John D. Jefferies Sr.(1936-2010)

John Jefferies' two older brothers, Matt Jefferies (the oldest), and Phil Jefferies were all television and film designers and art directors in the Hollywood studio system. When Matt Jefferies was designing the pilot "Star Trek" for Gene Rodenberry, both John and Phil were put to the task of helping Matt by designing and detailing space ships. As the team were putting the final touches on their conceptual designs, the drawings and illustrations were hung on the art department walls. Invited Navy, Air Force, and Army, including NASA, representatives were shown the exhibited plans for the "Star Trek" pilot space ships. The military representatives were astounded at what they were viewing. Nearly every conceptual design matched what the Space Agency had been working on, themselves.