Obituary of James Lee Long

James “Jim” Lee Long, 78, passed away Thursday, June 29, 2017.  Jim was born two miles south of Galveston in Howard County, Indiana on January 1, 1939.  He was the son of Kenneth Lawrence Long and Audrey Glen Long.  Jim was named after his uncle Jim Fawcett and his brother, Lee Fawcett.  He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Shirley Long; son, David L. Long; sister, Judy Lynn Strunk; and a host of other family and dear friends.

Jim graduated from Eastern High School before attending Indiana University where he earned his Bachelor Degree.  He loved the Boy Scouting program and was active his entire life. Jim started in scouting when he joined a troop in Greentown, Indiana and was active with Scout Troop 464 in Pearland for many years.  He was a member of Greentown Masonic Lodge No. 341, F. & A. M. for over 50 years.  Jim enjoyed his career at NASA and was an original member of the 140 that were in the Space Task Group formed by President Dwight David Eisenhower in 1960.  He moved to Texas with the Space Task Group, which later became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on January 1, 1962.  During his 40 years at N.A.S.A., Jim worked on the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs.  He retired from N.A.S.A. in 2000 after 40 years of service.  Jim’s interests and hobbies included Scouting and model railroading, with the Lone Star Region of the National Model Railroading Association.  He was a Master Model Railroader.  Jim had a small collection of John Deere tractors.  His true passion however was his family.  Jim was a loving husband and father that cherished time with his family.  Jim will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Jim’s honor to Boy Scout Troop 464 at First United Methodist Church Pearland, 2314 N. Grand Blvd., Pearland, Texas 77581.  Services for Jim will be held at Clayton Funeral home, 5530 W. Broadway, Pearland, Texas 77581.  The visitation will be held Wednesday, July 5, 2017 from 6:00 until 8:00 pm.  The funeral service will take place Thursday, July 6, 2017 at 11:00 am in the chapel at the funeral home.  Interment will be held at Guiceland Cemetery in Crockett, Texas on Friday, July 7, 2017.