soul

of blessed memory

NASA Honors Columbia Crew
Including Israeli Astronaut

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ASA honored the astronauts killed
aboard shuttle Columbia 15 years ago,
with a special musical tribute last week
by the son of Israel’s first astronaut.
Seven astronauts — including Israeli Air
Force Col. (res.) Ilan Ramon — were killed on
Feb. 1, 2003, when the Columbia shattered
in the skies over Texas, just minutes before a
Florida touchdown.
A NASA investigation found that a piece of
foam installation on the shuttle’s external tank
had broken off, compromising its structural
integrity and causing it to break apart as it re-
entered the atmosphere.
Singer-songwriter Tal Ramon joined a few
hundred others at Kennedy Space Center to
remember the Columbia crew and other astro-
nauts killed in the line of duty over the decades.
Ramon performed two of his own songs,
singing in Hebrew and playing the keyboard.
Later, he and relatives of other astronauts killed
in the mission placed long-stemmed, yellow,
orange and pink roses at the Space Mirror
Memorial. In all, 24 names are engraved in the
large granite monument.
“I’m just so emotional to be here with you,”
Ramon told the crowd before performing at the
memorial.
It was also difficult for forest ranger Gregory
Cohrs, who was among the first on the acci-
dent scene in Hemphill, Texas. Cohrs worked
for three months scouring the area for shuttle
debris and the astronauts’ remains. He now
serves at Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana.
“It was really important for us to bring the
crew home to their families. So we’re really
thankful to have been able to do that,” he told
The Associated Press.
NASA held its annual day of remembrance
last week to honor all its astronauts killed in the
line of duty. Seventeen died in three accidents:
Columbia, the Apollo 1 fire on the launch pad
on Jan. 27, 1967, and the shuttle Challenger
launch disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. The seven

others died in plane crashes during training or
other official business.
NASA’s acting administrator, Robert
Lightfoot, led observances at Arlington National
Cemetery near Washington, where several of
these astronauts are buried.
At Kennedy, NASA’s first female space shuttle
commander, Eileen Collins, now retired and
board chairman of the Astronauts Memorial
Foundation, noted next Wednesday will mark
the 60th anniversary of the liftoff of America’s
first satellite. Explorer 1 launched on Jan. 31,
1958, right as NASA’s seven original Mercury
astronauts had begun training for their space
flights. “They still inspire us today,” she said.
Among those attending the Kennedy tribute
were family members of four early astronauts
killed in plane crashes in the 1960s: Charles
Bassett II, Elliot See Jr., Clifton Williams Jr. and
Michael Adams, who reached the edge of space
in his X-15.
Also on hand were Apollo 11 moonwalker
Buzz Aldrin, as well as former shuttle astro-
nauts and launch directors. The son of
Columbia pilot Willie McCool — Christopher
McCool — was there, too. But it was Ramon
who addressed the crowd on behalf of the
Columbia families.
Ramon recalled how his father’s spaceflight
was “a huge thing” not only in Israel, but the
United States as well. He shared how his father’s
mother was a Holocaust survivor and piano
teacher, and how his father could play the
piano. His own musical journey began after his
father’s death, when he returned to Israel and
his father’s Steinway piano.
He performed the title song from his album
Character — Dmut in Hebrew — which is dedi-
cated to his father and older brother Assaf, a
pilot in the Israeli Air Force who died in a jet
crash in 2009. His second selection, an instru-
mental piece, was “Victory.”
“Even with big tragedy, we believe that there’s
such a big victory that we are here today to
share their stories,” he said. •

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Devoted To Art

J

ulie Reyes Taubman, 50,
of Bloomfield Hills, died
Jan. 28, 2018.
Active in the national arts
community, Mrs. Taubman
was a founder and board
chairman of the Museum of
Contemporary Art Detroit
(MoCAD), a member of the
of the Cranbrook Academy
of Art Board of Governors,
as well as a former board
member of the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame.
She was an accomplished
documentary photographer;
her book, Detroit: 138 Square
Miles, was published in 2012
with a forward by bestsell-
ing Detroit author Elmore
Leonard, with whom she
developed a great friendship.
In his forward, Leonard
wrote: “In Julia’s compo-
sition there is beauty in
despair, and sometimes a
glimmer of hope. We see life
and death in Detroit, noth-
ing Chamber of Commerce
inspired, but more real than
any other reality show.”
Born and raised in the
Washington, D.C, area, Julia,
known best to her friends
as “Julie,” was a member of
the Reyes family, owners
of Chicago-based food and
beverage distributors Reyes
Holdings LLC, one of the
nation’s largest privately
held companies. She mar-
ried Robert Taubman in
1999.
Mrs. Taubman is sur-
vived by her husband,

Taubman

Robert Taubman; children,
Ghislaine “GoGo” Taubman,
Theodore Taubman,
Sebastian Taubman and
Alexander Alfred Taubman;
father, Joseph Reyes; broth-
ers and sisters, J. Christopher
and Anne Reyes, M. Jude and
Lori Reyes, David “Duke”
and Pam Reyes, William
and Annie Reyes, John and
Caroline Reyes, James Reyes,
and Thomas and Angie
Reyes; sisters-in-law and
brothers-in-law, William and
Ellen Taubman, and Gayle
and Michael Kalisman; many
loving nieces, nephews and
a world of friends.
Mrs. Taubman was the
devoted daughter of the late
Frances Reyes; the beloved
daughter-in-law of the late
A. Alfred Taubman and the
late Reva Taubman Stocker.
Interment was at Clover
Hill Park Cemetery.
Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel. •

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