  The blue-straggler binary WOCS 5379 is a member of the old (6-7 Gyr) open
cluster NGC 188. WOCS 5379 comprises a blue straggler star with a white dwarf
companion in a 120-day eccentric orbit. Combined with the orbital period, this
helium white dwarf is evidence of previous mass transfer by a red giant.
Detailed models of the system evolution from a progenitor main-sequence binary,
including mass transfer, are made using the Modules for Experiments in Stellar
Astrophysics (MESA). Both of the progenitor stars are evolved in the
simulation. WOCS 5379 is well reproduced with a primary star of initial mass
1.19 $M_{\odot}$, whose core becomes the white dwarf. The secondary star
initially is 1.01 $M_{\odot}$. 300 Myr ago, the secondary finished receiving
mass from the donor, having moved beyond the NGC 188 turnoff as a 1.20
$M_{\odot}$ blue straggler. The successful model has a mass transfer efficiency
of 22\%. This non-conservative mass transfer is key to expanding the orbit fast
enough to permit stable mass transfer. Even so, the mass transfer begins with a
short unstable phase, during which half of the accreted mass is transferred.
With increasing mass, the secondary evolves from a radiative core to a
convective core. The final blue straggler interior is remarkably similar to a
2.1 Gyr-old 1.21 $M_{\odot}$ main-sequence star at the same location in the HR
diagram. The white dwarf effective temperature is also reproduced, but the
modeled white dwarf mass of 0.33 $M_{\odot}$ is smaller than the measured mass
of 0.42 $M_{\odot}$.
