Departures 2005 and earlier

Charles S. Wetterer, Lt Col USAF (Ret.) of Hopkinton, NH. Age 86, died July 5, 2002 at his home. He was born in Hingham, MA, the son of Charles F. W. Wetterer and Elizabeth (Paten) Wetterer. He was a graduate of M.I.T. Class of 1939. He proudly served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force for six years during WW II rising from Private to Lieutenant Colonel and continued to serve in the active reserves until 1962. During the 1950's he was a pioneer in commercial weather modification with operations worldwide. For many years he and his wife, Nancy, were engaged in residential real estate and building ventures in MA and NH. He enjoyed flying and held a private pilot's license for over 50 years. In addition he and his beloved wife, Nancy, spent many winters in Naples, FL. Survivors include his wife of 50 years; a son, Charles C. Wetterer; a daughter and son-in-law, Wendy and William Steff; and three wonderful granddaughters, Libby & Katie Wetterer & Hannah Steff, all of Hopkinton, NH. Services & internment will be private at the convenience of the family.
His widow Nancy Wetterer died 8 May 2012 at the age of 107.

 

RICHARD EUGENE CALE, Major USAF (Ret.), Age 83, of Riverside, CA, passed away 07/25/2004. Mr. Cale was born 09/29/1920 in Wichita, KS. He was a Consulting Meteorologist and instructor in General and Aviation Meteorology, Orange Coast Community College, 1970-1974. Principal Scientist, Booz, Allen Applied Research, Inc., 1965-1970. Meteorological Consultant, (self-employed) 1949-1950. Krickweather Service, Inc., Forecaster 1946-1948. Mr. Cale served in the U.S. Army Air Corps., 1941-1945 as a Weather Observer, Forecaster and Station Chief. Recalled to active duty 1950 and retired from the Air Force in 1965 with the rank of Major. Mr. Cale was initially trained on-the-job and at US Army Air Corps schools. Subsequently he attended University of Maryland undergraduate courses and completed his Bachelor of General Education degree at the University of Omaha. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Meteorology at the University of Utah. His education continued through technical publications, seminars, workshops, and professional meetings; research in support of client requirements; and daily current analysis and archiving of western hemisphere weather conditions. Mr. Cale was the recipient of the 1962 Zimmerman Award by the U.S. Air Force for his contributions to applied climatology and received the U.S. Air Force Commendation Medal in 1963 for meteorological consulting services in support of aerospace systems. Chairman, Los Angeles Chapter, American Meteorological Society, 1969-70. President, National Council of Industrial Meteorologists, 1980-81. Recipient, Riverside-San Bernardino Chapter, American Meteorological Society Award for Outstanding Meteorologist of the year 1981. Numerous contributions to technical meteorological papers. Mr. Cale was a member of American Meteorological Society, Royal Meteorological Society, National Council of Industrial Meteorological, National Weather Association, International Society of Air Safety Investigators, The Society of Sigma Xi, California Weather Association, The Retired Officers Association, Reserve Officers Association, Twin Peaks Lodge #32, F. & A. M. Midvale, Utah, University of Utah Alumni Association and Air Weather Association. Mr. Cale is survived by his wife, Patricia E. Cale, Riverside, CA.; 2 Daughters, Cheryle J. Harbaugh, Albuquerque, NM, Cindy K. Jones, Salt Lake City, UT; 2 Sons, Douglas R. Cale, Anaheim, CA., Gregory T. Thompson, Moreno Valley, CA.; Brother, Charles R. Schultz, Laguna Hills, CA.; 12 Grandchildren; 10 Great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to American Cancer Society.

Louis Anthony Gazzaniga, Col.(Ret) 86, passed away December 22, 2005 in San Antonio, Texas.  He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts.  In 1939, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, retiring 33 years later as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force.  During World War II he served with distinction in both the Pacific and European Theaters.  His career with the Air Weather Service included tours at USAFE Wiesbaden, Strategic Air Command, U.S. Strike Command, and the Pentagon.  He was a graduate from the University of Nebraska.  After the military, he managed the family wallpaper and paint store in North Adams, Massachusetts, and he also served as the local head of the Republican Party.  In 1992, he and his wife retired to San Antonio, Texas.  Col. Gazzaniga was predeceased by one sister and four brothers.  He is survived by his wife, Faith; three children, three grandchildren, one great grandchild, a sister, and a brother.  MEMORIAL SERVICE WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 28, 2005 10:00 A.M. AIR FORCE VILLAGE II 5100 JOHN D. RYAN BLVD.  Interment in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Health Care Center or the Freedom House of Air Force Village II, 5100 John D. Ryan Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78245.  You are invited to sign the guestbook at www.porterloring.com.  Arrangements with Porter Loring Mortuary.
Mrs Faith Gazzaniga
5100 J D Ryan  Blvd #728
San Antonio TX  78245-3518

 

MARTIN, Jr., Joseph Walter, Colonel, USAF (Retired)
Born in Kingston, Georgia to Joseph and Ida Mae Martin on March 28, 1937.  He passed into Life Eternal on December 19, 2005 in Sacramento, California after battling a long term illness.  He is survived by his loving wife Shirley, one sister Joanne, his son Joe, daughters Angie and Marti, their spouses, and grandchildren Steven Martin, David and Kelly Flanagan, and Martin and Michael Cutter, and several nieces and nephews.  He graduated in 1959 from The University of Georgia.  Later he was awarded graduate degrees from St Louis University, and The University of California-Japan Extension, and was a graduate of The Industrial College of the Armed Forces.  He served as an officer in the United States Air Force from 1959 to 1988, retiring at the grade of Colonel.  During his early Air Force years he was an Aerial Reconnaissance Weather Officer (ARWO) serving as a crew member on various military aircraft.  He was the first ARWO to qualify in the WC-135B aircraft at McClellan Air Force Base.  He served at bases in the USA, Bermuda, Japan, Germany and Korea.  Later in his career he was appointed an Air Force Contracting Officer managing organizations in California, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico.  He was the recipient of numerous distinguished military awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, and Air Force and Army Commendation Medals.  Following his Air Force retirement, Joe worked for United Technologies, the BDM Corporation, and was a private consultant on quality assurance matters.  He was a member of Carmichael Presbyterian Church where he served faithfully as an Elder and Moderator of Deacons, and was an active participant in several church organizations.  A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, Dec. 23rd at Carmichael Presbyterian Church, 5645 Marconi Ave, Carmichael, CA.  In lieu of flowers, Colonel Martin's wishes were that memorials be directed to the Carmichael Presbyterian Legacy of Faith Building Fund.

Charles M. Umpenhour, Lt Col USAF, Retired, passed away on December 13, 2005 in Elkins, West Virginia.  He had been battling lymphoma for several years.  He was 72.  From his Web site  http://mysite.verizon.net/vze8arh1/charlesmerlinumpenhour/id1.html we found that Charles Merlin Umpenhour was born in 1933, in East Liverpool, Ohio during the early years of the Great Depression and was raised in Queens (Jackson Heights), Long Island, New York during World War II by Earl and Kathleen who were both raised in orphanages.  After graduation from Newtown High School, Elmhurst in 1951, he attended Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia, where he graduated with a B.S. degree in Math and Biology in 1955.  As an ROTC student, he accepted a commission in the Air Force, married Betty Jean Barkley of Elkins (a Registered Nurse) and the following year was sent by the Air Force to study meteorology at Texas A&M College in Bryan, Texas.  His first duty station was Wheelus AFB, Libya, Africa in 1957 but several months later he was transferred to Nouasseur AFB, Morocco, where he was joined by Betty and their first son.  In late 1959, they returned to the United States with two sons and Charlie was stationed at Det. 21, 26th WS, Clinton Sherman Air Force Base in western Oklahoma until being released from active duty in late 1962.  In 1963, he was instrumental in setting-up an industrial weather station in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, which provided weather forecasting services to business and industry.  In 1966, he joined the Department of Defense at the Air Force's Severe Weather Center in Kansas City.  In mid-1969, he accepted a position as the morning meteorologist at KOA's 50,000-watt radio station and staffed the morning and noon television news shows in Denver, Colorado.  He retired from the Air Force Reserves as a LTC in 1978 and was awarded the Spengler Award for his achievements.  In 1979, he joined WTOL-TV, Toledo, Ohio as their prime-time meteorologist and retired in September 1994.  He furthered his education by receiving an M.A. degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Colorado in 1980 and completed a doctorate program in Educational Psychology at the University of Toledo in 1990 (no dissertation).  Since 1970, as a meteorologist, he provided many hours of consulting to business and industry, was successful as a motivational speaker during the 1980's, taught college level courses since 1971 and attained an assistant professorship at Davis College, Toledo (1990-1996).  His teaching style contained a great deal of emphasis on current events and how those events might relate to the dynamics of national and international geo-politics and the globalization process.  In April 1990, he and Betty moved to Elkins, West Virginia.  Betty suffered to become a cancer survivor in 1995 and by the summer of 2003 he found himself to be not only a heart survivor but also a cancer survivor.  During five months of chemotherapy, in the first half of 2003, he committed himself to finishing his book, "Freedom, A Fading Illusion," which was published in September 2003.  Since then, he remained committed to writing more books about geo-politics, to identify those who are its beneficiaries, and to identify those who are instrumental in promoting globalization.  Colonel Umpenhour is survived by his wife, Betty, and three sons.

Lt. Col. Ellis "Mac" Adrian McLean (retired), 91, died December 3, 2005 at a Great Falls, Montana, hospital of respiratory arrest after a short illness.  Lt. Col. McLean is survived by his wife of 50 years, Ilse E. McLean; a daughter and son-in-law.

