|
Thomas Raymond ‘Tom’ Shukay
was born on December 12, 1932 in St. Paul, MN. His grandfather was a
Polish immigrant who processed through Ellis Island at the turn of
the century. Tom’s father, Raymond, settled in St. Paul, during the
Great Depression. He and his wife Albina had three children; Joan,
Tom, and Sue.
Tom attended Mechanic Arts High School and St. Thomas Military
Academy, graduating fifth in his class. He entered West Point
through a competitive Honor Military School appointment.
In addition to making the Dean’s list, Tom was a member of the
Gymnastics Team, Glee Club, Debate Council, Catholic Chapel Choir,
Ski Club, Math Forum, Fishing Club, Russian Club, Weight Lifting
Club, and Camera Club. He enjoyed playing the accordion, painting
and playing handball.
In the summer of 1953, following his third year, he was assigned to
the 3rd Armored Division at Fort Knox, KY as a Basic Training
Platoon Leader under the Recruit Training Detail Program. He taught
more than 100 recruits fundamental military skills, including firing
range practice with the M1 rifle, the BAR, and physical
conditioning.
Upon graduation in 1954, he joined the U.S. Air Force and entered
the flight training program with several follow-up assignments:
primary flight training (PA-18, AT6), Stallings Field, Kinston, NC;
Basic Training (T-28, T-33), Greenville Air Force Base (AFB), MI;
Advanced Flight Training (F86D), Tyndall AFB, Panama City, FL; 323rd
Fighter Interceptor Squadron (F-86D, F102A), Truax Field, Madison,
WI, which was relocated to Ernest Harmon AFB, Stephenville,
Newfoundland. On completion of this tour in 1959, he was assigned to
MIT graduate school, Cambridge, MA, graduating with an MS and EAA in
aeronautics and astronautics in June 1961.
Next, he was with the Space Systems Division, Research and
Development Command in Inglewood, CA, and El Segundo Air Force
Station. As Technical Research Director for advanced space
propulsion systems, including nuclear and ion engines, his group
developed and completed three ballistic space tests of a prototype
cesium-ion engine launched from Vandenberg AFB, CA and demonstrated
ion engine operation in space with a nuclear power source.
Tom married his first wife, Wanda, in 1963. The couple had two
children, Joe and Suzanne.
Injuries from an aircraft accident affected Tom’s flying status,
and, after accumulating more than 1,700 hours of flight time as a
single engine jet fighter pilot, he transferred to the Air Force
Reserve in October 1965 as a Mobilization Day Foreign Intelligence
Officer with the rank of captain. He provided intelligence analysis
of Soviet space activity for the Space Systems Division in El
Segundo and later for the Electronic Systems Division at Hanscom
Field, Burlington, MA. He continued this assignment until his
reserve retirement in 1976 as a lieutenant colonel, with active
duty/reserve service of 22 years.
After leaving active duty in 1965, he joined Hughes Aircraft Company
at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, CA to pursue advanced
space propulsion research and development activities. He was the
author of numerous scientific papers on space propulsion systems. He
also received an MBA from Pepperdine University in June 1974.
In 1979, he was manager for telecommunications for Hughes Aircraft
in Washington, DC, working on Intelsat satellites, Air Force
airborne radars, the NASA shuttle program, and classified satellite
programs. He witnessed the first shuttle landing at Edwards AFB, CA.
Returning to Hughes in El Segundo from Washington, DC in 1982, he
became involved in the production and management of satellite
development for both civilian and military applications.
Tom married Suzan Henriksen in September 1988 with a gala
celebration on Catalina Island. They had met during a Gilbert and
Sullivan Operetta rehearsal in which both participated. He also
started a building business, with Suzan as business manager, and
developed and built more than 200 homes and home sites in California
and later in Colorado Springs, CO. Tom continued his active music
interest and with Suzan performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City
and in many Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas and sang with the
Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra chorus.
During his downtime, Tom began an exciting sailboat racing career,
participating in competitive off-shore, blue water, long distance
sailboat cruising and racing, eventually traveling over 20,000 miles
at sea. He “bare boat” chartered on Tonga, Fiji, the Whitsunday
Islands (off the coast of Queensland, Australia), and in the
Caribbean. After retiring from the building business in 2000, he
sailed his boat from Los Angeles to the South Pacific, fulfilling a
dream held since childhood and visited Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga,
New Caledonia, and New Zealand along the way. After this nine-month
South Pacific trip, he and his wife settled in San Pedro, CA, where
he took up his interest in art, producing glass sculpture.
Tom’s memberships included the American Rocket Society, the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the National Home
Builders Association, the San Pedro Bay Historical Society, the Los
Angeles Maritime Institute. He also served on the board of the Los
Angeles Marine Museum.
Although he never saw combat, Tom was proud of his service to his
country. He helped defend the U.S. mainland during the Cold War with
vigilance and by flying live-ammunition daily sorties despite brutal
weather, zero-zero visibility, blowing snow, and icy runways. The
skills of his fellow pilots and the camaraderie engendered
continually amazed him. Tom was truly grateful for the West Point
experience which was the root from which bred his accomplishments
and many wondrous experiences. He was immensely proud of his family
who supported him along the way. |
