Obituary of Donald Max Seib

Donald Max Seib Rocket Scientist and Master Angler Fisherman Donald Max Seib, age 93, passed peacefully in Melbourne, FL, on March 8, 2022. The only child of German immigrants, Max Joseph Seib and Antonia Barbara Krach, Don was born in Summit, NJ on July 8, 1928. Don was raised in Whitehouse Township, NJ, and matriculated at Lafayette College, in Easton, PA, where he graduated with a bachelor’s of science in electrical engineering in 1949. Don loved his family dearly and was well-loved and respected by them in return. He was a life-long learner and avid reader and fostered these values in his children. He is survived by his wife and love of 56 years, Nancy Seib (née Strange), children, Barbara Seib Ingold (Craig), Katrina Seib, Janet Seib Wilcox (Jeff), Mark Seib (Ted), and Hope Seib McMaster, as well as five grandchildren, Katrina Steele, Samantha Ingold, Kim Ingold, Lily McMaster, and Darwin McMaster. Don was an avid sport fisherman, well-known and respected throughout Brevard County. His fishing adventures began as a teenager at Beaver Brook and lasted to his retirement from commercial fishing in Port Canaveral, FL, in May 2011. Don had an undeniable, thorough knowledge of the Florida coastal fishing waters. He was a member of Cape Canaveral’s Florida Sport Fishing Association and was awarded the rank of Master Angler in August 1978. Don authored and illustrated most of the association’s fishing handbook and served as their president for several years. His “best day ever” was when he caught 1,048 lbs. of king mackerel in a single day. Don was a true rocket scientist. He served two years in the Army during the Korean War as an engineering specialist working on electronic transmission interception at Ft. Hancock in Sandy Hook, NJ. At the end of the Korean War, Don worked for the ARMA division of American Bosch in Seattle, WA, designing the B52 tail-defense system. It was while he worked for ARMA that Don was first introduced to the inertial guidance system that had been designed for the Titan Ballistic Missile. ARMA sent Don to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1959, to lay out the checkout laboratory for the new guidance system thus beginning his 45-year career as a rocket scientist. He joined the TITAN launch team in 1968, and for the rest of his career, supported launch missions featuring all variants of the TITAN from the TITAN IIIC through the TITAN IVB working first as a contractor on each missile shot to eventually as a civilian for the U.S. Air Force. After 40 years as a member of the Air Force’s 3 SLS and Titan program, Don retired at the age of 75½ years old in conjunction with the TITAN IVB-39 mission. This mission, named SEIB in his honor, was to place the Defense Support Program 22 (DSP-22) spacecraft into a predetermined orbit like the other satellites in the DSP constellation. The spacecraft, designed to detect and report missile launches, space launches, and nuclear detonations, was successfully launched on February 14, 2004. Fondly referred to as “Seibassaurus” by the 3rd SLS, this successful mission was a fitting end to an illustrious career by a man who dedicated his work to the safety of our nation. Honoring Don’s wishes, his ashes will be scattered at sea in an intimate family gathering. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to The National Parks Foundation at https://www.nationalparks.org/. The family has requested no flowers.