Elwyn (Moe) Moseley, Colonel USAF (Ret.) (1920-2005), died on November 27, 2005, at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Moe was born in Honoraville, AL, on December 20, 1920. He attended Crenshaw County High School in Highland Home, AL, and was a graduate of the MIT Professional Meteorology Program, Troy State University (BS), Auburn University and Oklahoma City University (MS), and the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (MBA).  Moe entered the Army Air Corps in 1942 as a meteorologist and served in the U.S. Air Force Air Weather Service until his retirement in 1974 as a full Colonel.  His final assignment was as Commander of the 12th Weather Squadron at Ent AFB in Colorado Springs.  He had commanded the 3rd Weather Squadron in the mid 50s and the 6th Weather Squadron (Mobile) in the mid 60s.  His decorations included the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster and the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Commendation Medals. During World War II, he served in both the North African and European Theaters where he commanded units that forecasted the weather for many critically important bombing missions that contributed to the Allied victory. He met his wife, Evelyn (Monnie) Monaghan, during World War II in Italy, where she served as an Army nurse. They married in 1945 at Kelly AFB and recently celebrated their 60th anniversary.  Following his retirement from the Air Force, Moe worked as a realtor for Walker Realty and later for Langford Delay Realty. He is survived by his wife, Monnie, and nine children: Jim Moseley (Colorado Springs), Martha Jane Smith (Pacific Palisades, CA), John Moseley (Sacramento, CA), Nancy Ann Moseley (Colorado Springs, CO), Mary Sue Stone (Poway, CA), Betty Jo Postlewaite (Burke, VA), Michael Moseley (Castle Rock, CO), Michelle Tracey (Littleton, CO), and Trish Moseley (Denver, CO); and by two sisters, Mrs. Beatrice Thrower (Mobile, AL) and Mrs. Myra Meyers (Montgomery, AL); and a brother, Charles Moseley (Honoraville, AL).

Adolph Gaertner, Jr., Lt Col (Ret.) known to all as "Gert" passed away on November 7, 2005, just one day short of his 86th birthday. He was born in Austwell, Texas and graduated from Texas A&I in Kingsville with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He served his country for 20 years, first in the Army Air Corps, then in the Air Force. He flew in the Air Transport Service and later served in the Air Weather Service. Among the places he was stationed were Africa, Japan, Lexington, Mass., Alaska and Washington, D.C. After retiring from the Air Force, Gert moved his family to San Antonio and started a business with his brother Jim, leasing gas compressors in the South Texas Area.  After selling that business, he was involved in several other oil-business related ventures. He also served on the Windcrest City Council for eight years. When his wife of 57 years was diagnosed with Alzheimers, he devoted himself to caring for her and insuring she had the absolute best care in her final years. He was also lucky enough to find love again, later in life.  He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mony. He is survived by his second wife Mary Elizabeth, two sons and their wives: Mike and Lisa, of Galveston and Tim and Shari, of Austin. He had six grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and in-laws who love him and will miss him. A Graveside Service was held on Saturday, November 12, 2005 at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery.

John Louer III, formerly of O'Fallon, Ill., passed away Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005, at Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.
John was a graduate of Clarkson University, Potsdam, N.Y., and attended St. Louis University, St.Louis, Mo.  He was a retired Lt. Colonel with 28 years of service as a meteorologist in the U.S. Air Force and Missouri National Guard. He also retired with 39 years of Federal Service in 2003, as a civil service climatologist with the Air Force Combat Climatology Center in Asheville, N.C.  Mr. Louer was active with the American Meteorological Society, Kiwanis International, National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the Boy Scouts of America and the Air Weather Association.
  Mr. Louer is survived by his parents, John W. and Virginia, nee Cook, Louer Jr.; two sisters, Susan and Judith; his wife of 41 years, Rose Marie, nee Raymer, Louer III; and two sons, Michael (JoAnn) Louer and Steven (Diana); and three grandchildren, Joshua, Bryce and Kate.
  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 5590 Fairview Road, Suite 250, Charlotte, N.C. 28210.
  Visitation: Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005, at Kutis South County Chapel, 5255 Lemay Ferry Road (at Butler Hill), St. Louis, Mo.
  Funeral: Funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005, at Kutis South County Chapel, St. Louis, Mo. Interment will be in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, MO.

Josephine Micale

Jerome (Jerry) D. Gowan, Chief Master Sgt., USAF (retired), 68 passed away September 13, 2005.  Memorial services were held September 17 at Kahler-Dolce Mortuary in Papillion, Nebraska.  A memorial was also held at the Bellevue, Nebraska cemetery.  An Offutt AFB Honor Guard gave Jerry his final salute.   The family requested that any memorials be in the form of donations to the American Cancer Society.  Survivors of the immediate family include his wife, Marjorie Gowan; two sons and daughters-in-law, Troy and Staci Gowan of Papillion and Tony and Karen Gowan of La Vista, Nebraska; a daughter and son-in-law Jennifer and Eric Schiapia also of La Vista; grandchildren, Tyler, Jarryd,, Kassandra, Hayden Gowan, and Tannner and Sophie Schiapia; brother and sister-in-law James and Peggy Gowan of Phoenix, Arizona; sisters and brothers-in-law Dorothy and James Marshall of Boonville, Missouri, Susan and Bill Brooks of Columbia, Missouri; and many nieces and nephews.
  Jerry was born January 23, 1937 in Alston, Illinois.  He grew up in Boonville, Missouri where Jerry married his high school sweetheart Marjorie Jones on May 25, 1957.  Jerry had enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1956 and served with honor and distinction for 24 years.  Jerry learned the skills of a Weather Observer and then a Forecaster at Chanute AFB.  Jerry's career would take him many places, including Tuy Hoa Airbase, home of the 31st TFW in the Republic of Vietnam in the years 1967-1968.  While serving at Ramstein AFB, Germany, Jerry had the honor of being the first NCO to give the Base Commander his weather briefing.  This distinction was usually reserved for officers, but Jerry broke new ground in fine style.  He attended the Senior NCO Academy and was promoted to Chief Master Sergeant. Jerry completed his career as the senior enlisted advisor of the 3rd Weather Wing at Offutt AFB.  Retiring from the Air Force in 1980 with many honors and decorations Jerry still maintained a love for weather.  He began working for the National Weather Service Office in Lincoln, and then transferred to the Weather Service Forecast Office in Omaha, Nebraska, which was located at the site of the former North Omaha Air Force Station.  To those of us who knew him and worked with him in Omaha he always set a high standard of example at work.  His steady and confident manner contributed to smooth operations during the stressful work during severe weather outbreaks.  As many weather folks know the rotating shift plays havoc with family life.  Jerry then chose to spend more time with his family and moved on to working "regular" hours with an Omaha Auto dealer.  Jerry was a member of the Bellevue VFW and he loved golf.

JAMES C. SADLER, COL USAF Ret. (1920-2005), an internationally noted meteorologist who had a distinguished career in the Air Force and at the University of Hawaii, where he taught 22 years, died September 2 at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.  He was 85.   "He was one of the foremost meteorologists of his time, and one of the founders of tropical meteorology as a discipline," said Tom Schroeder, director of the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research and former chairman of the UH meteorology department.  Sadler joined UH as associate meteorologist in the Institute of Geophysics in 1965 and retired as professor of meteorology in 1987.  Schroeder said people around the country still treat tropical meteorology with Sadler's analyses. "A tribute to the quality of his work is that we have reissued some of his atlases as a series of compact discs.
  Sadler was born in Silver Point, Tenn. He earned a civil engineering degree from the Tennessee Polytechnic Institute in 1941 and was one of many scientists and engineers trained as meteorologists during World War II.  He received a meteorology certificate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1942, and in 1947 earned a master's degree in meteorology from the University of California, Los Angeles.  While in the Air Force, he made fundamental contributions in developing applications of satellite observations, which corresponded with the rapid growth in tropical meteorology.  His wife of 64 years, Nanelle "Nancy" Harding Sadler, said he worked on the first TIROS weather satellite at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, where he was chief of the satellite branch. He also did research for astronauts on foreign microbiological matters of the upper atmosphere at the School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, she said.  Among other Air Force postings, he was meteorological detachment commander in Algeria; group staff meteorologist, 20th Air Force, South and East Asia; and officer-in-charge of planning, construction and operation of Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory in New Mexico. He was loaned to UH to do research for the National Science Foundation, and when he retired from the Air Force as a colonel on a Friday, his wife said, "He went back to teaching on Monday. ... He didn't want to lose a day's work." He applied his "unparalleled analytical skills and his exceptional experience" with tropical weather systems to issues ranging from tropical cyclone formation to the evolution of El Nino, Schroeder said.  He received an American Meteorological Society award in 1978 for his detailed study of the role of the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough, an atmospheric feature he first described.  "He was brilliant at turning observations ... into a formulation of how the atmosphere works that to this day I have not been able to disprove in any way," said Steve Lyons, chief tropical weather meteorologist for The Weather Channel in Atlanta.  "Today, many try to reinvent the wheels he forged 30-plus years ago, and the only time they seem to roll is when they are exactly Jim's work. I have, and always will, remember Jim Sadler as the man who taught me how to analyze and forecast tropical weather."  Bernard Meisner, Science and Training Branch chief for the National Weather Service's Southern Region in Fort Worth, Texas, said his former UH teacher was always helpful and patient. "He could also extract more information from a satellite image than anyone I've ever met -- even in cloud-free regions!"  Survivors besides Sadler's widow include sons James C. Jr. of Riverside, Calif., and Glen H. of Minneapolis, and daughter Letitia of San Antonio, Texas. Military services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept 12 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.   -- By Helen Altonn of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Norman Lewis Peterson, 93, a retired Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force, died of pneumonia August 24, 2005 at Air Force Village I in San Antonio.  General Peterson was born in Houston, Texas on November 28, 1911, the only child of Samuel and May Conrey Peterson.  His father was an attorney in the San Antonio office of Stewart Title Company. Norman graduated in 1926 from Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio and went to college at Yale University, graduating in 1932 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. In 1936, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps after earning his pilot's wings at Kelly Field.  In 1940, he received a Master of Science Degree in Meteorology from the California Institute of Technology. His Air Force career was predominantly spent in the Air Weather Service, although he also served in the South Pacific during World War II planning the air campaign against Japan. In 1954, he became Deputy Commander, Air Weather Service. In 1958, he was promoted to Brigadier General, and in 1959, he assumed the command of the Air Weather Service, a post he held until 1963.  During his tenure, the world's first weather satellite was launched in 1960 and the first solar forecast was issued in 1962.  He retired from the Air Force in 1965 after serving as commander of the Pacific Communications Area, Air Force Communications Service.  He was awarded the Air Medal, Bronze Star, and Legion of Merit.  He was a member, Order of Daedalians.  After retirement, he was engaged in real estate in Stowe, Vermont; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Colorado Springs, Colorado.  He returned to San Antonio to live in Air Force Village I in  1997.  He enjoyed flying, traveling, skiing, golf, and walking.  Shortly after turning 76, he successfully hiked the strenuous Milford Track in New Zealand.  His 1939 marriage to Roselle Fulmor produced three children but ended in divorce in 1965.  His 1965 marriage to Shirley Bono ended in her death in 1986.  In 1988, he married Phyllis Rogers Lezer.  Her steadfast and loving companionship made this last period of his life one of his happiest.  In addition to his three children, Sandra de Michaels of Montrose, Colorado, Diana Ginsburg of Chicago, Illinois, and Malcolm Lewis Peterson of Grasonville, Maryland, he is survived by five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
MEMORIAL SERVICE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2005, 5:00 P.M. AIR FORCE VILLAGE I CHAPEL.  GRAVESIDE SERVICE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2005. 10:00 A.M. FORT SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY with full military honors.
Arrangements with Porter Loring Mortuary.

