David had such a great passion for his work for NASA and being a part of a great program. He often reminded those who worked with him that it isn't work but our relationships with family and friends that really matters. He and his wife were members of the Patriot Guard Riders and often rode on missions in their area. He was also one of the leaders of the Johnson Space Center Spaceriders motorcycle group. One of his favorite bikes was a streamlined, red and black Ducati. The couple traveled all over on bikes from Cape Canaveral and Key West, Fla., to Maine and Arizona.
David was a large but gentle man, his appearance wizened by graying hair and beard. When he wasn't working or riding, he stepped from his waterfront home in San Leon to sail aboard the couple's 41-foot sailboat. He was born to Lila Williams and Clyde Durant Beverly and was known as David to friends and Wesley or WD to family. He married his high school sweetheart, Linda on January 23, 1966 and attended Oklahoma Baptist University. Following his service in the United States Air Force he obtained his electrical engineering degree from Oklahoma State University. He and Linda moved to Houston in 1978 where he worked for NASA. He had enormous passion for his work in support of NASA's mission and felt that the exploration of space is vital. David and Linda shared many exciting interests including sailing, travel and motorcycling.
His strong faith in Jesus Christ guided him throughout his life. David was a long-time NASA engineer, a parts specialist widely regarded as one of the very best in this critical discipline in all of NASA. He was a quiet, thoughtful man, known for his willingness and ability to apply his knowledge, to convey it clearly to colleagues and co-workers, and for his dedication to NASA and its mission. He was simply in love with what he did at NASA. He was also known for his dedication to weekend motorbiking, in company with his JSC motorcycle club colleagues.
He was killed by a gunman at the Johnson Space Center who mistakenly thought David was trying to have him fired.
∼HOUSTON - NASA officials who examined their security measures following the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech are trying to figure out how a contract worker sneaked a handgun into the Johnson Space Center and killed another employee before shooting himself.
ADVERTISEMENT
The gunman, armed with a snub-nosed revolver, barricaded himself in a building that houses communications and tracking systems for the space shuttle. He shot and killed a man and duct-taped a woman to a chair for hours before finally shooting and killing himself, police said. The woman hostage suffered minor injuries.
"Right now we're trying to understand why this happened, how this happened," Mike Coats, director of the Johnson Space Center, said in a news conference. He said they had reviewed their procedures earlier this week because of the Virginia Tech shootings.
"But of course we never believed this could happen here to our family and our situation."
NASA spokesman Doug Peterson said the agency would review its security.
To enter the space center, workers flash an ID badge as they drive past a security guard. The badge allows workers access to designated buildings.
NASA and police identified the gunman as 60-year-old William Phillips. He apparently had a dispute with the slain man, Police Chief Harold Hurtt said without elaborating.
NASA identified the slain man as David Beverly, a 62-year-old NASA worker. Beverly was shot in the chest and was probably killed "in the early minutes of the whole ordeal," police said.
Beverly's wife, Linda, said her husband of 41 years was an electrical parts specialist who felt working at NASA was his calling.
"His intellect and his knowledge, David really felt he was contributor," she said.
Her husband had mentioned Phillips before, but she declined to say in what regard. Linda Beverly said it wouldn't be fair to Phillips.
The second hostage, identified by NASA as Fran Crenshaw, a contract worker with MRI Technologies, escaped after being bound to a chair with duct tape. She who worked in the same general area and was presumably taken hostage after Beverly was shot, Hurtt said.
"She was very courageous, a calming influence in this whole issue and apparently was a very positive relationship between her and the suspect because he at no time that we know of threatened to do injury to her," Hurtt said.
Phillips, an employee of Jacobs Engineering of Pasadena, Calif., had worked for NASA for 12 to 13 years and "up until recently, he has been a good employee," Coats said.
He was unmarried, had no children and apparently lived alone.
The shooter left telephone numbers and names of people to contact and wrote a note on a dry erase board in the room, police said.
"I don't recall what was on it," Hurtt said.
