posted 12-21-2025 06:36 PM               

A brief biographical sketch from the documentary "Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo":

Bostick grew up in rural Mississippi, and served as a Congressional page and doorman in the House of Representatives in Washington D.C. during his high school years. After joining NASA in 1962, Bostick worked in the Mission Planning and Analysis Division before becoming a flight controller. In the years to come, Bostick was an ever-present force in Mission Control as head of "The Trench."

Retiring from NASA in 1984, Bostick went to work for Grumman Aerospace Corporation. He would also serve as a consultant on the blockbuster film "Apollo 13" directed by Hollywood icon Ron Howard.

posted 12-24-2025 11:48 AM               

He was born June 9, 1939, in Golden, Mississippi to Orville and Lois Creel Bostick, the second of two children. He graduated as Valedictorian from Capitol Page School, Washington DC, in 1957, after serving as a Page/Doorman in the US House of Representatives. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a BS degree in Civil Engineering, class of 1961. From 1962 through 1968, Jerry was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Reserve, assigned to NASA.

He worked at the NASA Langley Research Center as a structural engineer before the life-changing opportunity to be a part of the United States' ambitious manned space program. He transferred to Houston in early 1962, serving as a mission planner/flight controller for the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs, notably as a Flight Dynamics Officer (FIDO) in "the Trench" of Mission Control in the historic Apollo 11 moon-landing mission.

From 1973 to 1975, he moved to NASA Headquarters in Washington DC and served as Assistant Executive Secretary to the NASA Administrator and later as Director of Energy Technology Applications and Special Assistant for Programs in the Office of Energy Programs.

He returned to the Johnson Space Center in 1975 to work on the Space Shuttle Program, serving in many roles including Chief, Technical Planning Office; Manager, Payload Deployment and Retrieval Systems; Deputy Manager, Space Transportation Systems; and Director of Mission Support.

In 1985, Jerry left NASA to become Grumman Aerospace Corporation's Vice President, Space Systems Division, responsible for all Grumman civil space programs. After 11 years there, he went to work at United Space Alliance, the contractor responsible for Space Shuttle Operations, as Assistant Program Manager.

Upon his retirement, Jerry moved to Marble Falls, Texas to enjoy lake life and embarked on an invigorating new career opportunity to share his knowledge in Hollywood. He served as a Technical Consultant for several high-profile space-related feature films and television series, including "Apollo 13," "Armageddon," and the Emmy award-winning HBO television series "From the Earth to the Moon." He was later featured in several documentaries including "The Century with Peter Jennings," "Failure Is Not An Option," "Race To The Moon," "The Daring Adventure of Apollo 8," and "Earthrise: The First Lunar Voyage."

He wrote his life story in the memoir "The Kid from Golden: From the Cotton Fields of Mississippi to NASA Mission Control and Beyond" and co-authored, along with his fellow mission controllers, "From the Trench of Mission Control to the Craters of the Moon."

He received numerous NASA awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom Group Achievement Award for Apollo 13. He served on the University of Houston/Clear Lake Advisory Board, the University of Texas Aerospace Engineering Visiting Committee, and the Mississippi State University Research Advisory Committee. He also was a Charter Commissioner of the Texas Space Commission and a Charter Member of the Texas Space Grant Board of Directors. In 2019 he was designated a Living Legacy by the Texas Historical Association.

Funeral will take place at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 1803 Hwy 1431 W, Marble Falls, Texas on Sunday, December 28 at 2:00pm, and livestreamed.

Burial will follow at Lakeland Hills Memorial Park, 4219 Park Road 4 South, Burnet, Texas, followed by a reception at Double Horn Brewing Company, 208 Avenue H, Marble Falls, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Peter's Building to Bless Fund or Youth Fund at stpetersmarblefalls.org or to St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 1803 Hwy 1431 W. Marble Falls, TX 78654.