Dennis G. Schmidt, 66, of Grand Island died Friday, Aug. 19, 2005, at home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Grand Island, with the Rev. Randy Fett officiating. Burial will be in the Westlawn Memorial Park at Grand Island.
  Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at All Faiths Funeral Home in Grand Island.
  Mr. Schmidt was born Sept. 16, 1938, at Columbus to Louis H. and Anna (Von Bergen) Schmidt.
  Survivors of the immediate family include his wife, Jan Schmidt; two daughters and a son-in-law, Gina and Troy Mitchell of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and Erica Schmidt of Grand Island; a son and daughter-in-law, Kirk and Kathy Schmidt of Grand Island; and two sisters, Annabelle Erickson and Frances Kline of Phoenix.  Additional survivors include five grandchildren.
  He attended Platte County Schools and graduated from Kramer High School in Columbus. He enlisted in the United States Air Force on Nov. 19, 1956, and was discharged from the reserves in November 1962. He was stationed at Offutt AFB and served as a weather observer at Ramstein AFB, Germany.
  He married Jan Schlensker on Nov. 22, 1962, at Evansville, Ind. In civilian life, he worked as a meteorology technician at the U.S. Weather Bureau in Evansville. In 1965, Dennis and family moved to Grand Island, where his career continued at the Grand Island and Hastings National Weather Service offices.  Dennis retired Sept. 30, 1995, from his position as a meteorologist.  His federal service career spanned more than 36 years. He then worked part time at the Grand Island Airport tower on a weather contract for six years.
  Dennis crossed over from meteorologist technician to meteorologist in 1993, after considerable study at Hastings College, Central Community College, Penn State and University of Wisconsin. He received his Associate in Science degree from Regents College, New York state.
  He was a member of St. Pauls Lutheran Church, serving as usher, van driver, and greeter. Other memberships include The American Legion Post 53, Vintage & Classic Wheels Car Club, Columbus Schools Alumni Association, The International Plastic Modelers Society, National Association of Federal Employees and Air Force Association.
  Dennis' hobby was building scale model airplanes and he received many trophies at national IPMS conventions.    During retirement he enjoyed golf, collecting die cast cars and holding forth at the coffee shop with friends.
  He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers and four sisters.
  Memorials are suggested to St. Paul's Lutheran Church and will be designated to refurbish the church library, as he was an avid reader.

Barbara Jo Higham was born December 26, 1944 in Omaha, Nebraska and passed away July 31, 2005. She graduated from Bellevue High School, Bellevue, Nebraska in 1963 and attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.  She was a graduate of the Omaha Health Services as a dental assistant. A loving wife, mother and daughter, Barbara was an active member of the Red Hat Society, local quilting guild, Beta Sigma Phi Sorority and church activities. She is remembered for her kindness, generosity and creative talents.  She was an avid reader and world traveler who loved Neil Diamond's music. Barbara is survived by her loving husband of 38 years, Bill Higham of Tacoma; mother Harriett Thornbury of Omaha, NE; daughter Deborah Higham of Wexford, PA; son Brad Higham of Portland, OR; sisters Claudia Carrigan of San Diego, CA and Cindi Worden of Plattsmouth, NE; sister-in-law Marcia Simpson of Beaver Lake, NE; and her beloved dog Gizmo. She was preceded in death by brother Bob and father Dean Thornbury.  An inurnment mass service will be held for Barbara at All Saints Catholic Church in Puyallup WA at 204 6th Ave. S.W. on Thursday, August 4th at 1 p.m. A luncheon to celebrate her life will follow the service in the church hall.  A vigil service for family and friends will also be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 3 at All Saints Catholic Church.  Please make contributions to the Lymphoma Society or the All Saints St. Francis House in memory of Barbara.

CMSgt Granville L. (Bud) Frichette, USAF, (Ret.) died Thursday morning 14 July 2005 in St. Thomas, U.S.Virgin Islands. He was 77. Bud started his military life in Air Weather Service in the old brown shoe days as a weather observer, then weather equipment repairman at Furstenfeldbruck AB, Germany. He later taught equipment maintenance at Chanute AFB, Il. From there he got involved in maintenance and then other duties with the various Air Force Solar observatories in Los Angeles and Puerto Rico and elsewhere. I'm not sure, but I believe he retired about 1976 after 30 years. I've known and been fortunate to be Bud's friend since late summer of 1946 when we were both assigned to 'Fursty'. Dick Langill

Walter Lee Records, 85, passed away on February 19, 2005 at the Tucson Medical Center.  Walt was born in Oklahoma City, OK, on September 30, 1919. He graduated from Capitol High School in 1937. He entered the Army Air Corps in the summer of 1941 and graduated from Pilot Class 420, Mather Field, California in April 1942. During World War II, he served as an instructor pilot for crews on B-17 and B-29 aircraft.  He was a command pilot, with over 4800 flying hours in numerous aircraft.  In 1945 he married Dorothy Mae Swearingen.  After the war, he continued to serve in the US Air Force as a meteorologist, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1968.  In 1968 he began work with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO, where he served as the logistics field supervisor for several worldwide weather projects.  Later, Walt worked for his older brother Louis, in developing the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves in Louisiana and Texas.  In 1978, he moved to Fort Walton Beach, FL, where he lived for 22 years. In 1984, he acquired a computer and began what was to be an extensive life-long project, researching the Records' and Swearingen's family histories.  He became an expert in basic computer skills, which enabled him to compile newsletters for his church, the Kiwanis Club and the local art society. And, to teach computer classes at the local junior college.  After the death of his wife of 56 years, he moved to Tucson in 2002 to be near his youngest son, Russ.  While in Tucson, he became involved with the Desert Skies United Methodist Church.  While participating in the Church sponsored events, he met Mary Jan Wilson, and they were married in July 2003.  He enjoyed playing bridge, golf, hunting, fishing, RVing and visiting his children and relatives.  He never threw anything away that he might use later, and rarely encountered a problem he could not solve.  Walt was preceded in death by his parents and siblings.  He is survived by his wife, Mary Records; his sons, William (Augie) and Russell (Barb); his daughter, Sharon (Jim) and grandchildren, Peter, Alicia, Christopher and Patrick.  Cremation has taken place.  A memorial service was held February 23rd at 2:00 p. m. at the Desert Skies United Methodist Church, Memorial contributions in Walt's memory may be directed to the Tucson Medical Center Hospice or the Desert Skies UMC endowment fund.

Lt Colonel Wilson Percival, (Retired) USAF, of Lompoc, California, 84,died June 30th, 2005 at Lompoc District Hospital. Bill served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, left the service in 1945 and re-entered in 1952 with hiscommission. He served in AWS until retiring in 1976 from NATO SouthernCommand, Naples, Italy. Assignments included Eielson AFB (52-54); McClellan AFB (54-57), Woodbridge, England (57-60), Fort Devens, MA (60-63), Air War College (64), Topsham AFS (64-66), Stewart AFB, (67-70), and Scott AFB, (70-72), where he served with AWS IG. Bill was born and raised in Old Westbury, Long Island. He was accepted at Cornell University to study dairy farming. He began his freshman year but was injured in a fall from a flagpole during orientation activities. By the time he recovered from his injuries, World War II had begun. He entered the Army Air Force, was trained as a weather observer and served in the Yukon. At the end of the war, he left the service and returned to Cornell, earning his BS in animal husbandry. The life of a dairy farmer in upstate New York, however, no longer held the interest of a veteran, so Bill moved to Massachusetts, where he attended MIT on the GI Bill, studying meteorology.  He worked for the National Weather Service in Boston and then re-entered the Air Force as a commissioned officer in 1951. He received the Bronze Star for contributions to the air war during the Vietnam War. Bill made friends wherever he was stationed, and in retirement, he visited many, traveling throughout the country with his second wife, Viola (Scoby) Chandler Percival, of Lompoc. They drove an RV across the country several times, adding to his life list of birds. In the 1980s, Bill and Vi built a small vacation home in Elkton, Oregon, and the two spent portions of several years at the cabin. Together, they also visited Italy, New Zealand, England, Singapore and Bangkok. In retirement, Bill was a birdwatcher who spent many hours exploring the central coast with his second wife, Viola Chandler Percival, tallying the local and migratory birds of the area.  Family includes his daughter Susan Percival Speers, of Franklin, Massachusetts, grandchildren Ann and Jonathan Speers; stepdaughters Mary Sue Smith, of Lompoc, California and Nancy Edwards of Quincy, Massachusetts; two sisters, Geraldine Pelle, of New York, and Ellen Stevens, of Florida; three nieces;  a nephew; and step-granddaughter Giselle Edwards, of Tempe, Arizona.

ARTHUR H. MILLER, Lt. Col. (Ret),  passed away in Montgomery, Alabama on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at the age of 81. He was born October 24, 1923 in Iowa. A Memorial Mass was said on Saturday, April 30th at 11:00 at The Church of the Holy Spirit in Montgomery with Father Charles Troncale officiating. After retiring as a Meteorologist in the Air Force, he became the Director of Eligibility for the Alabama Medicaid Program. He is survived by his wife, Lois; brother, Wayne; four children: Dr. Ruth Miller-Frost of Montgomery and daughters Heather and Amy, Lee Miller of Huntsville and daughter Amanda, Lisa (Uwe) Redington of Augusta, GA and children James and Renee and Lyle (Kristy) Miller of Jacksonville, FL and son Tyler. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister and son, Dale. He was a founding member of The Church of the Holy Spirit and also a member of The Knights of Columbus Council 12150, Memorials may be given to The Heart Association or to the Building Fund at The Church of the Holy Spirit, 8570 Vaughn Road, Montgomery AL 36117.

