Geneva Barrington Barnes (Gennie), age 89 of Greensboro, NC (formerly of Silver Spring, MD) died of dementia Monday evening in Kernersville, NC. Gennie found her calling working for NASA starting in 1962. Gennie’s career in Public Affairs at NASA provided a front row seat to the challenges and successes of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs that culminated in landing the first men on the Moon in 1969. She was an integral part of the Operation Giant Leap team that planned and traveled the Around the World Presidential Goodwill Tour with the Apollo 11 astronauts. After the Apollo program, Gennie served a brief stint as the public affairs assistant to Neil Armstrong. During the twilight years of her NASA career, Gennie supported numerous Space Shuttle astronauts including Sally Ride and Shannon Lucid. Gennie retired from NASA in 1994. While at NASA, Gennie received the Silver Snoopy Award to recognize outstanding support. Obituary. Ad Astra Gennie.