William Robert Holmberg

In Loving Memory of William (Bill) Robert Holmberg

December 21, 1944 – October 25, 2025
With profound sadness, the Holmberg family announces the passing of William (Bill) Robert Holmberg on October 25, 2025, in Dallas, Texas. Deeply committed to his family, Bill was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend. A true renaissance man, Bill also lived a life marked by adventure, curiosity, and creativity as reflected through his passionate love of aviation, space exploration, and the arts.

Bill is lovingly remembered by his wife of 53 years, Theresa (Terry) Luke Holmberg; daughter, Lee Katherine Holmberg Crowder; son, Michael Tyson Holmberg; son-in-law, Jason Robert Crowder; daughter-in-law, Michael Lynn Holmberg; grandson, Jackson Danger Crowder; granddaughters, McCall Elizabeth Holmberg and McKinley Tyson Holmberg; sister, Lynne Holmberg Gray;, and brother-in-law, Charles Gray.

Born on December 21, 1944, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Helen and Ray Holmberg during the final months of World War II. Bill entered the world while his father was stationed in Remagen, Germany. It would be two years before father and son met. After the war, Ray, Helen, and Bill moved to Lake Jackson, Texas, in 1947. Bill’s sister, Lynne Karen, was born on February 15, 1950.

From an early age, Bill displayed a remarkable ambition and love for aviation. His life-long passion for aviation was evident when he joined Air Scouts at age fourteen, soloed at fifteen , and obtained his pilot’s license before he was eighteen. Bill owned several planes and gliders over the course of his life. In his later years, Bill could be found soaring the skies over Midlothian, Texas, with his son, Michael.

Bill graduated from Brazosport High School in 1963 and then from the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering. That same year he married Terry Luke in their hometown of Lake Jackson. The couple then moved to Washington, D.C., where Bill’s career began at the Naval Air Systems Command. They later moved back to Austin, Texas, where Bill continued his education at UT, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in photography and print making in 1973. While pursuing his BFA, Bill became captivated by printmaking, a highly process-oriented medium. He obtained his Master of Fine Arts in 1975 at the University of Florida and would go on to teach photography at Pensacola Junior College, where he also participated in several group shows and solo exhibits.

Bill and Terry welcomed a daughter, Lee Katherine Holmberg, in 1976, and soon the reality of economics and the lure of manned space flight pushed Bill to join NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The family moved to Dickinson, Texas, in 1979. Bill and Terry’s son was born in 1980 in Austin, where the family took shelter from Hurricane Allen. Bill, known for his sense of humor, suggested calling the child Allen Austin, but Terry was not amused. The baby was christened Michael Tyson.

In 1981, Bill became the first civilian contractor to hold the position of Flight Activity Officer (FAO) in Mission Control, Houston, monitoring the first orbital spaceflight of NASA’s Space Shuttle program. In a small, sound-proof room in the Mission Control visitors gallery, Terry, Lee, and baby Michael watched Bill working as FAO and witnessed history as the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off on its first mission, STS-1.

Bill continued his role as FAO for several other historic shuttle missions includingSTS-3,the first shuttle mission with an unpainted external tank, a “gritty” and unique landing at White Sands Space Harbor;STS-5, a landmark mission establishing shuttle missions as routine operations and deploying the first commercial communications satellites;STS-7, which included the first American woman in space, Sally Ride, and the first satellite retrieval; andSTS-9, which carried the first spacelab into space and included the first non-American aboard.

After working in various other engineering and business roles, the couple moved to Waco and Bill started a consulting business with his wife, Terry. For fifteen years they focused their careers on helping both small and large defense contractors win government contracts.

In 2010, Bill and Terry retired and moved to Dallas to be near their children and grandchildren. Bill began creating abstract, welded steel sculptures as part of a series of more than thirty works. His sculptures have been featured in numerous shows and exhibitions throughout the state of Texas. Today, you can see his sculptures on display in Dallas at the Museum of Biblical Art, located at 7500 Park Lane.
Bill’s life was rich with travel, teaching, and lifelong learning. He and Terry explored the world, He studied Spanish and volunteered at St. Matthew’s Cathedral as a math tutor for GED students. He was a runner and an avid CrossFit athlete. He will be deeply missed and forever cherished by all who knew him.

Please join us in celebrating Bill’s life at his memorial on Saturday, November 15, at 11a.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas, located at 4015 Normandy Avenue.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in honor of Bill Holmberg to the Texas Soaring Association | Young Eagles Fund, PO Box 1069, Midlothian, Texas, 76065.

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