Major Bennett O. Moyle, 85, of W. Chisholm St. died Monday, April 4, 2005 in St. Mary's Medical Center. Benn was born in 1919 in Big Bend, Wis., the son of Dr. Isaac William Moyle and Mary Myrtle Burns Moyle. He attended Waukesha High School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and later University of Minnesota, Duluth. Benn worked on local farms in his youth, and joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he served with pride in the 15th Air Force, 454th Bomb Group in Italy. He received four Airmen's Medals for his 25 missions over the Ploesti. After the war, he continued his military career in the US Air Force Weather Service, in Michigan, Alaska, California, New York, Japan, and Duluth. He retired in 1964, after several years as commander of the Weather detachment at the Duluth Air Force Base. Benn remained active in several political and social organizations supporting military interests, and frequently 'charged the hill' in support of retiree affairs. In 1985 he retired from a second career as a probation officer for St Louis County and the Arrowhead region. Benn was a member of the St. John the Evangelist parish of the Catholic Church. He was past president and a very active member of Head of the Lakes Chapter of the Minnesota Military Officers Association. He was a lifetime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and for years was active in its local chapter. He was a long-time member of the Duluth Archery Club, the Minnesota Peace Officer's Association, and had served as representative for the local council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was pre-deceased by his three elder brothers; and by his beloved son. Bennett I. in 2001. Benn is survived by his loving wife, friend, and companion of 63 years, Mary Alice Lawler Moyle; sons, Dennis 'Mike' (Sherri) Moyle of Duluth, James (Mary) Moyle of Forest Lake, Robert Moyle of Maple Grove, and John ( Barbara) Moyle of Fresno, Calif.; and daughter, Ellen Moyle (Gerard) Myers of Duluth; and his sister, Patricia Kelso of Penn.; and eight grandchildren. VISITATION:2 p.m. until the 3 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial Friday in St. John's Catholic Church in Woodland. Burial will be at the family cemetery in Yorkville, Wis. Memorials are preferred to St. John's Catholic School or the American Diabetes Association. Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home, 727-3555.
Published in the Duluth News Tribune from 4/6/2005 - 4/8/2005

Huxtable, George R. Age 84, of Dayton, Ohio, died Friday, May 20, 2005.  He was a retired SMSgt from the U.S. Air Force, Air Weather Service, and was an employee of the Graphic Arts Department at University of Dayton. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Roberta Maly and second wife, Rita Kronenberger; step daughter, Cynthia O'Neil. He is survived by his son-in-law, Pat O'Neil; daughters and sons-in-law, Jeanne & Chris Scherm, Char & Chazz Pothastt, Chris & Bob Roberts, Donna & Dan Kibler, Jody & John Mezzanatto, Maribeth Kambitsch & Philippe Prevoteau, Patty Kambitsch & Peter Jones; sons and daughters-in- law David & Cindy Huxtable, Greg & Kathy Kambitsch, Tim Kambitsch & Julie Beall, Mike & Susan Kambitsch and Rob & Kellie Huxtable; 16 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. George was world traveled and well educated. Wood working was a passion during his retirement years.  In addition, George enjoyed music and had a beautiful voice which allowed him to participate in local theater. He always showed patience and a willingness to help others.  No one in his family was ever turned down. He will be missed.  Graveside service will be held Thursday, May 26th at 10am at Calvary Cemetery.  Family will receive friends Tuesday May 24th from 4-8pm at Meyer-Boehmer & Reis Funeral Home, 1733 Brown St. A Dignity Memorial Provider.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association Cemetery.

Shirley Vlcek, the beloved wife of retired CMSGT Frank Vlcek died peacefully on 6 May 2005 after a two year struggle with pancreatic cancer.  She is survived by Frank, her spouse of 48 years, and two daughters Tina Ford, Linda Sturdivant, and four grandchildren.  Shirley will be returned to their home state of Illinois for burial in St. Johns Cemetery, Collinsville, after a Funeral Mass at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in O'Fallon

Edwin Earle Carmell, Colonel USAF (Retired), formerly of Ludlow, MA and Lee, NH, died Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004, at the Haven Health Center at Seacoast, Hampton, NH. He was 86. Born July 5, 1918, in Ludlow MA, Ed enlisted in the US Army in 1940 and trained as a pilot.  He flew 26 missions over enemy territory with the 563rd Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 45th Combat Wing, 3rd Division, 8th USAAF.  Later in the war he was stationed in Great Falls, Montana, where he met Leona, to whom he was married on July 19, 1945.  He graduated from Montana State University in 1947 and rejoined the Air Force, where he went on to become a meteorologist and eventually Vice-Commander of the USAF Air Weather Service.  He retired in 1975 to Lee, NH.  After his retirement he worked as a real estate agent for RW Real Estate of Dover and as a real estate teacher. A devout Catholic, Col. Carmell served as a lay assistant at St. Thomas More church in Durham, NH, for many years.  He enjoyed gardening, bicycling, and cross country skiing. He is survived by his wife Leona Swanson Carmell of Lee, NH and four children.
P.S. Leona is quite ill with cancer; Ed had Alzheimer's for the past few years.

Robert E. Thompson, Lieutenant Colonel USAF Ret., of Cocoa Beach, Florida, died Wednesday, January 12, 2005.  Col. Thompson was born in Clinton, Indiana. He served in both Korea and Vietnam, and received the Bronze Star for Valor during Vietnam. He spent most of his Air Force career as an aerial reconnaissance weather officer. In civilian life he was an employee of CARCAH at the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Fla. He is survived by a son and two grandchildren. He was also on the Board of Directors of the Air Weather Association and did a lot of work in setting up the local arrangements for the last AWA reunion in Cocoa Beach.

Robert F. Woodnal, Col USAF Ret. lost his fight to cancer on Friday, 3 September 2004 in Colorado Springs, CO.  His wife, Virginia "Ginny", past away on 21 May 2004.
  Bob Woodnal is survived by five children, John Woodnal, Colorado Springs; Jay Woodnal, Pueblo West; Jill Romero, Stanton, CA; Jana Christensen, Morrison, CO; Julie Lane, Colorado Springs; 19 Grandchildren and three Great-Grand Children.
  Jay Woodnal (Bob's son) confirmed that a celebration of life service will be held for Bob on Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 6:00 PM at the Swan-Law Mortuary, 501 N. Cascade Ave in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Burial will occur at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at the Boscobel, Wisconsin Columbarium.  Condolences can be sent to:
  Jay Woodnal
  103 N Candlewood Dr
  Pueblo West, CO 81007-6538
Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.

Dorothy E. Leonard, 85, of St. Louis, Mo., entered eternal rest on Sunday, July 4, 2004.  She retired as a civil service administrative assistant at Scott Air Force Base.  Surviving are a brother, Robert E. Leonard; and many friends and neighbors.
  Visitation: Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, 2004, at Southern Funeral Home, 6322 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, Mo., and from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, July 8, 2004, at St. Mary and Joseph Catholic Church, St. Louis, Mo.
  Funeral: A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 8, 2004, at St. Mary and Joseph Catholic Church. Interment will be in St. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery.
  She was Secretary to the AWS Commander in the late 60s to mid 70s and a member of the Air Weather Association.

Joe Saccone died Monday morning, 28 June, [2004] at his home in Walpole, MA from metastatic stomach cancer.  He leaves his wife, Madelyn, their five children and ten grandchildren.  Madelyn and the family send heartfelt thanks to Joe's many good AWS friends for their thoughts, prayers and communications during Joe's illness.  The funeral will be Friday, 2 July, at Blessed Sacrament in Walpole, followed by burial at Bourne National Cemetery.  Visiting hours will be Thursday, 4 to 8 p.m. at the Delaney Funeral Home, 45 Common Street, Walpole.
  I talked with Joe briefly just a week ago, but it was clear at that time that he was going downhill. But I'm so glad we talked. On previous calls I presumed he was just not up to talking. The address for the Saccone family is:
     24 Pine Hill Drive
     Walpole,   MA  02081-2144
E-mail address:   sacrez@aol.com
  We will all miss this kind, gentle man, who served his country with distinction, and who knew our weather business inside and out. His influence as a husband, father, leader and manager sets an example for us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with Madelyn and the family at this very difficult time.   --   Al Kaehn

Virginia May Woodnal, 73 of Colorado Springs, passed away Friday, May 21, 2004.  She was a proud homemaker and family orientated lady. She will be sadly missed by her husband and five children.
  Mrs Woodnal was born July 22, 1930 in Watterstown, Wisconsin to Leo and Clara Richter. She was a Catholic and attended masses regularly until illness prevented it.
  She was married November 4, 1950 in Boscobel, Wisconsin to Colonel Robert F. Woodnal, USAF (Ret).  As a team they enjoyed a 31 year Air Force career, managing 24 household moves and raising five children. Their 53 years of marriage was blessed in many ways.
  Mrs Woodnal was a member of the USAF active duty Weather Wives and of the Retired Officer's Wives Club.
  She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters Darlene and Eileen.
  Mrs Woodnal is survived by her husband, Robert Woodnal, Colorado Springs, five children, John Woodnal, Colorado Springs; Jay Woodnal, Pueblo West; Jill Romero, Stanton, CA; Jana Christensen, Morrison, CO; Julie Lane, Colorado Springs; 19 Grandchildren and three Great-Grand Children.
  A celebration of her life will be held Tuesday May 25, 2004 at the Swan-Law Mortuary at 6pm.  Burial will be in Boscobel, Wisconsin's Columbarium #1 at a later date.

