Jim Lovell was a man with many titles: Engineer. Naval Aviator. Test Pilot. Father. Husband... However the title most people attribute to Lovell? Astronaut.
Jim Lovell passed away last Thursday, August 7, 2025 at the age of 97 years old. Lovell played a pivotal role in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and America's race to the moon in the 1960's, even earning himself the distinction of being the first man to fly in space four times - Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and of course served as commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. 715 hours and 5 minutes logged in space!
James Arthur Lovell, Jr. was born on March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. When Jim was 5 years old, his father, James Lovell, Sr. sadly passed away in a car accident. Lovell and his mother, Blanche moved around the country several times - to Terry Haute, Indiana, and later to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lovell attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, and even from an early age he shared a passion for aviation and rocketry.
After graduating high school, Lovell studied engineering through the U.S. Navy's "Flying Midshipman" program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1946-1948. In the summer of 1948 during Lovell's pre-flight training, the U.S. Navy was making cutbacks in the program, so he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. In the spring of 1952, Lovell graduated with a bachelor of science degree and was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy.
It was in high school where Lovell met his sweetheart, Marilyn Lillie Gerlach. They were married on June 6, 1952, and they had four children: Barbara, James, Susan, and Jeffrey. They remained happily married until Marilyn's passing in 2023.
Lovell completed his pilot training in 1954 and served various assignments in the Navy, including a deployment aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Shangri-La. In January, 1958 Lovell entered a 6-month long test pilot training course. It was during this test pilot training period where Lovell would meet his future astronaut colleagues Wally Schirra and Pete Conrad. Later that year, Lovell received the invitation to try out for NASA's Project Mercury. 110 military personnel were invited to try out for Mercury, but only 7 would be chosen. Lovell was rejected for Mercury due to a high bilirubin count, but Lovell was determined to fly in space. A few years later in 1962 Lovell was selected to be in the next group of astronauts known as the "New Nine" or the "Next Nine" for the upcoming Gemini program.
Lovell played a key role in the Gemini program's goal of proving that man could work in space. In December, 1965 Lovell flew with Frank Borman on-board Gemini 7. Lovell and Borman stayed inside their cramped Gemini spacecraft for nearly two weeks to prove that long duration space-flight was possible. In addition to long duration flight, Gemini 7 performed rendezvous maneuvers with its sister, Gemini 6 - crewed by Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford. Lovell's second flight on Gemini was its final mission, Gemini 12 in November, 1966. This time Lovell flew with a then rookie astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. After a series of trial and errors with previous Gemini missions, Gemini 12 achieved the program's final objective that it was possible for man to comfortably work outside of a spacecraft.
After the Apollo 1 accident which sadly claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee in January 1967, Lovell helped test the redesigned Apollo command module. Originally, Apollo 8 was supposed to be the first manned test of the newly designed Lunar Module, however construction delays caused the flight plans to be swapped with Apollo 9. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders made history when they became the first human beings to orbit the moon in December, 1968. Apollo 8 was the first time in history when human beings provided images of the earth from the moon. "Earthrise", taken by Bill Anders, is widely regarded as one of the most famous photographs ever taken in human history.
As noteworthy as Apollo 8 was, it would be overshadowed by Lovell's final spaceflight- Apollo 13. In April 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert were destined for the Fra Mauro crater on the lunar surface, however a catastrophic accident on the way to the moon cut this mission short. The mission's objective shifted from a lunar landing mission to a fight for survival. Flight director Gene Kranz made it clear that "failure is not an option" in bringing Apollo 13 home. The Lunar Module Aquarius became a life-boat for the crew while they made their way back to earth. The Apollo 13 crew worked relentlessly with mission control engineers to safely return home, and miraculously, returned home they did on April 17. The Apollo 13 mission was famously depicted in the 1995 movie of the same name directed by Ron Howard.
Lovell retired from NASA and the Navy in March, 1973. Following his tenure with the space program Lovell served a myriad of roles. In 1975 he became the CEO of the Bay-Houston Towing Company in Houston, Texas, president of Fisk Telephone Systems in 1977, and then worked at the Centel Corporation in Chicago, Illinois, retiring as an executive vice president in 1991. Lovell also served on the board of directors for several organizations, including the Federal Signal Corporation in Chicago from 1984 to 2003, the Astronautics Corporation of America in his hometown of Milwaukee from 1990 to 1999, and Centel from 1987 to 1991.
In commemoration of Jim Lovell's contributions to space exploration, South Carolina ETV would like to showcase our content featuring this venerable gentleman.
- History in a Nutshell - The Space Race
- Apollo 8's Out of this World Christmas Present
- NASA's "Successful Failure": Apollo 13
- Splashdown: The Story of USS Yorktown and Apollo 8
