Dee Dwight Greenly’s celebration of life will be held Monday June 14, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. at Chestnut Ridge Church.
Dee, 86, died Dec. 13, 2020. Born Dec. 24, 1933, in Pine City, Minn., the son of the late Loyd and Nellie (Nichols) Greenly.
Having moved to California at age 13; he joined the U.S. Navy in 1950 and served onboard the USS Rochester through 1954. Dee earned a B.S. from the University of Houston, majoring in geology, and M.A. from New Mexico State University.
Dee’s NASA career spanned 31 years; starting as a quality engineer in Downey, Calif., to Houston, working for the Apollo Spacecraft Program’s Space System Quality Control office; to White Sands, N.M. as the chief of the Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance Office. After Challenger, Dee was assigned to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. for the “return to flight” efforts on the Space Shuttle Program. After retiring from the NASA, Dee worked as a contractor on the EOS program.
After his second retirement, a colon cancer survivor, he moved to Morgantown. He spent the summer of 1995 with a team of men with Mission Builders building a church on a Native American reservation in North Dakota. Next, he became a driver for the Red Cross. He repaired and restored miners’ boots at a shoe repair shop. Dee was always an avid reader. He worked part time at a bookstore before he was called to the mission field in Bucharest, Romania. In three years teaching at Bucharest Christian Academy, he taught a variety of history and science classes.
Dee loved his first service dog, Abraham. “Abe” chose Dee at the Mylan Park facility where the Golden Rule Alpha litter of golden retrievers were trained. After Abe and Dee “graduated” from boot camp in 2004, Abe was Dee’s faithful helper and companion for more than 12 years. At Dee’s request, Abe will be interred with him on Monday June 14, 2021, at the Grafton National Veterans Memorial Cemetery at 2:30 p.m.
Dee is survived by his wife, Kathryn Kemp Greenly; his children, Jeff Greenly (Debra), of Farmington, Lisa Greenly-Doyle (Donal) of Alexandria; and grandchildren, Will and Megan Greenly. He is also survived by sister, Ruth Steen in Sundale Nursing Home in Morgantown, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Dee was predeceased by his sisters, Margie Gerdes and Norma Thompson, and a brother, Robert Greenly.
Donations may be made in Dee’s name to: Warrior Canine Connection at 14935 Schaeffer Road Boyds, MD 20841 or www.warriorcanineconnection.org
Condolences:
www.hastingsfuneralhome.com
