HEREFORD, Ariz — Wendy Stangle didn't grow up a fan of Star Trek or science fiction, but after marrying her husband Brian, that changed.
“He was really into 'Star Trek,' anything spacey. And I wasn't, but now I am. It's what marriage will do to you," Wendy said.
Brian was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 14, and doctors said he wasn't going to make it to 34.
“Our life together was like a really great ride. Even though there were health issues, and you never knew when it was going to end," Wendy said.
Brian passed away in May of 2021 at the age of 64, never reaching his lifelong dream of going to space.
When Wendy and her daughter discovered Celestis after Brian's passing, they knew what they had to do.
Celestis runs memorial space flights, which help carry ashes to their final destination: space.
So Brian can finally achieve his dream.
“The fact that he gets to go out and stay out there, and we can go outside and go, 'look he's over there tonight,'” Wendy said.
The company's inaugural mission is Monday, January 8. And it is nicknamed, "Enterprise," after the ship with the same name from "Star Trek."
Also on the mission are the ashes of several of the original crew members from "Star Trek," including the show's creator Gene Roddenberry.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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