Jim was a pioneer and hero, plus he was a lot of fun to grow up with and be around. He was the son of John Aungst, Sr. and Jeanette Grusckiewicz Andrews … pioneers and heroes in their own rights.
Jim had an older brother and sister, John Jr. and Susan, who were all born between 1957 and 1960. John and Susan started blaming their little brother for stuff the day he came home from the hospital. They pointed to his crib when their Mom asked who screwed up the TV. It was going to be a tough road for Jim.
The family’s early childhood was spent in Buffalo NY and Lakewood OH, a suburb of Cleveland. In elementary school they moved to Gulf Breeze FL, a suburb of Pensacola. So, they got to experience the snow in their childhood and the beach in their wonder years.
Their Dad, a Naval aviator and Industrial Engineer, introduced them to their first telescope on their rooftop in Ohio. It was the most magical and wonderous tool they had ever seen or used. Even better than the kaleidoscope! The four of them stayed up there for hours, unknown to their mother. Those crazy Navy pilots … what’re you gonna do? That began a lifelong fascination with the universe and cosmos.
John Jr. joined the Navy, while Susan served in the Air Force. Jim’s work journey began at the Hardee’s in Gulf Breeze flipping burgers when he was 16 where he quickly advanced to manager, regional manager and then company training manager in his mid-20s. His interest in Computer Science led him to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in that subject from the University of West Florida. He was accepted into a work-study program with Lockheed-Martin in Orlando where he would begin his Software Engineering career.
In 1990, John and Susan were both deployed for Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Susan was leading a Combat Communications unit on the ground, and John was aboard the Naval Carrier Saratoga in the Persian Gulf. Jim was working on the Patriot Missile software programming when it was deployed to protect our troops from incoming Iraqi SCUD missiles. Missiles were launched from John’s vessel to destroy enemy assets in front of Susan’s unit moving forward, Jim’s Patriot Missiles were exploding incoming SCUDs before they could harm her. Just another adventure for this family of heroes.
After his pioneering work at Lockheed-Martin, Jim became an international software engineering consultant. Along the way, he earned his Master’s Degree in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webster University among many certifications and certificates. The recognition he was most proud of though, was his award of Eagle Scout. Something he was very proud to always include on his resume.
His greatest “accomplishment” in his life was being the father of his daughter, Hannah Rose Aungst. She was the love of his life. She was smart, kind, and patient as Jim and his sister learned how to put diapers on poorly, and fed her all sort of wrong things. Jim opened up the world to his daughter like his Dad did for him. And, yes, he had her looking through a telescope as a toddler. Another pioneer and hero added to the world.
