ROCKPORT — Douglas Linder died peacefully on May 7, 2017, at his home in Rockport, with his wife Marianne by his side. Born Sept. 16, 1931, in San Francisco, he was the son of John Frederick and Edith Linder (Wagner).

His classmates from Lowell High School in San Francisco remember him as a curious, inventive, compassionate and trusted friend. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, he moved to southern California where he earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Southern California, and received a Systems Engineering Certificate from UCLA.

He began his career with Northrop Corporation in Advanced Design, managing the Wind Tunnel Test Group, part of Aerosciences Laboratory at Northrop Norair. Always interested in new concepts in aircraft research and development, he founded Northrop Grumman's Flight Simulation Group in Hawthorne, California, which provided analog simulations and built simulators for research purposes for U.S. Air Force.

Douglas was selected to be the proposal manager on a classified Navy program and was on special assignment to lead this effort until the contract to develop and manufacture the B-2 Stealth Bomber, a highly secretive program for the U.S. Air Force, was awarded to Northrop. He became the manager of the Flight Systems Laboratory, which included seven laboratories that supported the engineering effort in the areas of flight simulations, avionics, hydraulics, tactics, radar and many more areas of the B-2 technology. At the time of his retirement, he was director of the Flight Simulation and Avionics Integration Laboratories for the B-2 Program.

While living in California, Douglas volunteered his time to many civic activities as well as being an active member of St. Peter's Presbyterian Church in Palos Verdes. His wife, Marianne, whom he married in 1963, lived in Palos Verdes, where their two children, Kristina and Steven, were born. His wife was not able to share his love for time-speed-distance rallying; although they both enjoyed sport cars and attending competitions. Other hobbies included down-hill skiing and traveling, especially to little known areas of the world, joining archaeological expeditions and visiting ancient sites. Their travels around the world contributed to their appreciation of history, architecture, music and fine arts. He often expressed his gratitude of having "finished his bucket list" and more, of which the best part was being with his wife, discovering a rainbow over the ocean.

After moving to Rockport, Douglas served on the Rockport Planning Board, the Board of Assessment Review, and the Board of Literacy Volunteers of Mid-Coast Maine, where he also enjoyed being a tutor for 20 years. He, was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Camden, where he served as a deacon, a member of the Board of Trustees, a member of the Shields Mission Project Committee and on various committees.

Douglas will be missed by relatives and friends on both sides of the Atlantic.

Memorial donations may be made to Shields Mission Project, First Congregational Church UCC, Camden, ME 04843 or to Doctors Without Borders.