Richard L. 'Dick' Kimmel, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.), 74 yrs., died March 31, 2004, Bellevue, Nebraska. Survived by wife, Shirley; daughters: Cheryl and husband Shawn Rodgers, Omaha; Kristi and husband Michael Pietryka, Waterford, MI; Lisa and husband Bob Chandler, Golden, CO; Lori and husband Braun Joney, Phoenix, AZ; son, Scott and wife Beth Kimmel, Merriam, KS; brother, Dana Kimmel, Forest, OH; sister, Rachel and husband Richard White, Toledo, OH;  8 grandchildren.  Lifetime member VFW 2280.
Celebration of Life Monday, April 5, 2004 1:30 pm, Bellevue Memorial Chapel.
Interment Bellevue Cemetery. NO VISITATION.
Bellevue Memorial Chapel, 22nd and Hancock, Bellevue NE

Col. Daniel M. Whealen, Retired USAF, of Universal City, passed away February 11, 2004.  He was 76.  Dan is survived by his wife of 50 years, Joan Whealen; daughters Kate Whealen and Teresa Schmittling; sons, Dennis and Kevin Whealen; sister, Mary Lou Sammelman; Brothers, William F. Whealen and Martin J. Whealen, S.J.; and grandchildren, Rachel and Sam.  Col. Whealen served 2 years in the US Army Infantry before attending college.  After college he joined the US Air Force and served in the Air Weather Services, Military Air Command, The Personnel center, and Communication Services.  While in the military he served overseas in Japan, Thailand and Germany.  He retired as DCS/P for Communications Command in 1981.  After retiring from the US Air Force, Dan became very active in community service, focusing on veterans affairs, including serving 1 year as Dept. Commander of the State of Texas.  Dan served 5 full terms as Council member of Universal City.  He was honored as Mayor Pro-tem, as appointed by his peers.  Dan served as President and later Regional Director of the Texas Municipal League, Region 7.  He was a loyal and dedicated public servant, serving Universal City and the entire community in a highly exemplary manor.  He was a longtime member of St. Monica's Catholic Church.  Dan was an avid golfer, a wonderful family man, mediator, peacemaker, and mentor to many.

Col. Alphonse Gargiulo Jr., 73, of Beaverdam Run, Asheville, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004, at Mountain Area Hospice Solace Center.
  Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Queens, Al was a graduate of the University of Maryland and received a master's degree in meteorology from Texas A & M. In 1952 he was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force, where he served for over 26 years in the Air Weather Service with tours in Europe, the Pacific and many locations in the U.S. From 1975 to 1976 Colonel Gargiulo commanded the first Weather Wing in Hawaii and from 1976 to 1978 he was commander of the Air Force Global Weather Central in Omaha, Neb. Among his awards and decorations were the Meritorious Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
  After his Air Force career, Al retired in Los Altos, Calif., and pursued a second career in the aerospace industry, working for Ford Aerospace and Control Data Corp. from 1979 to 1981. He spent the next 13 years helping Federal Government agencies, like NASA and DOD, acquire and operate satellite and ground-processing systems to improve knowledge of weather and other earth-observing phenomena.
  Al first moved to Asheville in 1981. He left temporarily in 1985 to live in Charlotte and Northern Virginia, but returned to Asheville to stay in 1994. An avid golfer and card-player, his "second home" was the Country Club of Asheville. He served on the board of directors of the Beaverdam Run Condo Association and on the board of the Asheville Puppetry Alliance and provided volunteer services for SCORE, the United Way and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Western North Carolina.
  He is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughter, Janet Petty and husband, Tim; sons Jim Gargiulo and wife, Jill, Mike Gargiulo, Timothy Perry and wife, Sharon, Chuck Perry and wife, Michelle, and Chris Perry and wife, Karen; his younger brother, Granville Gargiulo and wife, Marlene; nieces, Debbie McGinnis and Donna Cipicchio; and six grandchildren, James Levingston, Julie Brooks, Jessica Petty, Tony Gargiulo, Renee Gargiulo and Christilia Perry. In addition, Al leaves behind his "little brother," Akeem Bell.
  A memorial service, conducted by the Rev. Richard Karpal of Lakeland, Fla., and the Rev. Stan Willet of Beaverdam Baptist Church, will be held at Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Ave., at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28. A reception will follow the service at the Beaverdam Run Clubhouse.
  Memorial donations may be made to Mountain Area Hospice, 85 Zillicoa St., Asheville, NC 28801 or Big Brother/Big Sisters of Buncombe County, 50 S. French Broad Ave., Asheville, NC 28801.

Col. (Ret.) James Kerlin, 61, of State College, died Sunday, Jan. 11, 2004, at Mount Nittany Medical Center. Jim Kerlin had a sense of adventure. At the age of 21, he joined the Air Force, fulfilling a desire born form his view of the airplanes flying overhead as a child in Pittsburgh. The service was a perfect vehicle for both his sense of adventure and duty, marrying them into an enviable career until his retirement after 24 years. He was the youngest officer to earn the rank of lieutenant colonel, and he earned numerous decorations and awards throughout his military career. Upon his retirement, he came to Penn State, enjoying his position most recently as the director of education outreach and his work with the Penn State student body.  His time as 11WS Commander at  Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska introduced him to the Iditarod Dog Sled Race, which he continued to follow faithfully every year.  He planned to hike the Appalachian Trail (deemed a safer alternative by his family than his bungee-jumping plan) which he saw not as an intimidating test of courage and endurance but as a walk to enjoy.  Kerlin had a sense of humor. With a twinkle in his eye and wink, he had the ability to brighten a room just by walking into it. Kerlin had a sense of family. His love for his wife and children inspired the people around him. He often spoke of the meeting of his wife, Suzanne, as the best thing that ever happened to him. His unabashed love for her was an inspiring gift to us all. His children also felt his deep love for them every day, with no mistaking the pride and care he felt for them. His "handle" (developed for his Appalachian Trial hike) was JimDad. Being a loving father just seemed to be part of the job description of his life.  In addition, James Kerlin received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Arts degree in management from University of Nebraska and a Master of Science degree in meteorology from New York University. He also attended officer training schools throughout his military career and taught a variety of computer and scientific disciplines at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.  He loved the University of Nebraska and especially Tom Osborne. He was the faculty adviser for the Penn State Gay Lesbian Student Alliance and knew more about Gettysburg than any layperson really would be expected to know.  He is survived by his wife, Suzanne E. Kerlin, of State College; and his children, Paul M. Kerlin and his wife, Elizabeth J., of Fairfax, Va., Nicola E. Kerlin, of Fairfax, Va., Bridget S. Kerlin and her husband, Anthony R. Morris, of Davis, Calif., and Alistair J. Kerlin, of State College; two brothers, Nicholas T., of Lehighton, and John, of Denver; and his stepfather, Morris "Ace" Manolovich, of Aliquippa.  The funeral was be held at the State College Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, 14 January 2004 with the Rev. Dr. Charles J. Curley and the Rev. Joel Blunk officiating.  Burial will be at the Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.  Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, National Center, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231.

Warren K. Mahoney, 83, of Belleville, Ill., born Nov. 15, 1920, in Limestone Tenn., died Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003, at Memorial Hospital, Belleville, Ill.
Mr. Mahoney graduated from Tusculum College, Greenville, Tenn. He was in the US Air Force Air Weather Service as a weather officer and later as a civilian working for many years in weather communications (AWS/DOK) at the AWS headquarters in Scott AFB, Illinois.  He was a member of the Air Weather Association.  He was also a member of Union United Methodist Church.
  Mr. Mahoney was preceded in death by his parents, Uhlan K. and Anna Lee, nee Shanks, Mahoney; and a sister, Pauline Broyles.
  Surviving are his wife, Jean W., nee Weekley, Mahoney, whom he married April 20, 1957, in Washington D.C.; a son, Kevin W. Mahoney of Belleville, Ill.; a daughter, Gwyneth A. (Steven) Seabaugh of Colorado Springs, Colo.; two sisters, Agnes (the Rev. William) Stockton of Afton, Tenn., and Inez (the Rev. Glen) Milburn of Chuckey, Tenn.; a brother, Dr. Edward H. Mahoney DDS, of Mountain City, Tenn.; a grandchild Ryan Seabaugh; and nieces and nephews.
  Memorials may be made to Union United Methodist Building Fund, American Parkinson's Disease Association or the Oak Valley Council Boy Scouts of America Tribute Fund.
  Visitation: Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29, 2003, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, Ill., and from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003, at Union United Methodist Church, Belleville, Ill.
  Funeral: Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003, at Union United Methodist Church, Belleville, Ill. Burial will be in Lake View Memorial Gardens, Fairview Heights, Ill.

COL (RET.) GEORGE EDWARD RATH (1920-2003) died Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003 in Hampton, Virginia. Born in Stevens Point, Wis., on June 8, 1920, he was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs.  Edward D. Rath.
   After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from University of California in Los Angeles, Colonel Rath entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940 as a flying cadet. Earning second lieutenant in 1941, he then joined the 22nd Bombardment Group at Langley Field, Virginia.
   Col. Rath served overseas in the Pacific Theater of Operations, Korea, Japan, and Germany. In 1954 he assumed command of the 2d Weather Group at Langley AFB, Virginia and was later reassigned to Langley AFB in 1966, to command the 5th Weather Wing until his retirement in 1970.  He also served as 2nd Weather Wing Commander in Germany from 1963-1966.
   He was the recipient of numerous awards and decorations, including:   Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, American Defense Service Medal plus 10 other awards and decorations for long and faithful service.
   Colonel Rath married Australian model Miss Phyllis Ilma Riley on Dec. 4, 1945, in Richmond, Va., after the couple courted in Sydney during his military duty there. Together they graciously hosted hundreds of military functions and served St. John's Episcopal Church faithfully for over 30 years. After 54 years of marriage, Phyllis died on May 24, 2001.
   George was a devoted husband, honorable officer and steadfast friend, whose charm and charisma brought laughter and a love of life to all who knew him.
   Also preceding him in death were his daughter, Susan, and son, Roger.
   He is survived by his sister, Mae Johnson, and nephew, James Johnson, both of Almond, Wis.; granddaughter, Jessica M. Rath of Los Angeles, Calif.; and his special friends and caretakers for the last 2 1/2 years, David and Janet Gurkin of Williamsburg, Va.
   A funeral service was conducted on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at St. John's Episcopal Church by the Rev. Donna Mae Siderius. Interment followed in the Church Cemetery. 
   The family wishes in lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, 20 Interstate Corporate Center, Suite 233, Norfolk, VA 23502.

Loyola E. (Gene) Ralston
Gene enjoyed a great career in AWS, and is most remembered for his accurate forecasting for the Son Tay POW Rescue Mission in late 1970.  But, he was also one of, if not the, best aircrew briefer in AWS.

