Dear Classmates of ’67,
As you all know, Mike Mott now stands with
Logan and Chip laughing at our feeble fumblings we call life on Earth. I
attended Mike’s
Mike’s wife and children asked that in lieu of flowers contributions should be made to the Michael I. Mott Scholarship Fund at BGA. The fund has grown over the past few years to a sizable sum. That is good news. The bad news is that it could and should be larger.
I am asking you to make a contribution
to this fund!
Michael I. Mott Scholarship Fund
c/o
615/567-8330
My reason for asking you to do this is not to get any of my transcripts changed or to increase the coffers of our Alma Mater or for any other pecuniary reason. My reason is because of WHO the Class of ’67 is, has been and will always be. There is no better way to leave our enduring mark than to endow a scholarship that will perpetually help educate and train young people the way BGA taught and trained Mike and the rest of us. I see this as a symbolic fund in Mike’s name for Logan, Chip and all of us as we eventually “Graduate” to their level. (It’s for sure we can’t flunk the final!)
Please give serious thought to this. Even if it is just a buck for every time you saw Mike smile and say, “What’s there not to love?!” Or raise an empty glass in Mike’s honor and send $5.00 to the scholarship fund. (Send $7.99 if you do it in a Starbuck’s!) I hope that we can get 80%, 90% or 100% participation in this fund. That would be a very strong statement about the fraternity of ‘67!! (I am confident that BGA will accept larger donations than I have mentioned.)
Okay, I’m off my soap box. Just please give this request your sincere consideration. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Eddie Lunn ‘67
The
Class
The following is one of our classmate’s eulogy copied as it appeared in his email: (He obviously never made it into Mrs. Redick’s typing class but must have made an A+ in Bragg’s English class.)
how do i, alone, understand an emotion never felt? try as i may, with all of my might, i do not believe such understanding is attainable; for fantasy’s charade is more reflection of desire than things real in this world.
am i deprived a part of life for emotions never known? in my small sliver from the bounty of all life, the closest i come to the essence of vast experiences is through life with and of others. their expressions of passion and compassion knit into my fiber an understanding otherwise missed.
the man i had the good fortune to know exponentiated enthusiasm for his experiences. just being around him made me feel more life about life. when with him, facade and shield could be cast aside. he was friend and, while i missed his underlying meaning at the time, he was also a teacher, a giver of life.
i have never piloted an airplane. my only experience of a pilot comes from movies, tv, and my friend. but his eagerness to share some of his life with us a few years ago took me closer to emotions not yet known. his story of accelerating a marine jet into very low altitude, suddenly having an electrical failure blow holes through both main wings, in an urban area, making the right decisions to ensure a safe ditch, and exiting the plane will always be me. but not as much as his comment to the nurse on the helicopter that plucked him from the drink when he first got on board. my friend had just gone through an unbelievable disaster, the nurse runs up, “Sir, what can I do”; he yelled over the engine noise, “I need to pee”; and, she handed him a dixie cup. he looked at the cup, then at her, and said, “I’m not that small.”
mike dealt with dangerous complexities i could never imagine. he had to make decisions having unbearable weight. but his perspective coupled with his innate abilities in such a way that he faced danger with a smile. Thank God i got to know him. i wish i had taken the time to know more. ALL HONOR TO HIS NAME! our friend, MIKE MOTT. every memory of him is of one smiling, happy, great guy.
Bill Pemberton ‘67
Wednesday,
November 23, 2005
(From
Booher)
I thought you all would enjoy this article about Mike that was in the
Happy Thanksgiving, Guys.
May the Good Lord Bless Us All!
Bill Booher ‘67
OBITUARY
Michael
Mott, Boeing Aerospace Executive
Retired Marine
pilot helped form 16-nation venture that launched the space station.
BY MARK CARREAU
COPYRIGHT 2005 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Michael
Irvine Mott, vice president and general manager of NASA systems for the Boeing
Co. in
Mott
died of lymphoma Saturday at the
A
native of
As Boeing's top executive in the South Texas region, he managed 4,120 employees who are responsible for NASA shuttle and international space station support.
Because of his slight stature, Mott earned the call sign "Mini" while flying for the Marine Corps, a nickname that stuck even as he retired in 1991 as a lieutenant colonel after 20 years.
However, his associates thought of Mott as an enthusiastic executive and military officer who was eager to rally colleagues to find solutions to difficult problems.
"He was kind of the Energizer Bunny. He had more energy than any three folks," said Boeing space shuttle program manager Steve Oswald.
A former NASA astronaut, Oswald began an association with Mott more than 25 years ago.
Mott
joined Boeing in mid-1998 and assumed his
"He was very focused in terms of technical excellence and one of those rare guys who was not only strong technically but was all about people," said Oswald.
"He had a great sense of humor and was fun to be around," he said. "He was all about team play, no individual sports."
Mott joined NASA in 1993 as the associate deputy administrator in Washington, where he was instrumental in forging post-Cold War ties with the Russians.
Those efforts helped to incorporate the former adversaries into the 16-nation partnership behind the international space station.
Mott also contributed to a change in shuttle operations at NASA that merged major contractors Boeing and Lockheed Martin into a single joint venture, United Space Alliance, that assumed responsibilities for many of the day-to-day operations once managed by the space agency.
In the Marine Corps, Mott was a graduate of the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School whose assignments included early evaluations of the F/A-18, one of the military's premier fighter jets.
Later,
he was assigned to the deputy chief of Naval Operations for technical support
and served as commander of Marine Aircraft Group 41 at Andrews Air Force Base,
Mott
earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from
A
memorial service is planned for
The
funeral is set for Dec. 3 at First Presbyterian Church in his native
Survivors include his wife, Kathy; son, Michael; daughter, Ashley; mother, Edith; and brother, William.
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