During the confrontation, NASA employees in the building were evacuated and others were ordered to remain in their offices for several hours. Roads within the 1,600-acre space center campus were also blocked off, and a nearby middle school kept its teachers and students inside as classes ended. Doors to Mission Control were locked as standard procedure.
David was a large but gentle man, his appearance wizened by graying hair and beard. When he wasn't working or riding, he stepped from his waterfront home in San Leon to sail aboard the couple's 41-foot sailboat. He was born to Lila Williams and Clyde Durant Beverly and was known as David to friends and Wesley or WD to family. He married his high school sweetheart, Linda on January 23, 1966 and attended Oklahoma Baptist University. Following his service in the United States Air Force he obtained his electrical engineering degree from Oklahoma State University. He and Linda moved to Houston in 1978 where he worked for NASA. He had enormous passion for his work in support of NASA's mission and felt that the exploration of space is vital. David and Linda shared many exciting interests including sailing, travel and motorcycling.
His strong faith in Jesus Christ guided him throughout his life. David was a long-time NASA engineer, a parts specialist widely regarded as one of the very best in this critical discipline in all of NASA. He was a quiet, thoughtful man, known for his willingness and ability to apply his knowledge, to convey it clearly to colleagues and co-workers, and for his dedication to NASA and its mission. He was simply in love with what he did at NASA. He was also known for his dedication to weekend motorbiking, in company with his JSC motorcycle club colleagues.
He was killed by a gunman at the Johnson Space Center who mistakenly thought David was trying to have him fired.
∼HOUSTON - NASA officials who examined their security measures following the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech are trying to figure out how a contract worker sneaked a handgun into the Johnson Space Center and killed another employee before shooting himself.
ADVERTISEMENT
The gunman, armed with a snub-nosed revolver, barricaded himself in a building that houses communications and tracking systems for the space shuttle. He shot and killed a man and duct-taped a woman to a chair for hours before finally shooting and killing himself, police said. The woman hostage suffered minor injuries.
"Right now we're trying to understand why this happened, how this happened," Mike Coats, director of the Johnson Space Center, said in a news conference. He said they had reviewed their procedures earlier this week because of the Virginia Tech shootings.
"But of course we never believed this could happen here to our family and our situation."
NASA spokesman Doug Peterson said the agency would review its security.
To enter the space center, workers flash an ID badge as they drive past a security guard. The badge allows workers access to designated buildings.
NASA and police identified the gunman as 60-year-old William Phillips. He apparently had a dispute with the slain man, Police Chief Harold Hurtt said without elaborating.
NASA identified the slain man as David Beverly, a 62-year-old NASA worker. Beverly was shot in the chest and was probably killed "in the early minutes of the whole ordeal," police said.
Beverly's wife, Linda, said her husband of 41 years was an electrical parts specialist who felt working at NASA was his calling.
"His intellect and his knowledge, David really felt he was contributor," she said.
Her husband had mentioned Phillips before, but she declined to say in what regard. Linda Beverly said it wouldn't be fair to Phillips.
The second hostage, identified by NASA as Fran Crenshaw, a contract worker with MRI Technologies, escaped after being bound to a chair with duct tape. She who worked in the same general area and was presumably taken hostage after Beverly was shot, Hurtt said.
"She was very courageous, a calming influence in this whole issue and apparently was a very positive relationship between her and the suspect because he at no time that we know of threatened to do injury to her," Hurtt said.
Phillips, an employee of Jacobs Engineering of Pasadena, Calif., had worked for NASA for 12 to 13 years and "up until recently, he has been a good employee," Coats said.
He was unmarried, had no children and apparently lived alone.
The shooter left telephone numbers and names of people to contact and wrote a note on a dry erase board in the room, police said.
"I don't recall what was on it," Hurtt said.
During the confrontation, NASA employees in the building were evacuated and others were ordered to remain in their offices for several hours. Roads within the 1,600-acre space center campus were also blocked off, and a nearby middle school kept its teachers and students inside as classes ended. Doors to Mission Control were locked as standard procedure.
