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Topic: First aerospace nurse Rose Church (1922-2012)
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-09-2012 10:09 AM
Rose B. Church-Gleason of Town and Country, Missouri, died on Nov. 2, 2012 at the age of 90, after a brief illness. She was best known as an early space pioneer from her days at McDonnell Douglas, where she worked as the first aerospace nurse to the Mercury and Gemini astronauts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Mrs. Church — that was her professional name —answered a help-wanted ad in 1951 for an industrial nurse at McDonnell Aircraft and got the job.Her duties put her in contact with the bosses, including the top boss: James S. McDonnell, known as “Mr. Mac.” The company made fighter planes in its plant at Lambert Field. In 1959, it won a government contract to build the Mercury capsule, which was to be America’s first manned space vehicle. The company advertised for an aerospace physician. Mrs. Church waited until she was in the executive suite giving a shot to Mr. Mac to bring up the subject. “Where there’s a doctor, there’s always a nurse,” she said. Mr. Mac replied: “Let me check on that.” He did and told Mrs. Church that she would need additional training, including physiology and scuba diving. Mrs. Church enrolled at Washington University night school and took scuba lessons at the YMCA in Brentwood. She became the nurse to the first seven astronauts while they trained at the McDonnell facility. She accompanied them on some trips to Cape Canaveral, Fla. |
413 is in Member Posts: 628 From: Alexandria, VA USA Registered: May 2006
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posted 11-09-2012 10:42 AM
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randy Member Posts: 2176 From: West Jordan, Utah USA Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 11-09-2012 12:14 PM
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East-Frisian Member Posts: 586 From: Germany Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 11-09-2012 12:30 PM
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SpaceAholic Member Posts: 4437 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-09-2012 01:42 PM
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GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 11-09-2012 03:02 PM
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Kite Member Posts: 831 From: Northampton UK Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 11-09-2012 04:32 PM
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dss65 Member Posts: 1156 From: Sandpoint, ID, USA Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 11-09-2012 08:08 PM
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alexbaja Member Posts: 448 From: Naxxar, Malta Registered: Dec 2010
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posted 11-10-2012 01:21 AM
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capoetc Member Posts: 2169 From: McKinney TX (USA) Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 11-10-2012 07:45 AM
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Gilbert Member Posts: 1328 From: Carrollton, GA USA Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 11-11-2012 07:34 AM
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onesmallstep Member Posts: 1310 From: Staten Island, New York USA Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 11-11-2012 09:05 AM
.Fascinating backstory I was unaware of. Would be interested to see how she interacted with Dee O'Hara during the early days of NASA's manned program. |