Somewhere between tall-tales and legends lives the story of a man. Where hard work, laughter, stubborn will, and a healthy dose of bs became the force that launched his life into the success that could only be achieved by one such as he. His tenacity for getting the job done, raising the bar, and expecting nothing less than greatness is how he rose above the rest and earned his place of respect among his colleagues, friends, and anyone who sat across from him.

He filled every room he entered, whether it be in business, in life, or in laughter as it reached the rafters. When he gave, he gave it all; from making sure his family was taken care of, to completing jobs at the highest level, nothing was ever halfway. He was intentional of also showing you that you could, and should, strive to do better. Always pushing, sometimes expecting, that you were capable of more. (And if you weren't, chances are, you got fired.)

The proof that hard work pays off lies within his achievements that speak for themselves. But since he was an overachiever, see below for that list..

But with all that he accomplished, his life started as a simple country boy from Petal, MS to his parents Steve and Betty, along side his brothers Mike, Paul, and Joe. And by far, his greatest achievements came in marrying his wife Rhonda (Webster), and in his children, Ashley, Ryan (Alfred Reft), and Stacey (Cody Corbin), whom he loved beyond words. He loved spending time with them hiking and exploring, talking about life, and just having them around. The real magic of his life was being "Backpack" to Harper and Wesley. They will forever remember the "magic backpacks" he filled for them. *The magic now lives in your hearts, sweet babies, where your Backpack will always and forever be.

There are thousands of words, stories, and tales that could be told. But for now, let everyone raise one last toast (preferably rum) to the man that impacted us in so many different ways..

Alex, "The Captain" and the rest of us say, "thank you.. Thank you for the laughter, aka heavy sarcasm, inappropriate jokes, and ill-placed humor, for the example of hard work, for being larger than life, and for pushing us to be better. We love you. You will forever be missed.. ya asshole."

Alex H. Pest devoted more than three decades to advancing America's space and national defense programs, making lasting contributions to America's space program and national defense. Alex built a distinguished career as an aerospace engineer and executive with The Boeing Company and McDonnell Douglas. Over his 35+ year professional career, he served in senior leadership roles across human spaceflight and missile defense-two of the most advanced, demanding and high-visibility arenas in aerospace.

His career culminated as Chief Engineer for Boeing's Starliner Program at Kennedy Space Center, where he led all engineering activities for the commercial crew spacecraft and worked closely with NASA and senior Boeing leadership. Earlier, he managed a nationwide engineering organization overseeing major system testing and spacecraft integration.

Alex was especially proud of his accomplishments on the Ground based Missile Defense (GMD) Program; the program that provides the only defense of the United States against long-range ballistic missile threats. Alex had many critical roles in the design, development, integration and fielding of this highly visible National Security program, including the Program Manager for the Interceptor, and being instrumental in activating key national defense facilities in California and Alaska.

Earlier in his career, Alex held several key engineering and program management positions on the International Space Station Program, ultimately becoming Chief Engineer for the U.S. pressurized modules, including the first American ISS element and laboratory. He began his career as a design engineer on the DC-X Delta Clipper and Spacelab programs.

Alex earned a bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi. He was known for his leadership, integrity, and dedication to the mission and people he served.