Buzz Aldrin’s Wife, Anca, Cause of Death Revealed by Friend
Buzz Aldrin’s wife, Anca Faur, died on Tuesday at the age of 66 after a private battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, according to a family statement.
She passed away peacefully with Aldrin and her son, Vlad Ghenciu, by her side.
Newsweek has contacted a representative for Aldrin via email for comment.
The Context
Faur, a chemical engineer and executive vice president of Buzz Aldrin Ventures, had been married to the retired astronaut since 2023. Aldrin, 95, was the second person to walk on the moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong. He is the oldest living astronaut following Jim Lovell’s death in 2025 and is the last surviving member of Apollo 11 following the deaths of Armstrong in 2012 and pilot Michael Collins in 2021.
What To Know
In a statement shared to social media from Aldrin’s official account, the former astronaut said that he was “fortunate to have found and married the love of my life.”
“I will miss her dearly,” Aldrin said.
Bobby Charles, who was a close family friend of the couple who held the bible at their wedding in 2023, confirmed Faur’s cause of death to People.
Charles said that Faur had a very rare cancer which she had fought “valiantly,” for “quite some time,” prior to her death on October 28.
Faur’s health took a rapid turn in her final days, with Charles telling People that “Even if I was talking to her a month ago, I still would’ve been optimistic.”
Charles said her death was a shock to Aldrin, who remains “devastated” by the loss. The specific type of cancer has not been made public.
Aldrin and Faur met in December of 2017 and started dating several months later in May of 2018. Their wedding coincided with Aldrin’s 93rd birthday and was marked by a small, intimate ceremony near their home.
Faur was an accomplished scientist, having earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. She served as treasurer for the California Hydrogen Business Council in addition to being the executive vice president of Buzz Aldrin Ventures LLC, her family said.
Prior to her role in Aldrin’s ventures, she worked for nearly two decades at Johnson Matthey, a London-based chemicals and sustainable technologies firm. Faur continued to advocate for advancements in sustainable hydrogen technologies until her illness took a severe turn in the weeks leading up to her passing, according to her now-deleted LinkedIn, E! News reported.
Aldrin has been married four times: to Joan Archer from 1954 to 1974, Beverly Van Zile from 1975 to 1988, and Lois Driggs Cannon from 1988 to 2012.
Aldrin shares three children with his first wife, James, Janice, and Andrew. He has one grandson to his daughter Janice, three great-grandsons, and one great-granddaughter.
What People Are Saying
Faur and Aldrin’s families wrote in a statement posted to Facebook: “Dr. Anca Aldrin, wife of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, peacefully passed away last night with her husband and her son, Vlad Ghenciu by her side. Mrs. Aldrin, an accomplished chemical engineer with a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, served as the treasurer for the California Hydrogen Business Council and as Executive Vice President of Buzz Aldrin Ventures LLC.”
Aldrin said in the same statement: “I am so fortunate to have found and married the love of my life. She brought joy to everything we did together. I will miss her dearly.”
Aldrin praised Faur in an interview with People shortly after their wedding: “When I met Anca I instantly recognized that here was a woman who is the whole Wizard of Oz package: Brains. Heart. Courage. There is something special about her and the way we connect so well.”
