Merton Allan Rumford

September 11, 1935 ---- February 25, 2021

Mert Rumford lived his life with love and kindness. Brilliant and humble, he led by example to make a difference in our world – first working for NASA to get man to the moon, then for the Army to help win the Cold War – but the biggest impact he made was in the lives of his family and friends. Born in Detroit into a prestigious family in the automotive industry, Mert was ingrained early with a fascination for cars and all things mechanical. At Purdue, his passion expanded to aerospace and flying, earning his pilot’s license. After graduation, his interests shifted to missiles, rockets, and space. In his free time, Mert enjoyed relaxing on the water – water-skiing with his boat on the lake, sailing a catamaran in the Gulf, or deep-sea fishing off the Keys. At the dawn of the personal computer age, Mert’s talents transformed to using computers, software programming, and all things electrical. Mert had an innate understanding in how complex systems worked – and he used his remarkable insight to not only improve systems but also, more importantly, share his great perception with others. He could explain complicated issues with easy words. He was a down-to-earth member of Mensa – always a patient teacher – always there to help. With a beaming smile, Mert loved to retell a humorous story or share a life lesson, often revolving around the places he lived – his childhood in Detroit, MI; his formative years in Evansville, IN; his university life in West Lafayette, IN; starting his family in Huntsville, AL; raising his family in St. Louis, MO; and then his retirement to Las Vegas, NV. Mert would light up with any good dog story (from his childhood dog, Heine, to his last dog Sam) or a saga from his college days (his Plymouth convertible packed with Kappa Delta Rho fraternity brothers celebrating a Purdue win). He also had his share of amusing accounts from his stint in the U.S. Army and years working as a government employee for NASA and the Department of Defense. Mert was a world-class expert in aerospace reliability. In the early 1960’s at NASA, he developed test procedures to measure shock and vibration of rocket launch systems and performed failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis on the Apollo program. His engineering work advanced critical technical standards still used today by NASA and our military. In the 1970’s, Mert worked for the Army Troop Support Command and the Army Aviation Command as the lead systems engineer for a number of classified electronic warfare systems – including capabilities that were later used in the critical first strike in Operation Desert Storm. After leaving federal employment in the early 1980’s, Mert was a highly soughtafter design consultant, working on the design team for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (which ultimately evolved into the F-22), designing lifescience experiments for space environments (which flew on the Space Shuttle), and testing numerous helicopter projects. In retirement, Mert was active in serving his community of Sun City Summerlin (from Architectural Review Boards to Security Patrol) and involved in numerous political, civic, and social organizations in Clark County, including being recognized by one organization with their ‘2003 Man of the Year’ award for his tremendous contributions. Most significant, the Governor awarded Mert a commendation in 2003 for his continual dedication of his time and talent to the citizens of Nevada. The most extraordinary aspect of Mert’s life journey began on a summer day, at age 17, when he first caught glance of and met Aretta “Betty” Betz, age 16, working as a carhop at the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Evansville. From that day forward, Mert and Betty were inseparable. Their relationship was forged and strengthened by their utmost respect, commitment, and deep love for each other. Mert would say that the smartest thing he did was marry Betty. Married for over 63 years, their love and devotion went beyond husband and wife – they were partners; they were collaborators; they were each other’s “Best Buddy”. Their hearts desire for a large family began with the births of Marlene Louise in 1958, Gregory Allan in 1960, Raymond Curtis in 1962 and included caring for infants in foster care until their youngest child George Joseph was born in 1968. Along the way, Mert and Betty experienced significant tragedies, suffering the loss of Raymond in infancy and their only daughter Marlene to a brain aneurism at the age of 18. At age 44, Mert endured a massive heart attack that required quintuple bypass surgery and doctors prognosed he would only live a few more years. Undeterred, Mert and Betty embarked on a campaign of a low-fat diet and regular exercise that enabled Mert to live another 41 years. Merton Allan Rumford, loving husband, father, and Papa, passed away on February 25, 2021 at the age of 85 after a courageous battle with leukemia. He was preceded in death by his parents George and Louise Rumford; daughter Marlene Rumford, son Raymond Rumford, sister Elaine Bertram, brother George Rumford, and nephew Rex Bertram. Mert is survived by his beloved wife, Betty; son Greg (Virginia); son George (Editha); grandchildren Emily (Casey), Alexander, Avery, and Elizabeth; nephew Jeffrey (Patricia) Bertram; and nieces Jill Bertram, Julie Bertram, and Tracie Bernabo. Mert was a good and faithful servant who has now entered into glory to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A private family service is planned in St. Louis, MO. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation made “In Memory of Merton Rumford” to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate