Mary Haise: Where is Fred Haise’s ex-wife now?

Mary Haise is the ex-wife of Fred Haise. Mary Haise’s husband is a celebrated former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He is one of 24 people to have flown to the Moon, having flown as a Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 13.

Mary Haise: Bio Summary

Who is Fred Haise’s ex-wife?

Mary Haise is the ex-wife of Fred Haise. She was the first wife of the celebrated former NASA astronaut. Mary and Fred were high school sweethearts in Biloxi, Mississippi.; they later married in 1954 in a beautiful wedding ceremony in the presence of their friends, families, and loved ones. Mary and Fred were the parents of four children-  Mary Margaret Haise, Stephen William Haise, Frederick Thomas Haise, and Thomas Jesse Haise.

The family moved around the country as Fred went on to get his wings from the Navy, joined the Marine Corps, earned a second degree in aeronautical engineering, and ended up at Edwards Air Force Base. Fred joined NASA and applied for the astronaut program alongside 600 other people, and he was one of 19 chosen. In 1966, the couple relocated to Houston, where the astronauts and their families lived in close quarters.

Mary Haise was pregnant during the Apollo-13 near disaster

Fred Haise’s then-wife, now ex-wife Mary was seven months pregnant when Apollo 13 lifted off, and the families remained in Houston, watching the lift-off at Mission Control. The explosion of the oxygen tank happened on the third day en route to the Moon, threatening the lives of three astronauts—commander Jim Lovell, lunar module pilot Fred Haise, and command module pilot Jack Swigert.

ALSO, READ; F. Patt Price: What happened to Fred Haise’s wife?

Talking about the incident, Mary Said- “We each had a little black box on our TV set that connected us with Mission Control, and each astronaut family had a NASA representative who moved into our home,” she revealed. “On the third day of the mission, we were returning home. I was opening the front door, and he was on the phone when he yelled at me, “Don’t go in! Don’t open the door!“

She continued to say-“But I could see into the family room, and Walter Cronkite was on TV saying there had been an explosion onboard. I couldn’t breathe. A few minutes later, Neil Armstrong came in the back door, gave me a hug, sat with me and told me what he knew. That was such a comfort.“

“We didn’t know if they would get back,” Mary said. “They were 200,000 miles away when the explosion happened.” The house was packed, and the press was camped out on the front lawn. Mary walked up the stairs, leaving all the commotion behind, and sat in the newly set-up baby’s nursery.

When the crew handed safely, President Nixon invited the astronauts and their wives to dinner at the White House. “We met in the Oval Office before dinner to talk and got a tour of the private family quarters upstairs,” Mary said. “It was a very fancy dinner.”

ALSO, READ; Fred Haise Children: Mary Margaret Haise, Stephen William Haise, Frederick Thomas Haise, Thomas Jesse Haise

After those heady experiences, life returned to normal, and Fred Haise and his husband Mary Haise raised their four children; they later called their marriage a quit in 1978 after being together for more than 2 decades. The reason behind their divorce was not made public but the former lovers remained friends. Fred Haise’s ex-wife, Mary Haise eventually settled in Summerfield for 18 years, left for three years, and returned in March 2022, moving into Summerfield Estates per tigardlife.

Mary Haise said she enjoyed the cinematic release of “Apollo 13,” directed by Ron Howard where she was played by Actress Tracy Reiner. “I thought she did a good job,” said Mary Haise told Vallytimes. Fred Haise was played by the late Bill Paxton in “Apollo 13,” which also featured Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Gary Sinise. Fred Haise got married to F. Patt Price after his marriage with Mary came to an end.