Former NASA astronaut Rich Clifford, living in North Myrtle Beach, dies from Parkinson’s
Michael “Rich” Clifford, a former astronaut who spent more than 600 hours in space during three separate missions, died Tuesday at 69 due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease.
Clifford and his wife, Nancy, had been living in North Myrtle Beach for the past nine years, while also spending a lot of time in Cary, North Carolina, Nancy Clifford told The Sun News.
The couple frequented the Music on Main concert series every Thursday night, and Rich enjoyed golfing at the Surf Golf and Beach Club, she said.
“He fit right in down here,” Nancy said. “He loved people.”
A West Point graduate born in San Bernandino, California, Rich Clifford first traveled to space as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in December 1992 and then again in April 1994, according to his NASA profile.
He was then diagnosed with Parkinson’s, an incurable brain disorder that leads to increasingly worsening symptoms including shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking and coordination.
But that diagnosis didn’t prevent him from a third mission during March 1996, when he traveled to the Russian space station Mir and performed a six-hour spacewalk, becoming the first American ever to do so while docked to an orbiting space station.
“He did it with no problem, and that was the highlight of his career,” Nancy said.
Clifford left NASA following that mission, but kept his diagnosis under wraps for years, before his journey was chronicled in a short documentary called “The Astronaut’s Secret” in 2014. He would go on to serve as a role model for others dealing with Parkinson’s, speaking at various conferences and serving on the Michael J. Fox Foundation Patient Council.
After leaving NASA, he worked for Boeing first as a flight operations manager and then overseeing the company’s shuttle program before it was shut down. Nancy noted that her husband worked diligently to ensure every member of that team found another job before he’d leave.
“That’s just how he worked,” she said.
In the days since his death, Nancy said she’s been heartened by all the supportive condolences from Clifford’s former colleagues at NASA and Boeing, who described him as smart, humorous and humble.
“He was a very well-liked individual because he could just get on anyone’s level to talk,” she said.
His family will remember him as a devoted husband, father and grandfather, with Nancy noting that he was able to recently meet their first granddaughter, named Eva, which stands from extra vehicular activity.
“That’s his spacewalk.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Former NASA astronaut Rich Clifford, living in North Myrtle Beach, dies from Parkinson’s."
