Shuttle astronaut of Warren dies at 56

Memorial contributions can be made to the YSU Foundation, Dr. Ronald A. Parise Scholarship Fund.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — Two-time space shuttle astronaut Ronald A. Parise, 56, a Warren native and noted graduate of the Warren City Schools and Youngstown State University, has died.

His spaceflight experience was on Shuttle Columbia (Dec. 2-10, 1990) and Shuttle Endeavor (March 2–18, 1995). He had a lifelong love for astronomy and amateur radio.

His death Friday was confirmed by Richard Pirko, the show producer at the Youngstown State University planetarium. The former astronaut had been in poor health for about three years and died of complications of a brain tumor in Silver Spring, Md., where he made his home.

Frank H. Bauer, chairman of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station International program, also noted Parise’s death after a long battle with cancer.

“Ron Parise was — and continues to be — an inspiration to countless students, ham radio operators, and friends the world over,” Bauer said. “While he certainly did some truly extraordinary things in his lifetime, Ron Parise is best known and cherished for keeping family and friends first ... and for this, we will miss him most.”

Pirko said Parise had been a member of the astronomy club at YSU through his teen and college years, and had returned from time to time, when he’d visit his parents in Warren.

An amateur interest in astronomy eventually led to much bigger things.

“He was one of the first astronomers to use a telescope in space, because there are certain types of observation that you can’t do from the ground,” Pirko explained.

As a youth, Parise built an infrared laser. His father, Henry, was a ham radio operator, so Ron grew up in that environment of working around electronics, said Warren Young, who was chairman of the YSU Physics Department for 25 years, retiring 21‚Ñ2 years ago.

“We hired him as planetarium technician for all four years he was at the university,” said Young, of Farmdale.

He was not just a good student in the classroom; he was also great at repairing equipment, making him an ideal astronaut.

For example, in his first flight in space, the computer that operated the telescope failed, and Parise, who was also one of the telescope designers, was able to adjust and operate it manually, Young said.

Young said he has remained in close contact with Parise throughout the years and had visited him this year at Easter.

“He was the perfect person to be an astronaut. He didn’t get upset and was calm and collected and easy to get along with. Ron did not have a big ego. He was a down-to-earth and friendly human being, and good father and family man,” Young said.

Before the tumor, Parise had 20-20 vision, and had good health and everything going for him. At Easter, he couldn’t talk or walk, Young said.

“We were very, very proud of him,” his father Henry said. Henry Parise and his wife, Cathryn, still live in Warren.

“He was an astronaut. When he went out in the evening with friends, we never worried. Anytime anybody in the crowd got any crazy ideas, he’d leave,” his father said.

Parise was born May 24, 1951, in Warren and married the former Cecelia Sokol of Youngstown; they have two children.

He graduated in 1969 from Western Reserve High School; he was inducted in 1993 to the Warren High Schools Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. He enjoyed amateur radio, flying, scuba diving, sailing, hiking and camping.

In 1973 he received his bachelor of science degree in physics, with minors in mathematics, astronomy, and geology at YSU. In 1977, he received a master of science degree in astronomy, and in 1979, a doctor of philosophy degree in astronomy, both from the University of Florida.

He was a member of several organizations including the American Astronomical Society and Association of Space Explorers. Awards and honors include the NASA Space Flight Medal and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from YSU in 1996.

After graduation in 1979, Parise accepted a position at Operations Research Inc. where he was involved in developing avionics requirements definitions and performing failure mode analyses for several NASA missions. In 1980 he began work at Computer Sciences Corp.

In 1981 he began work on the development of a new Spacelab experiment called the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. His responsibilities involved flight hardware and software development, electronic system design, and mission planning activities. In 1984 he was selected by NASA as a payload specialist in support of the newly formed Astro mission series.

During his 12 years as a payload specialist, he was involved in mission planning, simulator development, integration and test activities, flight procedure development, and scientific data analysis, in addition to his flight crew responsibilities for the Astro program.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Church of The Resurrection, 3315 Greencastle Road, Burtonsville, Md. Friends may call at the Francis J. Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Blvd. West, Silver Spring, Md., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the YSU Foundation, Dr. Ronald A. Parise Scholarship Fund.