From left, St. Martha principal Karen Donofry; science coordinator Paula Adams; Ferguson; and the Rev. Al Masluk, pastor at St. Martha.
Astronaut Chris Ferguson spent a recent Sunday at St. Martha, attending the noon Mass and the dedication of a science laboratory in his name before heading to a testimonial dinner in his honor at the Philadelphia Ballroom on Hornig Road.
The Rev. Al Masluk, pastor of St. Martha, blessed the third-floor science lab with holy water.
A gold plaque in the hallway outside the room reads, “Named in honor of our native son who began his journey to the stars as a graduate of St. Martha School and who finished it as a commander of the last flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis.”
Written reports and pictures from Hurricane Sandy hang on the wall outside the Christopher J. Ferguson Science Center.
Principal Karen Donofry and science coordinator and fifth-grade teacher Paula Adams were among those in attendance. Ferguson is a 1975 St. Martha graduate.
“This is really an incredible honor. You have all the right ingredients. I think this is really neat,” he said of the lab.
At the dinner, Ferguson received citations from city and state officials. Cathy Gandolfo, the retired longtime Action News reporter, was mistress of ceremonies.
Ferguson, who grew up on Amity Road and attended Archbishop Ryan High School, is a retired U.S. Navy captain who served as pilot of an Atlantis shuttle flight in 2006 and commander of an Endeavour flight in 2008 and an Atlantis flight in 2011. Last year’s flight was the final one for NASA’s space shuttle.
A married father of three, Ferguson retired from NASA last December. He works for Boeing. ••
