posted 10-31-2007 09:14 AM               

Funeral arrangements are still being made, but she will be buried next to her husband, Apollo 14 command module pilot Stuart Roosa, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Joan Roosa was profiled in Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes by Billy Watkins (Praeger, 2006):

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Since the death of her husband, Joan Roosa has lived a quiet life near the beach in Gulfport, just around the corner from her sister and only a few blocks from [her daughter] Rosemary. (Their homes survived Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.) Joan has traveled with her daughter, and another female friend, to places such as China and Jordan. And whenever she sees the Moon, she remembers Stuart looking up at it following his flight and saying, "My trip there seems a lifetime ago."

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posted 10-31-2007 09:44 AM               

Edited by Apollo-Soyuz on October 31, 2007 at 05:36 PM.

posted 11-01-2007 05:47 PM               

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NASA Expresses Condolences Upon the Passing of Joan Roosa

NASA's senior leadership Thursday noted with sorrow the passing of Joan Roosa of Gulfport, Miss., the wife of Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa. Roosa passed away Oct. 30.

"We wish to express our sincere condolences to the Roosa family," said NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, Headquarters, Washington. "Many current and former NASA family members were very close to both Stuart and Joan Roosa and remember her fondly. We at NASA certainly appreciate the dedication of all our astronaut spouses, which Joan Roosa exemplified."

A native of Tupelo, Miss., Joan met her future husband at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., in 1956. They married the following year, and had four children: Christopher, Jack, Alan and Rosemary. Stuart Roosa, who was the Apollo 14 command module pilot, passed away in 1994.

Joan Roosa played an active role in her husband's career, encouraging him to apply for the astronaut corps. On Feb. 9, 2006, the 35th anniversary of Apollo 14's successful return from the moon, Roosa represented her late husband when NASA honored him as one of its Ambassadors of Exploration. At the ceremony, the Roosa family presented a lunar sample obtained during the Apollo 14 mission for permanent display at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida.

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posted 11-01-2007 10:29 PM            

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posted 11-02-2007 08:20 AM               

We talked about the Apollo Sycamore tree seeds taken on the mission.

A very nice family to meet.

posted 11-06-2007 08:29 PM               

Here's my story: I travelled by bus to Oshkosh 1994... there were to be some 26 MGA astronauts there... there was no way I could pass that up!

So since I went on the bus with the local 99's chapter... we got ALL the perks for just some small $20 fee or so... flightline passes, included!

So I go find the astronaut venue after walking about a bit, and I go back to where I really ain't supposed to be, but apparently only infringing a little bit since no security tried to chase me out... and there is Stu Roosa standing there! Red hair as ever... and I watch as he and a nice lady talk, and he puts his hand on her shoulder and they talk very nicely to each other... and, of course, I have no idea that this is his wife!

So I get a chance to "corner" him... and chat for a few moments... in 1971 (?) he wrote me a great letter in response to one I wrote to him, asking him where he was the night of the fire? I had no idea he was in the blockhouse! He wrote me in detail all about that night!

So my goal at Oshkosh seeing him, was to thank him for writing me that detail... after I read it, I knew that it was probably not the easiest letter he ever wrote... and I knew enough not to mention THAT to him... I just thanked him for writing me such a great letter.

And he says to me (a paraphrase) "Would you like my wife to take a picture of you with me?" Well, I never really was into that being photographed with famous people... just wanted autographs (!!!), but that was strictly discouraged at Oshkosh, so I mumbled, "yeah, sure, that would be great!" or something babbling like that, and then I give her the camera and IT IS JAMMED! Since it was not my own camera, I had to fool with it for a few minutes, and got it ready, and he was still standing near me, so I said that if the offer still held, I have the camera ready!

He hands his wife the camera, we stand for the one shot... and when I got that roll developed, I was ABSOLUTELY THRILLED with the results... until, of course, that December when he passed.

So I owe Mrs. Roosa a debt I could never and will never be able to repay... and wish her rest in peace with her dear husband.