Foil: 7 Panel: 2 Column: 2 Line: 110

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

Mr Kercher served in the US Air Force from 1950-1954. Trained as an A&E and B36 mechanic, he was assigned to Strategic Air Command’s (SAC) 8th Air Force, 7th Bomb Wing, at Carswell AFB, TX as a fuel-cell specialist mechanic.

From 1955-1958 he was a C-119 flight engineer (SSgt) in the active reserves while attending Purdue University, graduating in 1958 with a BS in mechanical engineering before joining General Electric Company’s gas turbine engineering design staff.

Of his 43 years with GE, before retiring in 2002 as Principal Engineer, Mr. Kercher held various turbine cooling and heat transfer management positions in GE’s Aircraft Engines and Power Systems divisions. He holds a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering, is a member of Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi, and is listed in the Who’s Who in America since 1997.

Mr Kercher has authored numerous GE design and technology papers, co-authored 14 open literature papers, and holds 14 patents. He and wife Betty have 7 children and 9 grandchildren, and live in Ipswich, MA.