[July 22, 2011] Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Steve Brandt column Tweet Jul 22, 2011 (Star Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- When John Trones was a child, his father, Duane, was an electrical engineer working for Honeywell, but that job carried a little extra cachet. "I had the fun of telling my friends that my father really was a rocket scientist," said the younger Trones. Duane Trones died of pneumonia on July 15 in Edina. He was 84, and had suffered from dementia. The elder Trones working on a laser gyro guidance system for the Apollo moon missions, as well as later space projects. His son recalled him bringing home a model of the Apollo capsule and pointing out the components he'd worked on with Honeywell. "There was a considerable responsibility because there was only going to be [one] shot at it when you fired off that space shuttle booster," said Bob Kopp, a colleague of Trones for decades. Trones worked for Honeywell for 47 years, including some consulting projects after his retirement. One of his jobs there was in reliability engineering, which involved studying ways that products failed, and how to minimize those failures. "He had one of those analytical engineering minds," Trones said. Honeywell cited him for excellence in engineering. Trones also was not a man for idling. "He had this tremendous sense of work ethic, unlike anyone I've ever known, whether it was working on a top-secret project or fixing up our cabin," his son said, recalling how his father helped him to renovate a warehouse-area living space. "He wasn't the guy who wanted to kick back on the porch and relax." Faith was also important to Trones. He was a founding member of Oak Hill Church, a Lutheran Brethren congregation, and his father built its original church. After retirement, Trones often went to college campuses, distributing Bibles and evangelizing with Gideons International. "He would not hesitate to share his faith with others," John Trones said. "He was really one of those guys who treated other people the way he wanted to be treated." He is also survived by his wife of 63 years, Cordelia (Corky), of Edina; daughters Mary Beth Carlson, of Eden Prairie, Debra Trones Becker, of Chanhassen, and Julie Trones, of Eden Prairie; a sister, Elaine McGuire, of Bloomington; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Albin Chapel, 6855 Rowland Rd. Eden Prairie. His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Oak Hill Church, 8901 France Av. S.. Bloomington. Steve Brandt --612-673-4438 To see more of the Star Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.startribune.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Star Tribune, Minneapolis Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]