Henry William “Hank” Veverica, of Wayland (Gun Lake) has died at the age of 88.Born in Durand Mich., Henry was the son of Andrew and Margaret Veverica of Muskegon. He attended Muskegon Heights High School and after graduation enlisted in the Air Force (called the Army Air Corps at the time). “Once the bad guys knew I was coming,” he often quipped, “they surrendered, so the war was over before I went into the service.”
His enlistment lasted three years, and took him to various bases throughout Germany and France. Having attended junior college and graduating from Valparaiso Technical Institute, he spent his entire career in aviation, working for several Bill Lear companies- Lear Inc., Lear Astronics, Lear Sigler and Lear Jet (JET Electronics and Technology) in Grand Rapids where he retired as vice president of engineering in 1992.
During his 41 years with the Lear Companies, Hank worked primarily with the design and development of a variety of avionics equipment and autopilot systems for both military and commercial aircraft, most notably the Lear Jet. His responsibilities included the supervision of equipment and autopilot systems for the Gates Learjet, Gates Twin Jet Helicopter and other high performance aircraft.
While at Lear Astronics, Hank led the skunkworks team which designed the autopilot for the U-2 spy plane. This was his finest achievement and the proudest moment of his career. He was appointed Lear’s engineering representative and relocated his California based family to Germany for 18 months. The family lived in Munich while he worked with various aircraft manufacturers such as SAAB of Sweden and Fiat of Italy.
With his extensive career in aviation, Hank was fortunate to become friends with such notable characters as Bill Lear, Francis Gary Powers, Neil Armstrong, and numerous test pilots in the early 1960s. He was present for the infamous “frozen chicken test” conducted on the Lear Jet’s windshield at their Wichita location.
When he retired in 1992, Hank went to work part-time for a Tucson-based company, Secureaplane, partly owned by longtime friend Dick Lukso. The company designed and built security systems for executive jets and backup electrical power systems for many aircraft.
Hank also did some consulting work for NASA for an autopilot replacement program for the B57D bombers. He was proud to be one of the few engineers still alive who had a working knowledge of these systems. Hank was instrumental in the genesis of the electrical engineering programs at two local universities. He was a Founding Father of the Grand Valley School of Engineering, and served on the Electrical Department Advisory Committee for Ferris State.
Hank is survived by an extensive family: his wife of 45 years, Sandra Kay Veverica (nee Dykstra); nine children and stepchildren: Joseph Veverica (Connie), Karen Veverica (Roeloff), Diane Hart (Joseph), Linda Straayer (James), Patricia Veverica (Bruce, dec.), Annette Culbertson, Ann Levine (Michael), Kimberly Robinson (Greg) and Stephen Veverica. He leaves behind 14 grandchildren: Leslie, Joseph, Nicolas, Annie, Tim, Clifton, Garrett, Lauren, Anna, Gabriel, Jordan, Andrew, Diane, and Austin. He also leaves behind three great grandchildren in Wasilla, Alaska: Lincoln, Alana, and Hunter.
Hank’s family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, with a scripture service at 7:30 p.m. at the Beeler-Gores Funeral Home, Middleville and from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at Holy Family Catholic Church, Caledonia. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at Holy Family Catholic Church. Private entombment will be in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital will be appreciated. Please visit www.beelergoresfuneral to sign the guest book, share a memory or to leave a condolence message for Hank’s family.
