William “Bill” Reed Avent, passed away at the age of 84 on November 1, 2019. He was born to Mary and Benjamin Avent on September 25, 1935 in Houston, Texas where he remained a life-long resident.

Bill served his country in the Texas Air National Guard. He graduated from Rice University in 1957.  He was employed in the aerospace industry for 40 years and retired from United Space Alliance. During his career he received many recognitions for his dedicated service to human space flight.  He was recognized for his work on the success of the Apollo 11 mission, the Skylab Program, and the Space Shuttle “Columbia”.  He received the ALT award for his contribution to the success of the Space Shuttle orbiter “Enterprise” and worked on developing the software for the Space Shuttle Simulator.  He was honored by NASA with an award recognizing his dedication, commitment to excellence and achievements in support of the space program.


Bill is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Benjamin Gordon Avent.


Bill is survived by his wife of 52 years, Maria Michel Avent; daughters: Diana Avent Muscanere, husband Sam and Jeannette Mercedes Avent and Jan Fry; grandchildren: Michael Scott Liska and David James Avent; sister, Rosemary Avent Brown.