Marilyn Lovell, wife of Apollo 13 commander, dead at 93

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Marilyn Lovell, the wife of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell whose steely resolve during the troubled space flight’s agonizing return to Earth in 1970 highlighted the emotional strain of astronauts’ spouses, died on Aug. 27. She was 93.

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Lovell, whose husband of 71 years was at her side, died in Lake Forest, Illinois, according to her obituary on the website of Wenban Funeral Home. Her son, Jeff Lovell, said his mother died of natural causes at the Lake Forest Place retirement community, the Chicago Tribune reported. She was a longtime resident of the community.

Apollo 13, which rocketed into space on April 11, 1970, was not as newsworthy as previous space missions, The Washington Post reported. The breakup of The Beatles was the top story of the week, according to the newspaper.

That changed after an onboard explosion on the space capsule put the mission -- and the lives of astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert -- in life-threatening danger.

For the next four days, NASA worked to save the astronauts. Marilyn Lovell became the face of the astronauts’ wives, with her stoicism giving the country hope about the fate of the men who were supposed to be part of the third lunar landing in the program’s history, the Post reported.

On April 17, the Apollo 13 crew splashed safely into the Pacific Ocean, according to the newspaper.

“For four days,” Marilyn Lovell later said, “I didn’t know if I was going to be a wife or a widow.”

The traumatic flight was later turned into the 1995 hit movie, “Apollo 13,” which immortalized the phrase, “Houston, we’ve got a problem.” The line was spoken by Tom Hanks, who portrayed Jim Lovell, but the Apollo 13 commander actually said, “Uh, Houston, we’ve had a problem,” according to the Post.

Marilyn Lovell was played by Kathleen Quinlan in the film and was nominated for an Academy Award for best-supporting actress. The award was won by Mira Sorvino in “Mighty Aphrodite.”

“I’m very pleased with Tom (Hanks)’ portrayal of Jim,” Marilyn Lovell told the Tribune in 1995. “And Kathleen Quinlan, who played me, also did an excellent job. Her performance in the movie made me relive the entire emotional experience.”

Born Marilyn Lillie Gerlach in Milwaukee on July 11, 1930, she graduated from Juneau High School, where she met her future husband at the Milwaukee school, the Tribune reported.

Marilyn Lovell attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and married Jim Lovell in 1952 after he graduated from the Naval Academy, according to the newspaper.

Jim Lovell was selected to be part of NASA’s second group of astronauts in 1962 and piloted the Gemini 7 mission in 1965 and was the command pilot of the Gemini 12 flight the following year, the Tribune reported.

In 1968, Marilyn Lovell was the only astronaut’s wife to watch the launch of the Apollo 8 in person as her husband, Frank Borman, and Bill Anders became the first astronauts to view the dark side of the moon, according to the newspaper.

Jim Lovell named a small lunar mountain Mount Marilyn in his wife’s honor, the Tribune reported.

Marilyn Lovell called the waiting period for her husband’s return from the aborted Apollo 13 mission a “nightmare.”

“I never experienced anything like this before, and I never care to experience it again,” she told the Tribune in 1970.

In addition to her husband, Marilyn Lovell’s survivors include four children, Barbara Harrison, James Lovell III, Susan Lovell and Jeffrey Lovell; 11 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren, according to the Post..

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