Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-29-2015 05:26 PM               

---

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation today (April 29) confirmed the passing of Josephine Cook "Jo" Fraser Schirra, the wife of Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra.

It is with saddened hearts that we share with you the passing of ASF Trustee, Mrs. Josephine "Jo" Schirra — widow of Mercury 7 astronaut and ASF founder Wally Schirra. Our condolences to the Schirra family and friends.

Jo and Wally were married for 61 years until his passing in 2007. They had met poolside at a country club in 1945, as Wally described in "Schirra's Space."

I asked a few of my poolmates who this stunning woman might be, but no one knew. I noticed that she was getting up, perhaps to leave. I couldn't lose her and I rushed over and said, "Hi, I'm sorry, but nobody seems to know you. I'm Wally Schirra."

Her name was Josephine, or Jo, Fraser. Born in Seattle, she lived there until her father died and her mother remarried, when Jo was 13. She then moved first to China and then Washington with her mother and stepfather, who as a naval officer. I asked her to dance at the club that evening, and she said okay, though a bit tentatively. I was on cloud nine, and had there been a cloud ten or eleven, I'd have been on them, too.

In lieu of flowers, the Schirra family has asked that donations be made in her name to the Nature Conservancy or the National Park Foundation.

Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012

posted 04-29-2015 06:01 PM               

---

.

As sad as I am to hear of her passing, that story really made me smile.

Posts: 2476
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

Posts: 649
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jun 2001

Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

Posts: 551
From: Silver Spring, Maryland USA
Registered: Aug 2003

Posts: 977
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Nov 2000

Posts: 107
From: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

Posts: 2176
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999

Posts: 691
From: Monticello, KY USA
Registered: Mar 2007

Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007

Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008

Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005

Posts: 528
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Aug 2002

Posts: 1156
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003

Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006

Posts: 1169
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010

Posts: 73
From: Ormond Beach, FL USA
Registered: Sep 2011

Posts: 367
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011

Posts: 831
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009

Posts: 667
From: uk
Registered: Sep 2002

Posts: 474
From: Fayetteville, NC, USA
Registered: May 2009

Posts: 782
From:
Registered: Mar 2009

Posts: 1337
From:
Registered: Aug 2002

Posts: 905
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015

Posts: 180
From: Montclair, NJ, USA
Registered: Apr 2010

Posts: 384
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Aug 2012

Posts: 365
From: London, UK
Registered: Jul 2009

Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006

Posts: 112
From: Mishawaka, IN, USA
Registered: Apr 2005

Posts: 1047
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004

Posts: 112
From: Denmark
Registered: Jun 2010

Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010

Posts: 107
From: Norway
Registered: Jan 2014

Posts: 155
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio U.S.A.
Registered: Jul 2005

Posts: 114
From: SW La.
Registered: Aug 2006

Posts: 340
From: Vilano Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

Posts: 21
From: England
Registered: Aug 2012

Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002

Posts: 475
From: Delray Beach Florida USA
Registered: Mar 2006