Amarillo honors Columbia commander
Posted on 02/22/2003 4:39:57 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Amarillo honors Columbia commander
1,000 attend hometown tribute to man who reached for the stars
02/22/2003
AMARILLO - Almost 21 years ago, Rick and Evelyn Husband were married here at First Presbyterian Church. Friday, at that same place of worship, a thousand people turned out in a tribute to Col. Husband, commander of the shuttle Columbia.
Mrs. Husband, who has rarely made public remarks since the shuttle broke apart Feb. 1 over Texas, killing her husband and six other astronauts, spoke about the love he gave their two children and how much he will be missed.
"I still cannot comprehend that Rick is in heaven and not here," she said, fighting back tears. "That I will never see his beautiful face come through the door from work, that I will never feel his warm embrace or hear his voice saying my name.
"We will not experience growing old together or raising our children together or being grandparents."
STEVEN LINE/Amarillo Globe-News Evelyn Husband, the widow of space shuttle Columbia commander Rick Husband, told stories about her late husband during a memorial at First Presbyterian Church on Friday. |
The couple began dating at Texas Tech University on Jan. 28, 1977, and that date has since provided other touchstone moments in their lives.
On that date in 1986, the Challenger space shuttle exploded while soaring off the launch pad. And on Jan. 28 of this year, she heard her husband's voice for the last time.
Col. Husband, 45, had dreamed of being an astronaut since he was 4 years old, she said. He always made people he met feel they were important and never let his celebrity as an astronaut get in the way of his faith and his family, she said.
"I see him as a great patriot," said Angus Hogg, a pilot whom Col. Husband met in 1992 while doing test pilot work in England with the Royal Air Force. "He was a tremendous husband and father. He's one of the few men I ever met who managed to put his family first."
The memorial included playback of an audiotape that Col. Husband made at the church after his first shuttle flight aboard Discovery in 1999. He said he was able to maintain his perspective despite the arduous work of being an astronaut.
He talked about being with his daughter, Laura, now 12, when she was preparing to go to sleep and his going in to talk with her. Then he talked about his son, Matthew, now 7, who as a 3-year-old ran naked after having a bath to give his father a kiss.
"I wouldn't trade any of those things for a ride in space, because it wouldn't be worth it," Col. Husband said.
As the recording ended, Mrs. Husband leaned over and kissed Matthew's head and hugged him.
Throughout the service, the two children leaned their heads against their mother's shoulders as she sat between them at the front of the church.
Near the end, a montage of still and videotaped images of Col. Husband from his years as a youth through his training as an astronaut and his first shuttle flight was projected on the front walls of the church.
Col. Husband, who participated in choir during his days at Amarillo High School, applied to NASA's astronaut program four times before being accepted in 1994.
Another speaker at the service said Col. Husband's astronaut talents were still being used in heaven.
"I would be surprised if God has not asked the commander of the Columbia to help him in the management of his stars and solar system and all of outer space," said the Rev. James Carroll, a former pastor at the church. "And surely Rick is singing in heaven's choir."
Earlier Friday, Col. Husband's remains were buried at Llano Cemetery in Amarillo in a service that included a full honor guard and a military flyover.
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