An Indy woman's remains will soon reach their final resting place — orbiting the sun

Caroline Beck, Indianapolis Star
Updated ·3 min read
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An Indianapolis woman and former Indianapolis Public Schools police officer will soon reach her final resting place, orbiting the sun.

The partial remains of Jo Ann Holder will be included on an inaugural deep space flight, scheduled to launch on Jan. 8, thanks to Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, which helps send remains of loved ones into space.

Holder is included in the more than 200 other passengers whose remains or DNA will travel into space on the Enterprise Flight, which is Celstis’ first deep space voyage, that will eventually find its final position in space, orbiting the sun.

Once the spacecraft reaches its orbit of the sun, it will then be known as the Enterprise station and be the furthest humankind outpost in the solar system, according to a news release from Celestis.

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Holder worked in various IPS schools as a police officer for around 15 years and eventually rose to the rank of sergeant before her retirement.

Her son Joe Cassady told IndyStar that she had always had a love for space, ever since the 1960s moon race captured the nation, which led her to develop a passion for all things space-related.

Joe Cassady stands with his mother Jo Ann Holder, whose remains will be sent to space on Celestis' Enterprise Flight, a deep space voyage taking hundreds of people's remains or partial DNA into space with the goal of orbiting the sun for eternity.
Joe Cassady stands with his mother Jo Ann Holder, whose remains will be sent to space on Celestis' Enterprise Flight, a deep space voyage taking hundreds of people's remains or partial DNA into space with the goal of orbiting the sun for eternity.

Holder’s commitment to space travel even went so far as buying a condo near the Kennedy Space Center so that she could see launches, of which she witnessed over two dozen.

Cassady said making sure his mother’s remains were on the Enterprise flight was a “no-brainer.”

His mother’s deep love for space is what eventually motivated him to go to Purdue University and graduate with a degree in aeronautics, and he now works in the aerospace industry.

Cassady’s connection to the Enterprise flight doesn’t stop at just his mother’s remains. He was also part of the team that helped assemble the Vulcan rocket that will help the spacecraft reach orbit.

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“I kind of feel like I’m helping her get to where she always wanted to go,” Cassady said.

Cassady said he plans to be at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to see his mother take flight on Jan. 8.

“I feel like it is a tribute to her,” Cassady said. “She had so much potential, and probably if she could have been born about 20 years later, I think she would have ended up being an astronaut flying on the shuttle. So it's great to give her the chance to actually go and realize that dream.”

Celestis has launched 20 memorial spaceflights since 1997 and has helped around 2,000 people send their remains into space.

Along with cremated remains, people can send their DNA on the memorial flights as well as “MindFiles” which are pieces of paper that customers can write whatever they want to send into space.

“So there will be a repository of our civilization that’s going to stay in our solar system forever,” said Colby Youngblood, president of Celestis.

Celestis offers its customers various kinds of memorial spaceflights that range from orbiting the earth to the deep space voyages, like Holder will be traveling on. The price for these experiences can range from $3,000 to $13,000.

Celestis already has plans in the works for another deep space voyage flight to be launched sometime between 2025 and 2027 and plans for another lunar service launch sometime in 2025 and 2026.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing access and achievement gaps in education. 

Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of the reporter’s salary during their time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder.  

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Celestis Memorial Spaceflight sends Indy woman's remains to deep space