Willis C. Goss

Willis C. \u0027Bill\u0027 Goss, 75, of Cottonwood died May 5. He was born January 10, 1931 in Morrisson, Illinois, the son of David and Inez Goss. Bill's family moved to Arizona when he was a young child and he attended elementary school in Prescott, Arizona. His family moved to 12 acres on Oak Creek in Page Springs during his high school years. He attended Arizona State University and graduated from San Jose State, CA in 1955. His family raised their own crops and livestock, which instilled a strong work ethic in Bill. He enjoyed hiking, creek swimming, and archaeological finds in the caves and cliffs of the red rocks. Willis \u0027Bill\u0027 Goss started working for NASA at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on June 6, 1966 and retired on October 1, 1999. He continued to work as a consultant for the Space Interferometry Center until shortly before his death. His illustrious career started with the development of star trackers and the Fiber Optic Rotation Sensor which became the baseline reference for the CRAF Cassini Mission. Prior to his retirement he was the Deputy Manager for the Inteferometry Center of Excellence. He was also the Instrument Manager for the Mars Observer Project, Manager for the Space Technology Research Vehicle 2, and Project Manager of the Optical \u0026 Interferometry Development Laboratory. In addition, he held several project management positions and served on numerous review and advisory boards. Bill received many NASA awards, numerous patents for his inventions, and published several technical papers as well. Bill's exceptional character and professional abilities will long be remembered as we reach beyond the stars. Bill's greatest pleasure was his work with the space program. However he also enjoyed camping with his family in the canyons of Arizona and backpacking with friends and family in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Many summers were spent with his family exploring the back country of Arizona and enjoying the cool waters of Oak Creek. Bill passed his love of the great outdoors onto his children. He enjoyed home improvement projects and had a natural talent for working with wood. As his children grew older, he shared his love of science and the solar system with them. After his retirement, Bill moved back to Arizona and worked actively with the Verde River Citizens Alliance and the North Central Arizona Regional Watershed Consortium to preserve the natural flow and habitat of the Verde River that he loved so much. During this time, Bill was fortunate to meet his wife Anita. They were an inseparable couple and enjoyed working together to save the Verde and to reform water law in Arizona. The designation of the Verde River as a Most Endangered River by American Rivers was a validation of all their efforts with the VRCA. He also enjoyed exploring the Mogollon Rim country of Arizona in his "free" time and purchased a creekside vacation home on the Rim to enjoy the creek, trees, and birds when he wasn't rabble-rousing'. He leaves his wife, Anita R. Goss; two sons, Bruce E. Goss of Sierra Madre, California and Rick L. Goss of Porterville, California; two daughters, Sharon K. (Corky) Gray of Arcadia, California and Terri A. (Reggy) Hartley of Covina, California; stepchildren, David S. (Colleen Kennedy)Foster, Shirley (Lynn) Manning of Los Angeles, Daniel L. Rochelle of Cottonwood and Kelton C. Rochelle of Monrovia, California\u0027 and eight grandchildren. He will be sorely missed in both Arizona and California, yet hugely acknowledged for all that he accomplished. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 am Saturday, May 20th at the Lagoon at Dead Horse State Park. The family asks that live plants be contributed to a memory garden that will be planted privately on his Christopher Creek property. Financial donations may be made to Verde River Citizens Alliance in lieu of flowers. An onlineguestbook is available at www.westcottfuneralhome.com