Placide Donald "PD" Nicaise died on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at the age of 90. He was born on January 31, 1935 in Hancock County, MS. He grew up near the rural village of Kiln. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Jean "PJ," his son, Robert Karl, his grand-daughter, Rachel Elizabeth and his step-daughters, Jennifer Hickman and Stephanie Ballard. His father was Placide Dominic and his mother was Rowena Marson. He had one brother, Keith Herman. PD went to Kiln School and Pearl River Community College. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a BS degree in physics.

PD came to Huntsville in 1958 to work for Chrysler aerospace at Redstone Arsenal. He married Patricia Ann Mullican in 1960 and they moved to Orlando, Florida. He worked there for Martin Co. before moving to Cape Canaveral, Florida. He worked for Martin as guidance engineer on the Pershing program. They returned to Huntsville in 1961 and worked at NASA for the next 34 years. He was an intimate part of the Saturn/Apollo team that put men on the Moon. Afterwards, he worked on many NASA development projects such as Space Shuttle and Space Station. They had a son, Robert Karl in 1969. PD was a guidance and control specialist who worked in the Astrionics Lab. He served on the FEWG (Flight Evaluation Working Group) and the HOSC (Huntsville Operational Support Center). He transferred to Program Development where he worked on design of many space projects before retirement from NASA in 1995.

PD formed Skybolt Corporation, an electronic alarm company for the design and installation of high tech security systems. Skybolt soon won exclusive contracts from the Huntsville Police and Fire Departments for the display of alarms signals from all over town. This work continued 24/7 for more than 10 years.

PD married Phyllis Jean Wann (PJ) in 1990. They were a well matched pair whose love and affection continued for the rest of their lives.

In retirement, PD became a prolific researcher and writer of genealogies for his related families. He began to write fictional stories about his French and English heritage from the MS Gulf Coast. He wrote 8 books including the Lily trilogy, autobiographical and historical accounts of his life in aerospace and many essays about human behavior.

PD served as a docent for the US Space and Rocket Center for about 5 years. In this role, he lectured visitors about the Instrument Unit of the Saturn V.

In lieu of flowers, please make donation to the Crisis Services of North Alabama , or a charity of your choice.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 29th, from 12:00-2:00 PM at Berryhill Funeral Home, with a funeral service immediately following. Burial will take place at Maple Hill Cemetery.