A Tribute to Art Bedient: A True Pioneer in Meteorology
A pioneer in the field of meteorology is no longer with us.
Harold (Art) Bedient, Jr., 84, affectionately known by many as the "Father of Weather Automation," died on November 3, 2003, after suffering many years of Alzheimer's disease.

"Art's contribution to NOAA and the field of meteorology was extraordinary," said John Jones, Deputy Director of the National Weather Service. "He was regarded as a world authority in the application of computers to meteorology and communication, and worked with NOAA to bring together science and technology to establish numerical weather prediction."

When Bedient retired from National Meteorological Center (now known as NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction) in 1983, his expertise and leadership had taken him to major weather centers worldwide. Bedient received the Department of Commerce Gold and Silver Medals, and a special American Meteorological Society award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Applied Meteorology." His pioneering work in projecting meteorological data onto maps was formally recognized by the U.S. Bureau of Standards in the definition of a map unit of length. A "bedient" is a standard unit of measure relating distance on a map to a distance on the earth.

During his tenure in the Air Force, Bedient was selected for the prestigious assignment of representing the Air Force as a member of a combined project to study the use of large-scale computers for weather analysis and forecasting applications. He was assigned to Suitland, MD, as part of the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit (JNWPU), a groundbreaking cooperative venture of the Air Force, Navy, and the U.S. Weather Bureau. Bedient made fundamental contributions to the success of JNWPU, leading to the development of the automated global weather analysis and forecasting system we know today.

"Art was a brilliant man," said Micki Farley, Project Manager at NCEP's Central Operations. "He was responsible for the beginning of computer-generated contoured weather maps while he served as Chief of the Computation Branch from 1957 to 1961 at the NMC."

"He was a Renaissance man, truly interested in all aspects of life," noted Ken Campana, Meteorologist at NCEP's Environmental Modeling Center. "He was a pilot in the Air Force, a sailor, and loved engineering. Perhaps most important to me, as a young meteorologist, was his dedication as a scientist in the early days of numerical weather prediction. He truly loved the computational/graphical aspects of weather forecasting."

Jim Hoke, Director of NCEP's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center has similar recollections. "Art Bedient is one of the reasons I came to work for NOAA. In the late 1970s, I had the opportunity to visit the NMC and it was a beehive of activity and progress in numerical weather prediction. I had the good fortune to meet with Art and sat spellbound as he recalled details from those early days. He enjoyed explaining the reasoning behind the development of the grid system, which ultimately became associated with his name, a 'Bedient' refers to the distance between grid points. After my visit with Art and others at the NMC, I knew this was the place where I wanted to spend my career."

Bedient's combined service to the U.S. Air Force and NOAA's National Weather Service totaled more than 41 years. He is survived by his wife Thelma, five children, four-step-children, 14 grandchildren, and one great-grand child.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Art's family and to everyone in NOAA who had the great pleasure of working with him over the years," said Jones.  "We recognize his contributions, his compassion, and his kindness."

The Bedient family can be reached at: 30 Greenwood Road, Norway, ME, 04268.

BAKER, Don Russell, 71, died in the Hospice House, Venice, FL on October 11, 2003.  He was born June 1, 1932 in Spearman, TX. Graduated from High School in Cheyenne Wells, CO and enlisted in the USAF. During his 30 year career in the USAF he attained the rank of Lt. Colonel, graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Meteorology and from Bellevue University with a degree in Business. After his retirement from the military he worked for 10 years as a Property Manager of a large office complex in Omaha, NE. He retired again in 1994 and moved to Venice, FL in 1998. He was a member of Grace United Methodist Church, Military Officers Association of America, R. C. Flyers of Venice and other Organizations.
  Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Barbara; sons and daughter-in-law, Michael and Kathy Baker, Springfield, Nebraska; Shane Baker, Papillion, Nebraska; daughter and son-in-law, Brooke and Alan Erickson, Tupelo, Mississippi, and other family members including 6 grandchildren; 2 brothers; 1 sister.
  A MEMORIAL SERVICE will be held at First United Methodist Church, Springfield, NE on October 21, 2003 at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Hospice of S. W. Florida, 220 Wexford Blvd., Venice FL. 34293 or to First United Methodist Church, Springfield, NE.

Frederick S. Tuttle, Colonel USAF (Ret.), (1916-2003), of Hampden, Massachusetts, died 24 August 2003.  He was born in Boston and has been a 35-year resident of Hampden.  He was a graduate of Marietta College, Marietta OH.  He became a career military officer specializing in meteorology beginning with the US Army/Air Forces during WWII, continuing with the US Air Force during the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War.  He retired in 1967 and settled in Hampden with his wife, Ruth.

Mrs Genevieve LaRue passed away Friday, 22 August 2003 in Phoenix, AZ. She was the wife of Bill LaRue, GS-12 (Maj USAFR, Ret), who worked at AFGWC for many years. Bill died in 1988. Mrs LaRue's funeral will be in Bellevue, NE, Thursday morning at 10 am, 28 August 2003 at St. Mary's Church. There will be a lunch at the church afterwards for everyone. The vigil/visitation will be at Bellevue Mortuary on Wednesday night starting at 4:00 to about 7:30 p.m.

Robert (Bob) Dowd (LtCol, Ret.) passed away on 5 August 2003 in Miami, Florida at age 81. He is survived by his wife Rosemary and two sons.
He will be buried at Arlington Cemetery on 20 September 2003. He was a pilot, meteorologist, banker and drug policy critic. He flew 50 missions as a B-26 Marauder bomber pilot in WWII, served in the BerlinAirlift, rescue missions in the Arctic, served in Korea and flew AC-47 gunships in Vietnam. He also flew research missions like the B-29 "Flying Laboratory" in the JetStream project which in 1954 expanded to study hurricanes. His weather assignments included monitoring the weather during President John F. Kennedy's flights and later monuotoring the weather for several Apollo missions in the NASA Mission Control Center in Houston. He retired in 1973 and became a bank executive. There, he saw the corrupting effects of illegal drug money and joined the war on drugs. In 1997, he authored, "The Enemy is Us - How to Defeat Drug Abuse and End the "War on Drugs."

William C. "Andy" Anderson, 83, died 16 May 2003 at home in Fairfield, Calif. of natural causes.  Read more here.

Colonel Charles Ready Jr. USAF Retired, passed away Tuesday, June 10th, 2003 at the Wuesthoff Hospital in Rockledge, Fl. He Resided at Indian river Colony Club, in Melbourne Florida and was a summer resident of Cashiers, N.C.
Charles was born in Sentinel, Okla. to Charles and Virgie Ready, who preceded him in death. He was a highly decorated fighter pilot who served in World War II as a member of the 388th Fighter Bomber Squadron known as the " Hell Hawks' and also flew fighter planes in the Korean War. Chuck was a weather detachment commander at Hahn AB, worked on the Air Weather Service staff at Scott AFB, and was the weather detachment commander at Lajes AB before retiring in 1971. He was a member of the AWA, MOAA and was a Daedalian. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, JoAnna Ready, three daughters and four grandchildren, and two sisters. Funeral services were held in Florida on 14 June. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetary on 21 July 2003 with full Military Honors.

Arthur S.French (Shel), LtCol USAF, Ret. passed away at Merritt Island, Florida on May 14, 2003 at age 84.  He retired from the Air Weather Service in 1966 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fl. after 24 years of service in the United States Air Force.
  Shel was born at Hasbrouck Hts., New Jersey where he attend schools and spent summers at his parents summer camp on Lake George, Ticonderoga, N.Y. There he assisted in swimming, canoeing and horseback riding. He attended Rutgers University and graduated from Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, earning his B.S. degree in Chemistry.
  In 1943 he joined the US Army Air Corps, attending flight schools at Orangeburg, S.C. and Dyersburg, Tenn. where he earned his wings. Advanced training was at Pyote, Texas in B-17s.
  Stationed with the 8th Air Force, 94th Bomb Group at Bury St. Edmunds, England during WW11, he flew 34 combat missions over Germany in his B-17 Bomber the "Million Dollar Baby".
  After the war he returned to home at Clearwater, Florida where he taught science at Clearwater High School. At Clearwater he met and married his wife Pat and re-entered the Army Air Corps, attending weather schools at Chanute Field, Ill. and Keesler Field, Biloxi, Ms., and became part of the Air Weather Service. Together they finished his Air force career in meteorology, having been stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines in the late '40s and Fuchu Air Station, Japan in the early '60s. His stateside assignments were Andrews AFB, Va. where their daughter was born, MacDill AFB, Fl. where their son was born, Wright Patterson AFB, Oh., Patrick AFB, Fl. and Tyndall AFB, Fl.
  Highlights of his Air Weather Service assignments were Operation Hardtack at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands in 1957 with underwater testing of the nuclear bomb and accompanying President Dwight Eisenhower and his staff as meteorologist on the President's Goodwill Tour of South America. in 1960.
  Following retirement from the Air Force in 1966, Shel returned to school teaching and taught at Hollywood Hills High School in Hollywood, Fl., Florida Air Academy at Plantation, Fl., and Crystal River High School at Crystal River, Fl. where he taught science, physics and ground school aviation classes. He retired from teaching in 1981.
  Shel was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and Quiet Birdmen Society, Ocala, Fl. Chapter.
  In July 2002 Shel and Pat moved to Merritt Island, Florida. They were married 56 years.
  Shel is survived by his wife Pat, daughter Donna F. Lucas of Merritt Island, Fl., son Robert S. French, Oakland Township, Michigan and 6 grandchildren.

Gen A T Shtogren

Col (Ret.) Joe O'Neal died on the morning of 25 February 2003 from complications related to his radiation treatment for lung cancer.  Joe's funeral will be at 10AM, Monday, March 3, 2003 at the
  Miller Woodlawn Funeral Home
  5505 Kitsap Way
  Bremerton, WA 98312
  phone 360-377-7648.
Any memorial recognition should be in the form of a gift to the Cancer Society.

