William Atwell
William (Bill) Atwell passed away peacefully at the age of 80 on October 11th in Clear Lake City, Texas. Bill was born on May 3, 1939 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Mary and William Atwell. Bill is survived by his sons Jamie Atwell (Linda) in Rancho Santa Fe, California, Jason Atwell (Carmen) in League City, Texas and daughter Mallory Atwell in London, England. Brother Bud Atwell in Greenfield, Indiana and sister Marilyn Atwell in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bill was a loving grandfather to 8 adoring grandchildren; Alex 17, Ian 16, Adam 15, Allison 14, Ryan 14, Oliver 13, Ava 12, and Ainsley 10. Bill was also a beloved friend, mentor and teacher to countless others who considered him family and loved him deeply. Bill’s love in life was to travel for business or pleasure and was always off on an adventure whether it was giving a speech or visiting family.
Bill was an internationally recognized expert in the field of radiation physics with 40+ years of experience in the areas of space radiation environments, high-energy particle transport through materials, active & passive dosimetry, spacecraft, satellite, and anatomical modeling/shielding analysis, radiation detection instrumentation, biological and physical effects, and related data analyses.
Bill was one of the original members of the NASA JSC Space Radiation Analysis Group. His radiation research supported the NASA JSC Medical Sciences, Space & Life Sciences, and Engineering Directorate; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; NASA Langley Research Center; and the European Space Agency (ESA)/German Space Agency.
Bill has authored over 250 technical and scientific publications. Bill served on the Advisory Board University of Houston, Clear Lake. He was a science advisor/mentor for MS/Ph.D. students at U. of Maryland, U. of Virginia, Colorado State University, USC, and Texas A&M.
Bill received a BS in Physics/Math (English minor), and a MS in Physics/Math from Indiana State University, and was a Ph.D. candidate, Nuclear Engineering, University of Florida. He is the recipient of the Astronaut’s Silver Snoopy Award, Tech Fellowship, and numerous NASA, NATO, AIAA, and SAE/Aerospace awards and commendations.
Bill was extremely active in AA fellowship and was instrumental in establishing the Bay Area Club in 1990 located in League City, Texas. Bill served as the clubs first President and sponsored countless over more than 30 years.
Bills professional contributions are equal to his personal ones and very literally will continue to benefit humanity for generations. He will be dearly missed.
Memorial service will be November 2, 2019 at 1:00 in the afternoon. Bay Area Church. 4800 West Main Street, League City, TX 77573. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Bay Area Christian School and the Clear Creek Club.
My condolences to Bills family and beloved friends I will miss him but always remember him as great friend and mentor to me and others.
Brett Hamner
Seabrook ,TX
He will be greatly missed. Such a loving man.
In peace here rests a traveler’s dust.
His journey’s at an end.
He praiz’d esteem among the just.
A censure from a friend.
Broke loose from Time’s tenacious chains,
And Earth’s revolving gloom.
To range, at large, in vast domains.
Of radiant worlds to come.
Will miss your words of wisdom.
I was so sorry to hear of Bill’s passing. His wife, Denise, was my neice, and I remember meeting them several times a good many years ago at Kemah to celebrate Mallory’s birthday. May God give each of you family members his comfort and peace. From what I have read here, Bill has left an enviable and valuable legacy to many friends, co- workers, and family. My sympathy to you all and may God may God Bless You with many fond memories.
Sincerely,
Helen Barlow
The 3 of us go way, way, back. We love you .
Love Michael and Carla
As Bill’s younger sibling, I enjoyed having “age equality” from my birthday,
April 17, to his, May 3, when we were the same age. I was very proud to be like Bill, even for a few days. I love you, Bill and know your Higher Power has welcomed you in the manner you have always done so for everyone. Marilyn Atwell
Bill and I were friends since we studied at Indiana State University. He would often visit Colorado for a conference in Boulder. and my husband and I would meet him there for an occasional dinner. We so enjoyed our visits with him.
Bill will truly be missed….especially my birthday call from him which he rarely missed. God Speed and God Bless, Bill. The sun is shining much brighter in your honor!
Sending our condolences, Ken & Linda McDonald
There is a big hole at the Creek my friend and my heart aches I am sad I will never hear from you “Shorty, you’ll always be shorty to me.” Thanks for loving me even when I was wrapped around the axle so tight that grease wouldn’t have loosened my chain. Give David Magill & Ra-Ra a big hug from me.
Love you,
Kim Ash aka Shorty💕
An Irish blessing
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rain fall soft upon your field.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Bill Atwell was a dear friend, a mentor, a teacher, an employer, a confidante and so much more to me. I will miss our long talks that were always ended with some sense of revolution or solution. He was a great man that I admired and respected much! He loved his family so much and always had a cute story about one of his boys or his grandchildren after he had visited with them. He was a man that adopted his beautiful granddaughter to be his daughter when she needed Denise and him the most. After Denise died, he raised her the best He could and she never went without. He loved his pets and he was a worldly traveler, interesting and interested in lots. He was a wonderful story teller of others acheivements. He was humble yet had great confidence in life and God!
I will miss him more than you know & love him too. See when I was going through a very difficult time Bill hired me to work for him as his Nanny for his daughter. It was very fulfillimg to me and I never knew what I’d be doing in a day. Rather cleaning, helping her with her homework, yard work, etc. One day Bill even taught me how to mortor bricks and another to power wash.
So sorry to the family and friends for your huge loss. Praying that God put angels around you all. If I am ever a speck of how good a person Bill Atwell was, I will surely see him someday in Heaven!
Bill welcomed my Dad to his very first meeting and helped start our whole family on a path to life in recovery. In the 25 years since, he never failed to ask, “How’s my old friend Sid?”. He also helped me get a lunch time meeting started close to my office so I wouldn’t have to miss too much work or be away from my young ones in the evenings. He taught me to start each day with, “Thank you God for another day alive and sober.” I’ll never forget this most esteemed man who has done so much for so many. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the multitudes of love relatives.
There really are no words that i can write that tells how much Bill meant to me and my family. Without his prodding and coaching there are several life 101 crisis’s i dont know i could have made it thru. Never will you be forgotten Mr. Bill, Dear Friend.
Bill was not only a work associate, but a friend. He was one of the most genuine and dearest men I have ever known. He spoke of his boys dearly and was so proud of both of them. The world is a better place because Bill was in it. I am grateful to have gotten to know him.