David had such a great passion for his work for NASA and being a part of a great program. He often reminded those who worked with him that it isn't work but our relationships with family and friends that really matters. He and his wife were members of the Patriot Guard Riders and often rode on missions in their area. He was also one of the leaders of the Johnson Space Center Spaceriders motorcycle group. One of his favorite bikes was a streamlined, red and black Ducati. The couple traveled all over on bikes from Cape Canaveral and Key West, Fla., to Maine and Arizona.
David was a large but gentle man, his appearance wizened by graying hair and beard. When he wasn't working or riding, he stepped from his waterfront home in San Leon to sail aboard the couple's 41-foot sailboat. He was born to Lila Williams and Clyde Durant Beverly and was known as David to friends and Wesley or WD to family. He married his high school sweetheart, Linda on January 23, 1966 and attended Oklahoma Baptist University. Following his service in the United States Air Force he obtained his electrical engineering degree from Oklahoma State University. He and Linda moved to Houston in 1978 where he worked for NASA. He had enormous passion for his work in support of NASA's mission and felt that the exploration of space is vital. David and Linda shared many exciting interests including sailing, travel and motorcycling.
His strong faith in Jesus Christ guided him throughout his life. David was a long-time NASA engineer, a parts specialist widely regarded as one of the very best in this critical discipline in all of NASA. He was a quiet, thoughtful man, known for his willingness and ability to apply his knowledge, to convey it clearly to colleagues and co-workers, and for his dedication to NASA and its mission. He was simply in love with what he did at NASA. He was also known for his dedication to weekend motorbiking, in company with his JSC motorcycle club colleagues.
He was killed by a gunman at the Johnson Space Center who mistakenly thought David was trying to have him fired.
∼HOUSTON - NASA officials who examined their security measures following the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech are trying to figure out how a contract worker sneaked a handgun into the Johnson Space Center and killed another employee before shooting himself.
ADVERTISEMENT
The gunman, armed with a snub-nosed revolver, barricaded himself in a building that houses communications and tracking systems for the space shuttle. He shot and killed a man and duct-taped a woman to a chair for hours before finally shooting and killing himself, police said. The woman hostage suffered minor injuries.
"Right now we're trying to understand why this happened, how this happened," Mike Coats, director of the Johnson Space Center, said in a news conference. He said they had reviewed their procedures earlier this week because of the Virginia Tech shootings.
"But of course we never believed this could happen here to our family and our situation."
NASA spokesman Doug Peterson said the agency would review its security.
To enter the space center, workers flash an ID badge as they drive past a security guard. The badge allows workers access to designated buildings.
NASA and police identified the gunman as 60-year-old William Phillips. He apparently had a dispute with the slain man, Police Chief Harold Hurtt said without elaborating.
NASA identified the slain man as David Beverly, a 62-year-old NASA worker. Beverly was shot in the chest and was probably killed "in the early minutes of the whole ordeal," police said.
Beverly's wife, Linda, said her husband of 41 years was an electrical parts specialist who felt working at NASA was his calling.
"His intellect and his knowledge, David really felt he was contributor," she said.
Her husband had mentioned Phillips before, but she declined to say in what regard. Linda Beverly said it wouldn't be fair to Phillips.
The second hostage, identified by NASA as Fran Crenshaw, a contract worker with MRI Technologies, escaped after being bound to a chair with duct tape. She who worked in the same general area and was presumably taken hostage after Beverly was shot, Hurtt said.
"She was very courageous, a calming influence in this whole issue and apparently was a very positive relationship between her and the suspect because he at no time that we know of threatened to do injury to her," Hurtt said.
Phillips, an employee of Jacobs Engineering of Pasadena, Calif., had worked for NASA for 12 to 13 years and "up until recently, he has been a good employee," Coats said.
He was unmarried, had no children and apparently lived alone.
The shooter left telephone numbers and names of people to contact and wrote a note on a dry erase board in the room, police said.
"I don't recall what was on it," Hurtt said.
