Funeral services for Milo E. “Mike” Stormo, age 84, of Helendale, CA, formerly Hayti, SD, will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2011, at New Hope Lutheran Church in rural Hayti.  Rev. Randy Eisenbeisz will officiate.  Music will be provided by Helen Prouty as organist with Claudia Brunick as soloist.  Milo went to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 10, 2011.

     Burial will be at New Hope Lutheran Cemetery in rural Hayti.  Military graveside honors will be presented by Cook–Olsen Post #217 of the American Legion and the Military Funeral Honors Team of the SD Army National Guard. Pallbearers will be Milo’s grandsons: Jason Stormo, Brian Stormo, Matthew Stormo, and Jackson Stormo, and his nephews: Eric Stormo and Bert Rogness.

     There will be no visitation.  Arrangements are being handled by the Crawford Funeral Chapel of Watertown.

     Milo was born on May 1, 1927, at Watertown, SD.  His parents were James and Mabel Stormo who lived on a farm/ranch near Thomas, SD.  Milo graduated from Thomas High School in 1946.  After high school, he served as a paratrooper in the 11^th Airborne Division in WWII, where he rose to the rank of First Sergeant. He graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls with double majors in Physics and Math. He also lettered in basketball, football, and track at Augustana.

      On April 10, 1949, he married his high school sweetheart, Claryce Tollefson, of Willow Lake, SD.  He had completed two years at Augustana when his reserve enlistment was extended for a year by President Truman and he was recalled for the Korean War. After his second honorable discharge in 1951, he worked as a rural mail carrier in Hayti, SD while he completed college at Augustana in 1956. He accepted an offer from Hughes Aircraft Company and moved to California in 1957. At Hughes he became flight test supervisor and had the thrill of co-piloting the F-106 “Delta Dart” at speeds up to Mach 2.19 (about 1500 miles per hour). In 1960, he joined Litton Industries, where he was assigned as Flight Test Manager and later flew the F-104 at supersonic speeds. In 1963, he was promoted to Litton’s “On-site Program Manager” for the F-111 (TFX) program in Fort Worth, Texas, and was in Dallas the day President Kennedy was shot.

     Milo joined a research company in 1964 called E.H. Plesset and Associates as a senior physicist. At E.H. Plesset he also served as company pilot part time. While there he earned his Multi-engine, instrument, and commercial pilot licenses. At that company, he was also manager of the first American team to track satellites with lasers in 1966. In 1968, he accepted an appointment as Manager of Optical Systems at Librascope Inc. in Glendale, CA. While at Librascope, he invented and patented a “Heads-up Display” device for commercial and private aircraft. In 1971, he joined the SR-71 “Blackbird” program at Lockheed as project engineer for optical systems. At Lockheed “Skunk Works” he worked on the U-2, SR-71, and Stealth fighter F-117.

     In 1974, Milo was manager of African Programs for “Control Systems International Inc.” at which time he and his wife Claryce lived in South Africa for 2.5 years. In 1980, he founded and was President and CEO of “Milo Systems Inc.”. The company was sold in 1988 and Milo accepted an appointment as senior physicist at Rocketdyne Inc. where he worked on the space station and high energy laser systems. After Rocketdyne was sold to Boeing in 1994, Milo worked for Boeing as a high energy laser consultant until he reached the age of 75 in 2002.

     In 2004, Milo formed a citizens group called the “Helendale Community Service District Task Force” which brought local government to Helendale, CA. When the ballot initiative passed in November, 2006, Milo was elected to the Board of Directors and served as its first President.

     Milo and Claryce both have a strong faith in Jesus Christ and have been powerfully blest in their 62 years of marriage. Milo taught an adult class on “All the Teachings of Jesus” and published a book that was the subject of the class.

     Milo is survived by Claryce, his wife of 62 years; four sons and their spouses: Gary & Susan Stormo of St. Louis, MO, Owen & Alexia Stormo of Santa Barbara, CA, D. Justin & Maj Stormo-Gipson of Coeur d’ Alene, ID, and Scot & Joan Stormo of Palm Desert, CA; 11 grandchildren: Jason (Nina) of Santa Ynez, CA, Brian (Shelley) of Falmouth, MA, Janell, Kenna, Kate, Benjamin, Erika, Luke, Adrienne, Matthew, and Jackson; three great grandchildren: Kaj, Ella, and Milo; two brothers: Charles (Helen) Stormo of Hayti, SD, and Jerald (Marilyn) Stormo of Creswell, OR;  and numerous nieces and nephews.

     He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, and two sisters.

     Memorials may be directed to Church World Service (churchworldservice.org) or to another memorial of your choice.