Walter Thomas McCluggage, Jr., 87 of Greenwood, passed away on February 23, 2021 in his home with his wife and daughters at his side.
Walter was born on January 20, 1934 in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee to the late Vona and Walter McCluggage Sr. He was the fourth child of eight and worked very hard on the farm with his parents and siblings. He graduated from Lawrence County High School and went on to join the United States Air Force (This was during the Korean War). He studied to become an Electric Engineering Technician. He also worked in the "Mess Hall" cooking during basic training.
After the Air Force, he returned to Lawrenceburg and began dating Patsy Jane Davis, who he met at the Dairy Dip. They later married on June 2, 1957. Walter started working at NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, where he worked on missiles that went to the moon. They had four daughters while living in Huntsville, Alabama.
When he left NASA in 1968, he took a job at General Motors in Indianapolis, Indiana as an Electrical Engineering Technician working with lasers and holograms before anyone knew what holograms were. He had a very strong work ethic that he instilled in his children.
Walter is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Patsy Jane (Davis) McCluggage; four daughters, Melissa Denise Graham, Jane Karen (Ken) Smith, Jennifer Lynn (Bobby) Clancy, and Sandra Jean McCluggage; ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Shirley Anne Sturgis and his brother, Wallace McCluggage.
Walter is preceded in death by Opal McCain, Doris French, Joyce Dean McCluggage, Hollis McCluggage, Virgil Ray McCluggage, and great-granddaughter, Tali Brigham.
His memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 27, 2021 at Heartland Church of Christ in Greenwood, Indiana at 2:00 PM. At a future date he will be taken to Tennessee to his family gravesite for burial.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Walter McCluggage was a humble man. If he were here, I am sure he would be wondering "why everyone was making such a fuss" he was and is greatly loved by his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.