During the confrontation, NASA employees in the building were evacuated and others were ordered to remain in their offices for several hours. Roads within the 1,600-acre space center campus were also blocked off, and a nearby middle school kept its teachers and students inside as classes ended. Doors to Mission Control were locked as standard procedure.
David was a large but gentle man, his appearance wizened by graying hair and beard. When he wasn't working or riding, he stepped from his waterfront home in San Leon to sail aboard the couple's 41-foot sailboat. He was born to Lila Williams and Clyde Durant Beverly and was known as David to friends and Wesley or WD to family. He married his high school sweetheart, Linda on January 23, 1966 and attended Oklahoma Baptist University. Following his service in the United States Air Force he obtained his electrical engineering degree from Oklahoma State University. He and Linda moved to Houston in 1978 where he worked for NASA. He had enormous passion for his work in support of NASA's mission and felt that the exploration of space is vital. David and Linda shared many exciting interests including sailing, travel and motorcycling.
His strong faith in Jesus Christ guided him throughout his life. David was a long-time NASA engineer, a parts specialist widely regarded as one of the very best in this critical discipline in all of NASA. He was a quiet, thoughtful man, known for his willingness and ability to apply his knowledge, to convey it clearly to colleagues and co-workers, and for his dedication to NASA and its mission. He was simply in love with what he did at NASA. He was also known for his dedication to weekend motorbiking, in company with his JSC motorcycle club colleagues.
He was killed by a gunman at the Johnson Space Center who mistakenly thought David was trying to have him fired.
∼HOUSTON - NASA officials who examined their security measures following the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech are trying to figure out how a contract worker sneaked a handgun into the Johnson Space Center and killed another employee before shooting himself.
ADVERTISEMENT
The gunman, armed with a snub-nosed revolver, barricaded himself in a building that houses communications and tracking systems for the space shuttle. He shot and killed a man and duct-taped a woman to a chair for hours before finally shooting and killing himself, police said. The woman hostage suffered minor injuries.
"Right now we're trying to understand why this happened, how this happened," Mike Coats, director of the Johnson Space Center, said in a news conference. He said they had reviewed their procedures earlier this week because of the Virginia Tech shootings.
"But of course we never believed this could happen here to our family and our situation."
NASA spokesman Doug Peterson said the agency would review its security.
To enter the space center, workers flash an ID badge as they drive past a security guard. The badge allows workers access to designated buildings.
NASA and police identified the gunman as 60-year-old William Phillips. He apparently had a dispute with the slain man, Police Chief Harold Hurtt said without elaborating.
NASA identified the slain man as David Beverly, a 62-year-old NASA worker. Beverly was shot in the chest and was probably killed "in the early minutes of the whole ordeal," police said.
Beverly's wife, Linda, said her husband of 41 years was an electrical parts specialist who felt working at NASA was his calling.
"His intellect and his knowledge, David really felt he was contributor," she said.
Her husband had mentioned Phillips before, but she declined to say in what regard. Linda Beverly said it wouldn't be fair to Phillips.
The second hostage, identified by NASA as Fran Crenshaw, a contract worker with MRI Technologies, escaped after being bound to a chair with duct tape. She who worked in the same general area and was presumably taken hostage after Beverly was shot, Hurtt said.
"She was very courageous, a calming influence in this whole issue and apparently was a very positive relationship between her and the suspect because he at no time that we know of threatened to do injury to her," Hurtt said.
Phillips, an employee of Jacobs Engineering of Pasadena, Calif., had worked for NASA for 12 to 13 years and "up until recently, he has been a good employee," Coats said.
He was unmarried, had no children and apparently lived alone.
The shooter left telephone numbers and names of people to contact and wrote a note on a dry erase board in the room, police said.
"I don't recall what was on it," Hurtt said.
During the confrontation, NASA employees in the building were evacuated and others were ordered to remain in their offices for several hours. Roads within the 1,600-acre space center campus were also blocked off, and a nearby middle school kept its teachers and students inside as classes ended. Doors to Mission Control were locked as standard procedure.
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