Mary Louise Cleave's Obituary
Dr. Mary Louise Cleave passed away on November 27, 2023, in Annapolis, MD. Mary was born on February 5, 1947, in Southampton, NY to Howard and Barbara Cleave. Mary grew up in Great Neck, NY with her sisters, Gertrude (Trudy) Carter and Barbara (Bobbie) Cleave and graduated from Great Neck North High School in 1965. Mary attended Colorado State University, where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Sciences in 1969. Mary then attended Utah State University, where she received a Master of Science Degree in Microbial Ecology in 1975 and a Doctorate in Civil Environmental Engineering in 1979.
Mary was selected as a NASA Astronaut in May 1980. A veteran of two space flights on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Mary logged a total of 10 days, 22 hours, 02 minutes, 24 seconds in space, orbited the Earth 172 times and traveled 3.94 million miles. She was a mission specialist on STS-61-B (November 26 to December 3, 1985) and STS-30 (May 4–8, 1989). In May 1991 Mary transferred from the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, NASA’s center for human spaceflight, to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Here, she worked in the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes as the Project Manager for SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing, Wide-Field-of-view-Sensor), an ocean color sensor which is monitoring vegetation globally. Cleave served as Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate. Mary retired from NASA in April 2007.
During Mary’s remarkable career, she was featured in several articles including articles in Maryland Women’s Journal and Utah State Magazine. Mary is also featured in the 2000 movie, Women in Space: Profiles of the First American Women Astronauts. In 2022, Mary was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame.
Mary is survived by her sisters, Trudy Carter and Bobbie Cleave (Gordon); nephews, Howard Carter and Skyler Bosworth; as well as other family members and friends.
Most people will remember Mary for her career, but her family will remember her infectious laugh, her amazing mind, and her huge heart.
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