Chicago's Alder Planetarium honors Jim Lovell after death at 97 in Lake Forest, Illinois
Jim Lovell is most famous as the man to utter the words, "Houston, we've had a problem," the start of the now legendary Apollo 13 disaster.
He died Friday at the age of 97, but for years he called north suburban Lake Forest, Illinois home and forged a deep connection to Chicago's Adler Planetarium.
One of NASA's most traveled astronauts in the agency's first decade, Lovell flew four times on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and most infamously Apollo 13. During the harrowing 1970 flight. Lovell was supposed to be the fifth man to walk on the moon. But Apollo 13's service module, carrying Lovell and two others, experienced a sudden oxygen tank explosion on its way to the moon. The astronauts barely survived, spending four cold and clammy days in the cramped lunar module as a lifeboat.
The tale was immortalized in the 1995 film "Apollo 13," in which Lovell was portrayed by Tom Hanks.
But when he was back on Earth, he worked for a time in Houston, then in Chicago and, after retiring, settled in Lake Forest, where he opened the restaurant Lovel's of Lake Forst in 1999.
He also cultivated a deep connection with the Adler Planetarium.
"Thirteen, not successful in its initial mission, was very successful in binding back together the people of the United States and the world and the space program, as to how people can take almost a complete disaster and turn it into something that's very successful," he said from his Lake Forest home in 2020 as he reflected on his accomplishments for the Adler.
"He was a real inspiration and a real joy to be with," said Alder Vice President Andrews Johnston.
Johnston got to know the famous astronaut as a friend over the years.
"One of my favorite things about working at the Adler Planetarium is getting to know Captain Jim Lovell," he said.
The planetarium even has items from Apollo 13 on display; keepsakes that Lovell himself grabbed.
"One time I asked him, 'Why did you take this stuff? Didn't you have the other things to do?' And he said, 'Well, I thought that would make good keepsakes,'" Johnston recalled. "And what he meant by that is that he was even thinking he's on the spacecraft. But he's even thinking about the long-term legacy, about how we inspire people and help sharing this story."
Lovell credited his Apollo mission with helping to unite America in a fraught time.
"You know with riots and assassinations and a war going on, I was part of thing that gave an uplift to the American people," he sid.
"And here's a guy who had the whole world looking at him, but at the end of the day also look after yourself, and look after your family and do the right thing there, and it's just a real inspiration about a life well lived," Johnson said.
We at CBS News Chicago last heard from Lovell in 2017, when we spoke to him about the death of astronaut Gene Cernan, who he said he would remember as "one of the fine early adventurers in space."
In a statement, Lovell's family called him a hero and said, "We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humor, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible."