Fredric Lee Hettinger passed away on February 17, 2021 surrounded by loved ones in his home in Ashburn, Virginia.

Fred was born to Donald Hettinger and Mary Louise Martin in Miamisburg, Ohio on September 11, 1936. Loving widow of Miriam Kulyan Hettinger (who passed in 2016), Fred is survived by his three sons Kyle, Kirk, and Keith, and eight grandchildren, as well as his sister Karen Webb.

If anyone ever lived a full, productive life, it was Fred. From playing with model airplanes as a child, he went on to become a mechanical engineer. Along the way, he served a stint in the U.S. Navy supporting the flight crew on the USS Ticonderoga. After an honorable discharge he was hired at NASA to work for the nascent space program. At NASA, Fred was part of the core design team developing environmental support for astronauts with the Mercury and Gemini space programs, the end result of which was sending the first Americans into space to orbit the Earth.

His later career was specialized in Oceanographic Engineering, designing subsea equipment such as submarines (manned and unmanned) and other offshore equipment. His career led to many interesting projects as far afield as Aberdeen Scotland, Houston Texas, Norway, Tasmania, and even instructing the next generation of Oceanographic engineers at a training seminar in Russia. A family favorite is the day he and his team tested an underwater drone (back in the 1980s!) in a creek adjoining his home in Palm City.

Fred will be buried at Forest Hills Cemetery in Palm City Florida at 11:00 AM ET on Thursday 2/25/2021. Despite all of his world travels, Florida holds a special place in Fred's heart. For many years it's where he raised his family, and where he and his wife enjoyed their children and grandchildren in their twilight years. He also loved the Florida nature, fishing, boating, and other water activities. It's fitting that his body's final resting place should be in Palm City, along with his beloved wife Miriam.

The family will hold a more formal memorial service later in the year, hopefully when travel and health restrictions are less of an issue.