookkeeping; his personal life; and his hobbies, particularly aviation.

University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections, Huntsville, Alabama

2018-06-29

This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though the University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives and Special Collections has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.

.MP4

en

Interviews

Video

Webb, Glen

Willis, Roy

1:25:22