Obituary of William Brown Shapbell

Captain William Brown Shapbell, Jr., USNR (Ret), 86, of Rockledge, FL, went to be with his Lord after a long illness, on February 20, 2019 at 9:26 in the morning. Bill was born in Pottsville, PA on October 21, 1932 to William and Esther (Klingerman) Shapbell. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Betty Evans Shapbell, sister Carol Long (Jake), children Robin Johnson and Scott (Carrie) Shapbell, Betty’s children Randall Greene, Glenda Anthony and Nancy Douglas, grandchildren Kara Johnson, Andrew Johnson, Meredith Greene, Kate Greene, Nathan (Summer) Douglas, and Grant Douglas; and 3 great grand-children, 2 nieces and one nephew. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister June Shapbell. Bill graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has Masters’ degrees from Stetson University and FIT. He joined the US Navy in February 1956 and served both active duty and in the reserves until retiring as a Captain in October 1992. He had a distinguished career with NASA in Huntsville, AL, Falls Church, VA, and at Kennedy Space Center in Florida from September 1961 to April 1995. He received many awards for outstanding service. Bill was a member of Masonic Lodge 353 Merritt Island, MOAACC, NARFE, Sons of the American Revolution, and Mensa. The viewing will be held at 3:00 p.m. and the service at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at First Baptist Church of Cocoa, located at 750 Brevard Ave, Cocoa, FL. His burial will be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, February 25, 2019 at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, located at 5525 US Highway 1, Mims, FL.