Passing

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry died today.
She died of leukemia at age 76.
She started out as second in command of the Enterprise in the unaired pilot, then played head nurse Christine Chapel in Star Trek the original series and then Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek The Next Generation. She also appeared in other Star Trek movie and TV series as the voice of the computer system. She also served as producer of two other TV seris.
Union Pacific railroad engineers enlisted her voice talents for their track-side defect detecor devices, used in various Union Pacific railroad locations deployed west of the Mississippi River. When a defect is identified, the system responds with her voice announcing information to the train's head-end crew.