JAMES P. BIGHAM, JR.
1931-2022
James P. Bigham Jr., died on Saturday, April 16,, 2022 at the age of 91. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA on April 6, 1931. James is the son of James P. Bigham, Sr., and Callista Urban Bigham, deceased. After graduating from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering, James was awarded his commission in the United States Air Force where he was ordered overseas to Germany as an USAF instructor pilot for NATO at Furstenfeldbruck Air Base.
Following James’ honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, he accepted a position with the Boeing Company as an aircraft structures engineer on the 707, 727, TFX, C-5, and other Boeing aircraft design teams. During his tenure at Boeing, James earned his Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington. James left the Boeing company to join NASA at the Johnson Space Center as Project Manager for the development of the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV). The LLTV was a lunar landing training vehicle for the Apollo Astronauts. Following his work on the LLTV, James was assigned as a member of the engineering team that developed the preliminary design of the Space Shuttle. In 1999, Jim was interviewed for the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, and that interview about his aerospace experience can be found on the Internet. In 2014, Jim wrote and published “A much Unsung Hero, The Lunar Landing Training Vehicle”.
James first met his beautiful wife, the former Camille Coulter, on April 6, 1971. Camille was also 40 years old, a 1951 graduate of Rice University at the age of 19. They married in May of 1972, a first marriage for them both, and enjoyed 47 years of marriage together until Camille’s passing in 2019.
In 1994, Jim and Camille retired to Horseshoe Bay. In 2014, Jim and Camille relocated to San Antonio’s Blue Skies West (formerly Air Force Village II). Camille and Jim had no children, but they were close to their nephew, Robert Bigham and wife, Dana Gordon Bigham and their children, Kaitlyn and Travis; and nephew, Richard Bigham and wife, Gidgett Bigham, and their children, Hannah, Bethany, and Tyler, all of Victoria, TX. Robert and Richard were the sons of Jim’s younger brother, Terry Bigham, who passed away in 2012.
Visitation will be Friday, May 6, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home. A Graveside Service with Military Honors will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 9, 2022 at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.