Joseph G. Gavin, Jr. Dies

Joseph G. Gavin Jr., who rode herd over the immensely complex design, construction and testing of the first manned vehicle to land on the moon — a task that included anticipating 400 different landing surfaces, from ice to boulders to dust to potholes — died on Saturday in Amherst, Mass. He was 90.

The cause was acute leukemia and pneumonia, his family said.

When President John F. Kennedy declared in 1961 that America would go to the moon by the end of the decade, the task seemed almost unbelievably daunting. But tens of thousands across America pitched in, and Mr. Gavin had one of the most important roles, as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

Rest In Peace, Joseph.