C.W. "Bill" Tazewell

I thought some of your members might be interested to know that Henry W. "Wally" Kinnan, my father, passed away on 22 November. He was a veteran of the Air Weather Service, and was part of the Miller/Fawbush team at Tinker AFB in the early 1950s. He wrote a letter that is published on your web site under the news piece on the 50th anniversary of the first tornado forecast. Later, as "Wally Kinnan the Weatherman," he was a pioneer of weather broadcasting on television. He was on the air in Oklahoma City,
Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Tampa, and was the recipient of the AMS Broadcasters Seal of Approval Number 3. I'll attach an article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer that goes into more detail -- note it is a copyrighted article.
Best wishes to the great members of the Air Weather Association!
Warm regards
Tim Kinnan
Timothy A. Kinnan, Lt Gen, USAF
U. S. Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee

Wally Kinnan, was WKYC weatherman

Plain Dealer Reporter
Houston- Walter W. Kinnan, who spent 12 years on Cleveland television as "Wally Kinnan, the Weatherman," was one of the most recognizable figures in the city during the 1970s. In 1976, at a Cleveland Radio-Television Council lunch, more than 100 radio and television performers were introduced but only two received standing ovations - Dorothy Fuldheim and Kinnan.
The affable Kinnan also was an accomplished musician. He began playing the trumpet when he was young and paid for his education at Ohio State University by playing in a campus band. He had a brief stint with Jimmy Dorsey, but one of his most memorable bands was the one he organized in a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II.
Kinnan, 83, died Nov. 22 in Houston of an aortic aneurysm.
He was born in Crooksville, Ohio. His father was a pottery worker and his mother opened a rooming house on the edge of the Ohio State University campus.
While in college, he enlisted in the ArmyAir Corps. In August 1943 on his 10th mission, the B-17 he was piloting was shot down. He spent the next 22 months in Stalag Luft III, a German prison camp.
He and another man formed a band. "We started out with a four-piece combo and ended up with a big 15-man swing band," he said in a 1967 interview. Instruments were provided by the Germans, the International Red Cross and the International YMCA.
The camp was the site of the POW escape immortalized in "The Great Escape."
The prison band played while the men dug the escape tunnel.
Kinnan also was part of a special intelligence group that sent information to the United States via coded letters, which were read by U.S. intelligence before being forwarded to his wife.
He was freed at the war's end. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he majored in meteorology. He adopted his famous moniker in 1951 when he was hired at a television station in Oklahoma City. He moved to a station in Philadelphia before joining WKYC Channel 3 in June 1965. He was the weeknight weatherman for eight years and then did the weekend weather.
Dick Goddard, a meteorologist at Channel 8, said Kinnan "brought the five-day forecast with him from Philadelphia." Prior to his arrival here, Cleveland meteorologists rarely forecast that far ahead because of the uncertainty of Cleveland weather.
" I thought he was the best forecaster to hit town," Goddard said "He was a very talented guy."
Kinnan and two other meteorologists were responsible for establishing the American Meteorologist Society's Television Seal of Approval in the 1950s, Goddard said. The seal is now used by about 2,000 forecasters throughout the country.
He was notified in September 1977, at age 58, that Channel 3 would not extend his contract. A year later he began working at a St. Petersburg, Fla., television station. He moved to Houston about four years ago.
He had continued to play in bands as a hobby and also enjoyed photography, model airplanes and model railroads.
He is survived by his wife, Marjorie; sons, David of Houston and Timothy of Brussels, Belgium; and five grandchildren.

Col (Ret.) Parnag (Barney) G. Adamian passed away Nov. 26, 2002. He was 86 years old. His memorial service was held Dec 1, 2002. He was very active in TROA and the Masons.

The Dec 2002 Retired Officer magazine In Memoriam column reports the passing of
Col John T. Slusher of El Paso, Texas.

This is from an obituary in the Albuquerque, NM JOURNAL of November 15, 2002:
June Hall Gage, 87, a resident of Carefree, AZ, died November 4, 2002 in Albuquerque of cancer. She was preceded in death by her husband, Avery M. Gage, who died December 24, 1996. Avery was a student in one of the very early programs at MIT.

Wilma Mitchell, wife of Col Dan Mitchell, passed away at home on Nov. 16, 2002. She was Dan's supportive wife and helpmate for 55 years in the Air Weather Service and, later, at the National Climatic Center in Asheville, NC. The funeral service will be at the Morris Funeral Home on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 11:00. Burial will follow at the WNC Veteran's Cemetery in Black Mt., NC.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to the American Cancer Society, 120 Executive Park, Asheville, NC 28801.

HALL, Loren
Loren Warner Hall, 73, of Summerville, died Saturday, November 23, 2002, at his home. He was born on January 8, 1929, in Wichita, Kans., the son of the late Evelyn M. Bradley and the late Raymond F. Hall.  He was a retired meteorologist from the National Weather Service and a veteran of two branches of the Armed Services. He served in the weather branch of the U.S. Navy during the aftermath of World War II and was stationed in China before the Communist Revolution. It was in the Navy, 52 years ago, that he met and married Harriett, a fellow Navy weather student. He later transferred to the U.S. Air Force where he continued his weather career in various assignments before retiring as a Chief Master Sergeant after 30 years. During his military career, Loren flew hurricane reconnaissance missions with the 56th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (the "Hurricane Hunters,") served with the North American Defense Command, and received the Apollo Mission Support Medal from NASA for his role as a solar forecaster in the Apollo Space Program. He went to school in the evenings earning a B.A. Degree from the University of Maryland in 1969. Among his military awards, he received the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal.
When he retired from the military, he joined the National Weather Service where he served as a meteorologist for 16 years and received the Silver Medal for Meritorious Federal Service. It was this assignment that brought him to Summerville, his home for the past 25 years. He was a volunteer worker with the Red Cross Senior Program.
He is survived by his wife, Harriett, of Summerville; a daughter, Janis Bennett, of Irmo, S.C.; a son, Bradley Hall, of Wyomissing, Pa. He has five grandchildren, Matthew Hall, Brian Hall, Elizabeth Hall, Cynthia Bennett, and Sylvia Bennett.
His family will receive friends at JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, SUMMERVILLE, on Tuesday, November 26, 2002, from 6 to 8 p.m.
A funeral service will be held at the Dyal Funeral Home at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 27, 2002, followed by Entombment at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.
Arrangements by JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, 303 S. MAIN STREET, SUMMERVILLE.

William A. Jenner, 87 of O'Fallon, passed away at 9:30 A.M. on Monday, November 18, 2002 at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was born on November 10, 1915 in Indianola, Iowa, the son of Edwin A. and Elizabeth Brown Jenner. Mr. Jenner grew up in Fayette, Mo., where his father was a professor at Central Methodist College. Mr. Jenner was a Meteorologist a Psychologist and an Educator. He received his B.S. degree in biology from Central Methodist College, Master's degree in Education from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., Certificate of Meteorology from the University of Chicago. Mr. Jenner taught math and biology at Blackburn, Mo. High School and Bowling Green Mo. High School. He is a WWII veteran, serving in the Army Air Corps from 1942 until 1946. As a meteorologist he worked on the Thunderstorm Research Project, Chicago, IL., from 1947 until 1949. He then joined Civil Service at Scott Air Force Base in 1949 and retired as Director of Training, Air! Weather Service, April 1984. He was a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and member of Phi Delta Kappa International and the American Psychological Society. He married Jean N. Norden on September 1, 1946 in Blackburn, Mo. She survives, also surviving is a son; Dr. Paul William and wife; Dr. Eva Jenner of Scottsdale, AZ. 2 Daughters; Dr. Carol Beth and husband Tim Gregg of Olympia, WA. And Dr. Susan and husband Alan Corzine of Brownstown, IL. A sister; Julia Savina of Northfield, MN. A grandson; David Jenner. 6 grandaughters; Jean Gregg, Kristen Gregg, Melinda Jenner, Laura Jenner, Elizabeth Jenner and Rebecca Corzine. He was preceded in death by a brother; Dr. Charles Jenner.
  Mr. Jenner served the city of O'Fallon, IL in many ways. He was a member of the OTHS School Board from 1962 until 1999, he devoted his time to the O'Fallon Planning Commission from 1973 until 1984, and was a city Alderman from 1984 until 1993. Mr. Jenner is a life member of the O'Fallon Historical Society, the O'Fallon Masonic Lodge 576 AF & AM, the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Bodies in the Valley of Southern Illinois, the VFW, the Air Force Association where he was a charter member, and the O'Fallon Sportsman Club. He was a member of the Dania Shrine Club, O'Fallon, IL., the American Legion Post 478, Blackburn, Mo., member in perpetuity, Charles A. Lindbergh Chapter 247 of National Sojourners Home and the First United Methodist Church, O'Fallon, IL. Mr. Jenner was also an avid stamp collector.
  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Monday, November 25th at the First United Methodist Church in O'Fallon with Rev. Paul Sellers officiating. Burial will be in the O'Fallon City cemetery with military honors. Friends may call from 4:00 to 8:00 P.M. on Sunday at the Wolfersberger Funeral Home in O'Fallon. Online expressions of sympathy may be e mailed to the family at Wolfersberger@intertek.net. In lieu of flowers; memorials may be made to the William A. Jenner Memorial Scholarship at O'Fallon Township High School or to the First United Methodist Church.

Dr. Robert V. Lashbrook, 84, of Ojai, CA, died Friday, Sept. 27 at Ojai Valley Community Hospital after a long bout with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was born July 9th, 1918 in Los Angeles, CA, and lived in Ojai for 30 years.
  Dr. Lashbrook had been a chemistry professor at Ventura College. He graduated from Stanford University in 1951 with a doctorate in biochemistry.  He was a member of the Ojai United Methodist Church and the Retired Professional and Business Men's Club.
  He served in the South Pacific during World War II with the 15th and the 17th Weather Squadrons and retired from the Air Force Reserves as a lieutenant colonel.
  He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Betty Lashbrook, of Ojai; sons Arthur Lashbrook of Vista, CA, and Kenneth Lashbrook of Ione, CA; daughter Nancy Lashbrook of Seattle, WA; brother James Lashbrook of Murphys, CA; and four grandchildren.
  No services are planned. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ojai United Methodist Church.

Ashley, Charles Spence -- Arrangements for Charles Spence Ashley, 78, of Tollhouse are under the direction of the Neptune Society. Mr. Ashley, a retired counselor for Fresno Unified School District, died Monday, August 19th. Remembrances may be sent to Veterans of Foreign Wars, P.O. Box 8951, Topeka, KS 66608, or The Nature Conservancy, P.O. Box 17080, Baltimore, MD 21298.
  Chuck was a member of the 17th Weather Squadron and served in the South Pacific at Efate, Sterling Island, New Caledonia and New Zeland. He was an enthusiastic member of the 17th Weather Squadron Alumni and attended several reunions. He is survived by his wife, Betty, two sons and a daughter.

