Obituary of David Wesley Staup

David Wesley Staup of Granbury, TX, 65, passed away on September 22, 2016 in Ft. Worth, TX. David was born in South Bend, IN on April 15, 1951 to his mother Lorraine and father Raymond, both deceased. He is survived by his daughter Jamie, her husband Jonathan and his grandchildren Madeline and Miranda, as well as his sister Debbie. David was a talented engineer by trade, often referred to as “the professor” in his work. His love for learning, research and teaching was overarching. He spent many years as a youth coach and found great joy in teaching and mentoring anyone who would allow him to do so. His love for science was deep, though his biggest passion was the wonder of outer space. David was a pioneer in modern amateur astrophotography, including being published in Sky & Telescope magazine in 2003. In lieu of a traditional memorial, David will have his dream of visiting space fulfilled; his remains will be launched on the Heritage flight into earth orbit as a passenger on the Orbital Test Bed satellite, launching from Cape Canaveral, FL in 2017. Memorial donations can be made in David’s name to the McDonald Observatory at UT Austin, located at McDonald Observatory Annual Fund, 2609 University Avenue A2100, Austin, TX 78712 or online at https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/support/annual_fund.