Mary Ellen was a pioneering woman engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), working on the Apollo Program. Mary's love of mathematics led her to a career in technology at a time when women were not supposed to be engineers.

On July 16,1969, as Apollo 11 lifted off carrying the first astronauts to set foot on the moon, Mary proudly supported the mission from her desk in the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Mary was the first child of John Wilson and Helen Tierney Golden, born in 1947, in Richmond, VA. A few years later, the Golden family moved to Pawtucket, RI, where Mary started school a year early because she was so bright. In 1957, her father landed a job with RCA supporting the fledgling US Space Program, so the family moved one more time to the "Sunshine State."

Mary's academic excellence continued. As an outstanding mathematics graduate from the University of South Florida, she immediately started her first job with NASA. "The rest is history."

Later in her career, Mary enjoyed success as an engineer for the Harris Corporation in Florida, and for San Diego Gas and Electric. In California, Mary and her husband, Jerry, bought a ranchette in the scenic hills east of San Diego, where they lived together until her death in 2021.