Walter B. Burnett, 76, passed away on Aug. 11, 2010, at Marian Hospital in Santa Maria, Calif.
Walt was retired from Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation at Vandenberg Air Force Base, where he worked for 33 years.
A resident of Mission Hills in Lompoc, Calif., since 1959, Walt was born in Benton, Ill., on Sept. 5, 1933. He graduated from Benton High School in 1951 and received a B.S. in television electronics in 1956 from the American Television Institute in Chicago. From 1953-1955, Walt served on active duty with the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Europe.
Walt worked for Convair as an Environmental Test Engineer and Chance Vought Aircraft as an Auto-Pilot Engineer. Then, in 1959, Walt joined Lockheed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, working as a Guidance and Control Engineer and then as a Launch Conductor on the Agena reconnaissance satellite program.
Walt was a member of the launch team for Discoverer 1, the first polar-orbiting satellite, and in 1960, Discoverer 13, the first recovery of a man-made article from space. In 1982 Walt was part of a team that laid the groundwork for a contract Lockheed won to service launches of the Space Shuttle, and in 1984 he became a Project Operations Engineer. He retired from Lockheed in 1992. During his career at Lockheed, Walt worked on more than 350 successful launches.
Walt took great pleasure in his community service. He was instrumental in creating the Mission Hills Community Services District, which was formed by voters after privately owned water and wastewater systems failed repeatedly. Within a few years, the volunteer public district was successfully managing its own utilities and rates. From 1979 to 1984, Walt served as the district’s first president, and he remained on the Board of Directors for 20 years. He also served as a member of the Santa Barbara Local Agency Formation Commission.
For recreation, Walt enjoyed waterskiing and boating and was commander of the local Costa de Oro Power Squadron in 1980-81. For many years, he was an active member of the Lompoc Sportsman Association. He was fond of cars and campers and the open road. Walt was very good at card games and especially liked Bridge.
Walt married his beloved wife, Dixie Allred, a journalist and college English teacher, on Oct. 28, 1956 at the Jade Chapel in Chicago. In addition to his wife, Walt is survived by his sons, Mark (Carol) of La Jolla and Edward of Ventura, Calif.; grandchildren, Tracy, Steven, Michael and Sarah Burnett of La Jolla; a niece, Kathy Turnage McKinney, and a nephew Jeff Turnage of Columbia, S.C. He was raised with his cousin, Kenneth Hungate by their grandparents, Dorus and Oria Johnson Hungate of Benton.
He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Walter M. and Mable Hungate Burnett, and a sister, Martha Jane Burnett Turnage.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made “In memory of Walt Burnett” to the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, 2219 Bath Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105.
A celebration of Walt’s life is scheduled for Aug. 29, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Mission Hills Community Services District offices at 1550 E. Burton Mesa Blvd. in Lompoc.
