Jeanne B. Gober

Jeanne B. Gober

January 20, 1927 - December 15, 2020

Jeanne Yvonne Blank Gober, 93, of Bowie, Maryland passed away on Tuesday, December 15^th following a brief illness.

Mrs. Gober was born on January 20, 1927 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Frank J. Blank and Mary Zdedolik Blank. She was raised in Wilkes-Barre and attended St. Nicholas High School. In 1944, following her high school graduation at the age of 17, she traveled by bus to Washington, D.C. where she joined her sister Irene and thousands of young women who staffed the offices of the federal government during World War II. She married John G. Gober in 1947.

In 1964, she joined the Public Affairs Office of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters where she worked on Project Gemini through the Apollo Lunar Missions, and during the early Space Shuttle Missions.  When the disastrous Apollo 1 fire occurred, she assisted with the funeral arrangements for the three astronauts who were killed.  She attended the first launches of the Saturn 1B and Saturn 5 launch vehicles as well as the manned Apollo launches. In 1970, after Apollo 12 (the second lunar landing mission) she accompanied Astronauts Conrad, Gordon, and Bean on their triumphant world tour. Subsequently she assisted in the arrangements for the U.S. tour of the American Astronauts and Russian Cosmonauts from the Apollo-Soyuz joint mission. She continued with NASA during the early days of the Space Shuttle program until her retirement in 1982.

In her retirement, Mrs. Gober enjoyed basket making, crossword puzzles (which she did daily until the day of her death), fiction novels, BBC television dramas, and many trips to Bethany Beach with her three granddaughters. She lived on her own without assistance until her death. She was a tough-minded independent woman who epitomized the best aspects of the Greatest Generation. She will be missed by all who knew her. 

Mrs. Gober was preceded in death by her parents, her three sisters, Irene Hillsinger, Louise Burke, and Elaine Beran Joyce, and her former husband.

Mrs. Gober is survived by her two children John (Jack) R. Gober (spouse Amy) and Mary Lou McDonough (spouse John); four grandchildren Emily W. Gordon (spouse Zack), Caitlin E. McDonough (spouse Benjamin Barnes), Aisling E. McDonough (spouse Stephen Lambert), and Jonathan A. Gober; and five great-grandchildren Greta Jeanne Gordon, Jack, Teddy, and Mickey Barnes and Finnegan Lambert.

Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Children’s National Medical Center.