Allen Duane Catterson

Duane was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1929, and graduated from the University of Colorado Medical School. He served his internship in the United States Air Force and became a flight surgeon. He attended Ohio State University to earn his Masters in Aerospace Medicine and went to work at the newly-formed Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. He served as the Deputy Director of Aerospace Medicine for NASA through the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, caring for the Astronauts and their families. He left NASA in 1972 to form his own company near the newly-built Houston Intercontinental Airport serving as a flight surgeon for the airlines. In his later career, Duane joined the Kelsey-Sebold Clinic as a physician in Preventive Medicine. When retired, Duane mentored second-year medical students at the UT Medical School and was active in the Retired Physicians Organization with its First Response Task Force.

Duane was preceded in death by Charlene, his wife of 64 years, and his eldest son, Donald. Duane is survived by his daughter, MaryCarol, son-in-law, Marc Stearns, son, Allen Catterson, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He will be remembered for his steadfast calm, his sense of humor, and his quiet dignity.

His family asks that he be remembered through prayer and acts of kindness. Any memorial donations may be made to the Houston Humane Society to honor Duane’s love of animals, https://www.houstonhumane.org/(Give)/giving/general-donation .