April 13, 1936 - February 3, 2024
Leroy “Lee” D. Solid of Merritt Island, Florida passed on to his new home in eternity on February 3, 2024. How can we be sure this is true? We are sure because Lee had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and believed by faith in the unbreakable promises of God found in the Bible, that all who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Lee was born April 13, 1936, in his family’s farmhouse in Tuthill, S.D., and lived and worked alongside his three siblings on the family farm for the first 18 years of his life. After graduating from the South Dakota School of Mines, Lee embarked on a remarkable career in the manned spaceflight program that would send a man to the moon in 1969. He would continue his work as VPGM of the group at Rocketdyne managing the Space Shuttle Main Engines program.
More importantly than his career, Lee was a devoted husband married for over 67 years to his wife Shirley and a devoted father to their five children, Pamela, Kelly (Deborah), Kevin (Bonnie), Sheri (Skip), and Stephen (Kristina). He would never miss a ballgame or event. He was also an active grandfather to sixteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Lee was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Alice, his brother Myron, his daughter Pamela and grandson Mark, all there to green him in his new eternal home.
Lee is survived by two sisters; Marilyn Rayhill (Leland), Tuthill, and LaDeane Parker (Robert), Merced, Cali.
Lee’s favorite song was “The King is Coming.”
O the King is Coming, the King is coming. I just heard the trumpets sounding, and now HIs face I see. O the King is coming, the King is coming. Praise God, He’s coming for me.
Lee’s prayer and desire were for all his children and grandchildren to come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Lee’s most important legacy lives on.