MechSE alumnus James Loos (BSME ’51, MSME ’52) passed away on March 24, 2022. He was 92.
When the Illinois football team made it into the 1952 Rose Bowl, Mr. Loos and his college friends traveled to Pasadena, California, to see the game in person. The fantastic weather convinced him that California was the place for him. He moved there after graduation, accepting a position at Convair Aeronautics (later General Dynamics) in San Diego.
Mr. Loos was an aerospace engineer for his entire career. After General Dynamics, he took a position with Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California, in 1963, and stayed there for the remainder of his career. He worked on some of the first turbo jet engine designs, advanced weapon systems, and then ended his career working on the fuel system of the space shuttle and on the International Space Station.
He always kept in touch with the Illinois alumni association and went on several alumni trips. He led “50 miler” backpack trips with the Boy Scouts and high school groups, and continued backpacking with his kids and friends until his mid-60s. He spent his years in retirement working with Habitat for Humanity, traveling the world, and making it to all continents, including Antarctica.
Jim’s beloved wife, Evelyn, passed in 2006.