Oliver Boileau, 80; leader in aerospace worked on B-2 bomber, lunar rover

Oliver ‘Ollie’ Boileau, 80, a retired aerospace executive who worked on projects from the lunar rover to the B-2 stealth bomber, died July 27 at a St. Louis hospital after complications from surgery, according to Forever Bellerive Cemetery in Creve Coeur, Mo.

Northrop Corp. lured Boileau out of a brief retirement in 1989 to lead the B-2 stealth bomber program. The delta-shaped aircraft made of composite materials generated controversy when it was introduced in the late 1980s because of the program’s multibillion-dollar price tag. Boileau retired for good in 1995 as president of Northrop Grumman Corp.

He spent most of his career at Boeing Co. in Seattle, where he directed work on projects including the lunar rover and the Minuteman missile program. He was later promoted to lead the Boeing Aerospace Co., the former military and space arm of Boeing.

After more than 25 years at Boeing, Boileau left in 1980 to be president and vice chairman of General Dynamics Corp. in St. Louis. He kept the post for eight years.

Born in Camden, N.J., in March 1927, Boileau earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He began his career in national defense work at RCA in Camden in 1951.