The Wiki page says ‘(1918 - ?)’, which suggests that the author does not know if Truax is still alive. It also says he ‘is now married to Marisol Truax’, which implies that he is still alive.
Where is he now?
I was a big Truax worshipper when I was a kid, having seen him on the TV show ‘Real People’ and in an article in Omni magazine. I looked up his number and and called him up. I got the answering machine and left a message and, believe it or not, he actually called me back! We talked about rocketry for maybe 20 or 30 minutes (well, he did most of the talking, I was too starstruck to say much of anything intelligible :)).
Anyway a year or two later while visiting my dad in California I went down and visited Bob at his rocket headquarters (actually his two car garage), which held various engines, test equipment, machinery etc. He took pity on me and let me hang around the place in sorta a gopher/intern/fanboy position over the summer.
I haven’t talked with him in many years, but apparently he’s still alive, however not in the best of health. This thread form collectspace.com indicates that the Discovery Channel is doing a documentary about him to be aired later this year or early next year.
The Dead People Server does not mention him, alive or dead. Since the dpsinfo guy tracks obits, that suggests, (does not prove), that Mr. Truax has not yet died.
Dropping “robert c truax obituary” into Google™ dos not turn up anything on the first couple of pages.
Well if you do, let him know people remember him.
Hope this isn’t an unacceptable bump (especially since it’s probably only of interest to Johnny and me), but I’ve just learned that Bob Truax passed away a few days ago at the age of 93:
His family has set up a facebook page where some of the various people that knew him have posted photos and memories of Bob. A longer obituary can be found here.
Robert Truax was one of a kind. Brilliant and dedicated to advancing mankind into space, he none-the-less never took himself too seriously. He had a great sense of humor and was always ready to share a funny quip or story about his fascinating career. It’s only recently that we’re seeing the possibility of cheaper and more widespread access to space, something the Bob had been advocating and working towards since the 1960’s.
The time I spent with him was a highlight of my life and I’m greatly saddened by his passing.
I knew who he was just from the thread title. RIP
Sad to hear. But he had a good run, and he lived to see the beginnings of private space flight.
Edit: I corrected his date of death on the Wiki page (they had the 21st), and added his date of birth (3 September – the year had previously been corrected).
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Sorry for the hijack but my first thought was that Truax Field (Dane County Wisconsin Regional Airport - Madison, Wisconsin) was named after Robert Truax but not so according to Wikipedia:
They really ought to shoot Truax’s ashes into space. That would be the karmically right thing to do.
One more bump of this old thread because I recently read Truax’s autobiography, ‘American Rocketman’. It was a very engaging book, and Bob lived a fascinating life. He covers nearly all the way until the end of his life, with his son providing an epilogue to wrap things up.
He was an entertaining storyteller when I knew him, and he is throughout the book as well. As interesting as the rocketry portions of his story are, the rest of his life are every bit as enjoyable. As a child He literally lived in a log cabin built by his father in the remote woods of northern California.