VIENNA, Va. – Eleanor Jean (Harris) Aldrich passed away peacefully at her home in Vienna, Va. on April 7, 2023, at the age of 85.

Known to many as “Ellie,” she was born in Portland to Reginald H. Harris and Alice Eugenia (Hupper) Harris, and grew up in Boothbay Harbor. She earned a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts, where she played field hockey, served as President of the Panhellenic Council, and was Social Chair of her Phi Beta Phi chapter. Eleanor married her husband (and high school sweetheart), Arnold Deane Aldrich, in 1959 in Lexington, Mass.

Eleanor and her husband moved to Virginia in 1959 as he joined NACA, the predecessor of NASA, and shortly thereafter they moved to Houston, Texas as the Johnson Space Center was being built. After teaching high school for several years and working as a realtor, Eleanor held leadership roles at the Houston Chamber of Commerce and the Houston Economic Development Council. In 1990, they moved to Washington, D.C. where she began a career at American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). During her first decade with AIAA she and her team organized and executed over 200 aerospace technology conferences world-wide. Later she led business development and helped lay the groundwork for AIAA’s expansion into commercial space opportunities. Upon leaving AIAA she formed a consulting company through which she continued her support of aerospace industry events through AIAA, the International Aerospace Federation, and other technical organizations. A recipient of the Women in Aerospace Award, Eleanor was cherished by her AIAA colleagues and many friends across the aerospace industry.

Throughout her life, Eleanor was active in her church and community. She and her husband were original founders of Friendswood United Methodist Church and Clear Lake United Church of Christ. She led children’s choirs, taught Sunday school, and more recently, participated in a women’s circle group at Vienna Presbyterian Church. She was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Freeman Memorial Library, and participated in Panhellenic and Pi Phi groups in both Houston and Washington, D.C. An avid singer, she was a member of the Houston Chorale, the Bay Area Chorus, and various church choirs. She loved the theater and sponsored the Alley Theater in Houston, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Wolftrap in McLean, and several community theaters in and around D.C. Blessed with limitless curiosity and a generous spirit, Eleanor was adored for her ready smile, witty personality, enthusiasm for life, and boundless energy.

Eleanor loved to share her passion for travel and the outdoors with her family and friends. During her 30 years in Texas, she enjoyed camping, water skiing, bodysurfing, rodeo barrel racing, trail riding, sailing, windsurfing, and fishing. She delighted in excursions to Mexico, NASA launches in Florida, and visits to Texas state parks and Spanish missions. She owned her own horse, sailboat, windsurfer, and kayak. Once her children were grown, she pursued bigger adventures including backpacking through Europe, rafting the Colorado River rapids, floating the Nile, going on African safari, and sailing the Caribbean. Eleanor graciously planned, funded, and hosted annual trips for her children and grandchildren throughout the U.S. and abroad. She continued down-hill and cross-country skiing well into her 70s, enjoying resorts in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and was fortunate to complete a cross-country ski expedition in northern Maine. In her lifetime, she visited more than 50 countries, across every continent except Antarctica. Despite her busy travel and work schedules, Eleanor made a point of attending her grandchildren’s many soccer games, volleyball games, cheer competitions, theater performances, and school events. Eleanor’s profound devotion to her family’s togetherness and her determined support of her grandchildren remain a legacy of her kind heart.

Eleanor was an eleventh-generation descendant of Thomas Harris of Deal, Kent County, England. Thomas Harris came to America on the ship Lyon from Bristol, England, in 1631 with his brother, William Harris, and Roger Williams, who subsequently founded Rhode Island Colony. On July 27, 1640, Thomas Harris and thirty-eight others signed an agreement for a form of government for the town of Providence, R.I.

Eleanor was predeceased by her husband of 61 years.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan Zoch and husband David of Columbia, Md., her son, Russell Aldrich and wife Resa of Ashburn, Va.; and four grandchildren, Chad Aldrich, Natalie Aldrich, Olivia Aldrich, and Lisa Zoch.

Interment and services will be held Oct. 14 at the family plot at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland. Please visit jonesrichandbarnes.com to view Eleanor’s tribute page and sign her online guest book.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the

Boothbay Region

Historical Society at

boothbayhistorical.org or

Vienna Presbyterian Church,

124 Park St., NE,

Vienna, VA 22180

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