Jerry Irvine passed away October 17, 2023 in Nashville, TN. Jerry was a long-time presence in the field of rocketry. He was a successful salesman for Composite Dynamics often appearing at Lucerne Dry Lake with a briefcase with a mess of rocket engines inside. Often associated with Larry Teebken, John Davis, Dave Griffith, and Gary Rosenfield, Jerry could get those composite motor orders in and sell them to rocket people whom you could say weren’t ordinary stiffs. People came from all over the USA who wanted to rummage through Jerry’s briefcase. He knew the psyche of rocket peeps and they knew his. It was related to me that Jerry was an amazing salesman, he seems to have been a natural wonder. Korey Kline, of K2Hybrids, reflected that Jerry had lots of crazy ideas, but helped the rocket community, and possessed an R&D heart.

It has been reported that in the early 70’s he was a member of the Claremont Rocket Society and the NAR Polaris Section headquartered in Claremont, California. He made the occasional appearance at Reaction Research Society’s 40 acre Mojave Test Area in Cantil, CA according to Dave Crisalli. It’s also been documented that Jerry reached out privately to those who needed money to pursue their dreams. May he rest in peace.

Larry Hoffing/Treasurer/RRS.ORG (Est ‘43)

11/29/23