Sherry Mills Enjoys a Worry-Free Retirement at Eagle's Trace After a Rewarding Career

Sherry Mills enjoyed a long and exciting career as a rocket scientist working for NASA and aeronautics companies across the country.  Eager to continue her active and engaged lifestyle in retirement, she knew that Eagle's Trace, the Erickson Senior Living community in West Houston, Tex., was the right place for her.

Sherry grew up in Chicago, Ill., where she excelled in mathematics, logic, and engineering.

"As a kid, I loved Tinker Toys--much to my mother's dismay," says Sherry, with a laugh. "She thought I should be playing with dolls, but dolls did not hold any interest for me. I like to build."

After years of effort and dedication, she ended up working on NASA's Project Gemini, the bridge between its Mercury program and Apollo program, which would eventually put men on the moon.

"In my youth, there was no aerospace--only jets and experimental rockets," Sherry recalls. "By the time I got to Northwestern University, they did offer two computer classes. Between the logic and the computer, I was absolutely hooked!"

Launching her career

Back in 1963, fresh out of university, Sherry had job offers from Lockheed Martin in San Francisco, Calif., and Ford Aeronautic in Newport Beach, Calif., near Los Angeles.

"I settled on General Dynamics Astronautics in San Diego," Sherry says, remembering how few women were in the fledgling field.

"There were three engineering groups where I was, and each one had just one or two females out of about 25 engineers," she explains. "And everyone was under 25 or 30, because everything was so new."

She continues, "Aeronautics was in its infancy, so they were willing to take people and train them because nobody knew too much about it. I ended up being a research engineer, working with orbits and orbital analysis."

Sherry contributed to several new programs at General Dynamics, including gathering weather conditions on the East Coast near Cape Canaveral, Fla., and analyzing wind gusts to calculate launch safety. But what she remembers most is how exciting the work was.

"It was phenomenal. There was so much that needed to be done. It was a very dynamic atmosphere," she says. "One of the young fellows was asked by an interviewer how we accomplished the impossible. He simply said, ‘Nobody told us it was impossible.'"

Dynamic duo

It was at General Dynamics where Sherry met her late husband, Gary, an aeronautics engineer working on NASA's space station.

"I married Gary in 1964, and together, we moved around the country interviewing as ‘double or nothing,'" recalls Sherry, with a smile. "At McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, Mo., the classic joke was that I didn't drive a car, but I was teaching astronauts how to maneuver a spacecraft while orbiting the earth."

From Missouri, the couple moved to Connecticut for United Technologies, where Sherry became a senior applications analyst helping engineers solve problems and Gary continued working on the space station.

Then, their trajectory changed with a transfer to NASA in Houston. "It was much more fun swimming in Houston than shoveling snow in Connecticut! We never regretted it. Houston became our forever home," says Sherry.

Here, they raised two sons and got involved in the community. "It was a fun-filled 35 years," she says.  

After Gary's passing, Sherry traveled and worked abroad, from Hawaii and Costa Rica to Korea and Abu Dhabi. She also gained her license to practice engineering in Texas and helped professors at Houston Community College develop new computer technology coursework.

The perfect formula

In 2023, after years of working and traveling the world, Eagle's Trace caught her eye. She lived near the community, never realizing it had the perfect formula for the active, stress-free retirement lifestyle she was seeking--until two years ago.

"One main thing that swayed me was closer proximity to my kids," Sherry says. "I started going to sales meetings, and the more they said, the more appealing it was."

She adds, "I had lots of friends living in 65-plus communities, but none of them even came close to having all the amenities available at Eagle's Trace. It was a no-brainer!"

With a wide array of on-campus amenities, clubs, activities, and restaurants to choose from, Sherry was sold on Eagle's Trace.

Close to family

Now, she's settled in her spacious residence, just a short drive away from family.

"They know I'm in the best possible place with wonderful friends, a great apartment, and fantastic amenities, including social activities and restaurants," she says. "The on-site medical and continuing care services complete the picture. There's no worries! Eagle's Trace is absolutely the best place to be."

To learn more about affordable, independent senior living at Eagle's Trace, request your free brochure to get the scoop on amenities, floor plans, and so much more.