Placentia : Visitor Helps Shuttle Memorial in Florida

A Placentia businessman visiting Florida has contributed $1,500 to the city of Titusville, which could not afford to correct the spelling of astronaut Judith Resnik’s name on a memorial to the space shuttle Challenger.

Resnik’s name was misspelled “Resnick” on a plaque that had been set into granite at the base of a flagpole. The mistake was discovered last June, shortly after the plaque was installed. It is not known who is responsible for the misspelling.

The city’s Flag and Memorial Committee, which had raised about one-third of the funds for the memorial honoring the astronauts who died in the January, 1986, space shuttle explosion, did not have the money to correct the error.

But would-be donors, including John Simbach of Placentia, began calling City Hall to offer money. Other offers came from guards and inmates at a Connecticut prison, and a Georgia radio station owner.

Those offers were turned down, however, because city officials decided to accept the help of Robert Neal, a funeral home operator in Orlando, Fla., who offered to fix the plaque for free.