Elizabeth Joyce Eddie, 79, Webb City, MO, passed away at her home on July 30, 2012.

Elizabeth was born on May 10, 1933 in Wyandotte, Michigan to Charles Ernest Shepherd Eddie and Anne McKenzie. She grew up and attended school in Wyandotte, Michigan. She graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts in Chicago, Illinois with a Bachelor’s degree in engineering. She moved to California to work as an engineer in the space program for Heliodyne and designed an “umbilical cord” that was used on the space shuttles. Elizabeth was a pioneer and the first woman engineer in the space program. After Heliodyne closed the facility in California, she moved to Arkansas and worked for Tyson until moving to Joplin in 1998. Elizabeth worked at Hobby Lobby in Joplin until she opened her own business, the Frame Shack, in Webb City.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents. Surviving her are two sisters, Choral Eddie, Brooklyn, New York, and Margaret Eddie, Rockport, Massachusetts; and her dear friend Shirley Martin, Webb City, Missouri.

There are no services scheduled. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hedge-Lewis Funeral Home & Crematory, Webb City. Memorial contributions are suggested for the Oronogo First United Methodist Mission Fund in care of the funeral home