On a warm, sunny morning in October in the live oak covered hills of Southern California, an amazing man closed his eyes for the last time. Carl James Dorrenbacher, Jim to those who knew him, is survived by his loving wife Judy, children (Stephany, John, Randi and Teri), two stepchildren (Sarah and Mark), ten grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, and three great great grandchildren. He was preceded in passing by his parents and stepson Tim.

Born 1928 in South Bend Indiana, to German immigrant Carl Dorrenbacher and Danish immigrant Carla Carlson, on the eve of the Great Depression, Jim grew up through difficult times, yet was a bright and hard working boy who had an avid interest in "how things tick," I'm sure much to the chagrin of his parents when he would take apart whatever electronics he came across (luckily, he was able to put them back together). Those early years taught Jim to work hard, value all he had, and find joy in the simple things in life.

Jim was a precocious teenager and, with his mother's stern encouragement and the support of his favorite math teacher Ms. Clark, he found an interest in math and engineering and pushed himself to learn, grow, and excel. That tenacity earned him acceptance to Purdue University at the age of 17. Jim worked to pay for school, all the while excelling in his classes (stopping to play a few pranks along the way) and earned his "double e" as he would have called it, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1949. Of course Jim didn't stop there, continuing on to the University of Illinois to complete his Masters in Electrical Engineering in 1950, only a year later.

As Jim left school he thought to himself, "who wants to live in the big city?" So rather than looking to the big electronics companies of the East and Midwest, he decided to roll the dice and look out West to the budding aerospace companies. He landed himself a job at Douglas Aircraft Co. and found himself in White Sands, NM working on the Nike Missile Program. He spent those early exciting years of his career "working and playing hard in the desert." Three years later Jim was even further West in Santa Monica, CA working on the next generation Nike Air Defense Systems. In 1956, he moved on to work on the recently won Thor Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile contract, helping drive the program to fruition just "four years from drawing board to launch pad," something that hadn't ever been accomplished before.

A self described "calculated risk taker," Jim shifted his career in 1961, moving his focus from weapons to space as chief engineer for Douglas Space Programs working on the Delta Rocket Launch Vehicle, only a year later becoming director of Douglas Manned Space Programs. As he grew his career in aerospace and astronautics he found a great deal of fulfillment in "always doing something no one had ever done before." Throughout this era of his career he had the opportunity to bring his unique engineering perspective and progressive leadership to a variety of projects and programs that changed the landscape of the American aerospace industry including work on a host of iconic programs from the manned space station, the Apollo program, Space Station Freedom, Space Lab, the Shuttle program, the launch of the Telstar Satellite to the reinvention of the Delta Rocket business following the Challenger tragedy into a commercial satellite launching business.

Always a charismatic and engaging man, during those years Jim also found a strong passion and knack for leadership. He was a "square-deal" kind of man, always wanting to leave any interaction, with everyone from a janitor to an engineer to a government official or an industry tycoon, "feeling that [he] dealt with it fairly." Jim once said, "sometimes...when you are just charging ahead toward certain objectives..you forget about the people." His honest care for the human element of industry and progress led him to continue the growth of his career down the executive path. From 1962 to 1975, he grew through various Vice President roles including VP of Product Development and VP of Advanced Systems and Technology. During that time, his leadership skills were invaluable in maintaining progress and growth through the merger of Douglas Aircraft Company and McDonnell Aircraft in 1967. In 1975, Jim became VP of engineering at McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company (MDAC) and moved on to the role of VP - General Manager of MDAC and Executive Vice President of MDAC in 1987.

Jim's leadership hinged on his continual growth as a "changing boss" and he stayed vehemently focused on the idea that "what we do in the future can be better than what we did in the past." This focus enabled him to successfully oversee activities across the company as well as roll up his sleeves and dig in to the details when needed as he did to save programs such as the AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter project and the development of the C-17 Military Transport Aircraft. Purdue University School of Engineering described Jim as "a true professional engineer, a visionary planner and leader..., an innovative and humanistic manager, a futuristic pioneer of the space program" when awarding him a Doctorate of Engineering honoris causa in 1989. In 1990, he was elected Executive Vice President of the parent corporation McDonnell Douglas Corp. Following his retirement in 1993, Jim continued to support the growth and evolution of not only the aerospace industry but also the evolution of McDonnell Douglas Corp, helping to facilitate the company's merger with Boeing in 1997.

Throughout all his professional growth and success, Jim also found the time to raise two families and nurture his personal sense of adventure by fully enjoying life, working on his golf swing, traveling, good food, the theater, and a glass of good scotch. He once said, "it has always been rush rush. That's why I never had time to be bored," which surely held true throughout his life whether he was at work or at play.