Long time Weather Channel hurricane specialist John Hope passed away today (June 13) due to complications during heart surgery. He was 83. http://www.weather.com/newscenter/topstories/johnhope.html 
He was also a member of the Air Weather Association, 17th Weather Squadron Alumni Association and National Weather Association. 
Just got another message that said: In lieu of flowers , please send donations to:
  St. Vincent de Paul Society
  c/o St. Judes Catholic Church
  7171 Glenridge Dr. NE
  Atlanta, GA 30338 
John Hope, hurricane expert at The Weather Channel, was one of the best-known and well-respected meteorologists in the business. 
  This is from Bill Burke....CEO of the weather channel. "It is with profound sadness that I convey the news that TWC hurricane expert John Hope passed away this morning as a result of complications following recent surgeries. John's contributions to The Weather Channel and its success are incalculable, and he has been a treasured mentor and friend to many of us over the years. He has touched many others outside our organization as well, both personally with his friendship, and professionally throughout his career via his role in increasing the public's understanding of, and preparedness for, hazardous tropical weather. He will be very deeply missed. John was 83, and has been with The Weather Channel since its start in 1982. During this time, our hearts go out to John's family: his wife Bernice; his sons, Joseph, James, and Thomas; his daughter Camille; his brother Leonard; and the rest of his extended family who are grieving his loss. As we receive more information on memorial services and donations, we will ! ! ! share it with you."

CMSgt George Horn

Col Walt Hogan Sr. - The following excerpts are from the Hampton-Newport News Daily Press and would be of interest to some of the weather community: ""...Col Hogan crafted a life not only as a military and commercial pilot, but also as a meteorologist, sportsman, educator and independent businessman. .....He accumulated a Purple Heart and a Legion of Merit. For his work with the boy scouts, he was awarded a coveted Silver Beaver. ....He served 33 years in the military, retiring from the Air Force in 1972. .... Internment will be at 3 p.m. March 27 in Arlington National Cemetery."
Col. Hogan's last assignment was Commander, 3WS at Shaw AFB, SC. Previous assignments were in Army weather support and he was well known for his efforts to implement Army support weather procedures.

Charles O. "Chuck" Woodley, 83, a resident of Albuquerque since 1968, died Saturday, January 5, 2002. He is survived by daughters, Linda R. Boblkin and husband, Melvin of Lake Elsinore, CA and Leslie Ann Johnson of Riverside, CA: stepsons, Dirk Squibb and wife, Kileen of Las Cruces and Dean Squibb of Albuquerque stepdaughters Dawn BelL and husband. Mike of Dallas. TX and Kathy Lebby and husband Mike of Andrews TX; and seven grandchildren. Mr. Woodley is also survived by April Woodley of Midland, TX. He proceeded in death by his brothers and sisters. Mr. Woodley retired from the U.S. Air Force after 27 of service where he worked in weather tracking, traveling extensively during this time of service. He later was involved in real estate and development around Chama NM. Mr. Woodley was a member of the Montgomery Blvd. Church of Christ and also belonged to the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 32. Service will be held Friday, January 11 2002 at 11:00 at Freeich Mortuary Wyoming Blvd Chapel, 7121 Wyoming Blvd., NE.

Clarence B. Elam Jr., 72 of O'Fallon, IL, born Jun 10, 1929, in Mocksville,NC, died Tuesday, Jan 22, 2002, at St Elizabeth's Hospital, Belleville, IL.
  Mr. Elam was employed as a climatologist at Scott AFB, IL. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church, O'Fallon, IL, and the Quail Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited. An accomplished wood carver and a US Air Force veteran.
  Surviving are his wife Grace, nee Carter, Elam, three children, Barbara Marsh of Asheville, NC, Larry (Janice) Elam of Florence, KY, and Cynthia (Scott) Early of Webster Groves, MO. Eight grandchildren.
  Visitation Fri., 25 Jan 02 at Schildknecht Funeral Home 6 to 8 p.m. and Funeral at 1 p.m. on 26 Jan 02 at the First Methodist Church, O'Fallon. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the church. Burial in O'Fallon City Cemetery.

I received a card from Mary Craig indicating that Tom Craig (MSgt, USAF(Ret) and AWA member), passed away quietly in his sleep on Dec 29,2001. Mary indicated in their Christmas card that Tom was having some difficulty as she was writing cards for him due to his macular degeneration.
  We are sorry to lose Tom. He was a wonderful man. He was the Station Chief at RAF Lakenheath when I arrived as Detco. He helped me greatly, along with all the other neat people who were there.
  For those who knew Tom and wish to pass on regards to Mary, her address is:
  1991 Player Cir N
  Melbourne, FL 32935-4416
Ed Boselly
  The news concerning Tom Craig is especially devastating to me as I knew Tom for many, many years as one of the finest, most professional individuals this young and later, not so young Airman, would ever have the honor of being around.
  I first met Tom as a young Airman at Homestead AFB. At that time, Homestead served as the support base for Nixon's southern White House at Key Biscayne.
  The base weather station was staffed with a collection of some of the most senior and experienced enlisted forecasters and observers. Even in that environment, Tom stood out.
  What many did know was Tom's long and distinguished path to AWS. For instance, that he was a veteran of the Royal Navy during WWII including the infamous Murmansk run. Any wonder why he could be such a leader?
  My condolences to Mary and the family. They have lost a fine man, loving father and husband; we have all lost a Man.
  AL Mongeon

Doreen Roache notified us that Ed Roache died, Jan 23rd, after a lengthy illness. For those who did not know Ed, he was the AWS/DO before retiring as a Colonel. He then continued in meteorology as a supergrade civilian (GS-17 I believe) with NOAA in D.C. 
  He entered the Army Air Corps as a weather observer before WW II and was stationed at Langley Field where Captain (later Brig Gen) Norman L. Peterson was the weather detachment commander.
  He and Doreen moved to Belleville IL some years ago. Their address in a retirement community is in the AWA roster. The telephone number there is (618) 394-6328.
  Doreen is doing ok and Ed's passing was not unexpected. He will be buried at the Jefferson Barracks national cemetery near St. Louis.

Reporting the death on July 13, 2001, of Roland Gibbs, 78. Roland served in the Pacific as a Sgt with the 20th Weather Squadron during WWII.  He leaves his wife, Mildred and many friends here in Granby, MA.

For several years in the very early '40s, CWO Andrew W. Weston taught Surface, Upper Air and Air Mass Analysis to many hundreds of students at the Chanute AFB, IL Weather Forecasting School. I was one of his students in 1942 and from 1947 to 1949 we worked together in the Haneda AFB Tokyo Weather Central and we both retired in the Sacramento, CA area.
Andy passed away July 11th, 2001 at home in Rancho Cordova, CA at the age of 89. He will be remembered for his outstanding instruction technique at Chanute by everyone that attended his classes. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Mary, and their children, BGen Craig Weston (USAF) and Kay Weston of Chevy Chase, MD

Edgar F. Boucherer, 87, of Mackinaw, Illinois died Monday, June 11, 2001.
  Funeral services were held on June 14 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pekin, Il.  Burial was in Gaines Cemetery in Minier, Il.  Mr. Boucher was born May 20, 1914, in Mackinaw.  He married Virginia Eveans on April 26, 1942 in Mackinaw.  Surviving are his wife, one son, Michael Boucher, one daughter, Jane Siwak, six grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, six step-great-grandchildren, two brothers and one sister.  Mr. Boucher worked as a laboratory technician at Corn Products Co. in Pekin for 34 years, retiring in 1979.  He previously worked as a welder at Caterpillar Inc.  He was a World War II veteran of the US Army Air Force, serving with the 17th Weather Squadron in the Pacific with battle campaigns in the Northern Solomons and Ryukyus.  In the 1999 Air Weather Association Newsletter, page 9, Ed is remembered as the Tori Shima Weather Man.
He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pekin, where he served as an elder.  He also was a menter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.

Col (Ret) Don Pittmanan died of a massive heart attack just before midnight, Tuesday, 15 May, in Oklahoma City. Don was there on a business trip. He and co-workers went to see an evening baseball game. Don suffered the heart attack just as they were entering the stadium. Emergency medical services were on the scene very quickly and he was taken to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. Don passed on around 11:30PM. 
Memorial Services: Viewing 6:00PM-8:00PM, Friday, May 18th Memorial Funeral Chapel 2901 Texas Avenue College Station, Texas 77845 
10:00AM, Saturday, May 19th A&M United Methodist Church 417 University Drive College Station, Texas 77840.
  Graveside Burial Service: For those wishing to send flowers for Don Pittman's burial service at Arlington National Cemetery, 05 June 2001, Tuesday, 9:00AM, please send them to:
  Demaine Funeral Home
  520 South Washington Streetet
  Alexandria, VA 22314
  (703) 549-0074
The flowers will be transported to Arlington National Cemetery for the burial service.
  Condolences may be sent to: Ginny Pittman 135 South Homeland Avenue Annapolis, MD 21401

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Wayne Leach of Columbia, South Carolina, died Monday, April 30, 2001. Born in Mariette, Mich., June 23, 1921, he was the son of the late Orval and Flossie Westover Leach. In 1939, he graduated from Sandusky High School in Michigan. He attended Central Michigan University, where he began a lifelong interest and career in civilian and military aviation.  Commissioned a 2nd Lt. (Army Air Corps) in 1943, he subsequently completed degrees in engineering and meteorology at Michigan State University and Texas A & M.
During the Korean Conflict, Lt. Col. Leach served in Guam and Japan, where he flew B-29s. Following duty as a pilot, meteorologist and squadron commander in the United States, Great Britain and Germany, he retired in 1970 from Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter. He was preceded in death by his first wife,  Ruth Mostoller Leach of Heyworth, Ill., in 1974.
Surviving are his wife, Reva Jane; son Mark and his wife, Sandy, and granddaughter, Marie, of Columbia; sister, Marion Mercado and her husband, Phil, of Rochester Hills, Mich.; stepdaughter, Kim Lemke and granddaughter, Alexandra, of Columbia; stepdaughter, Janis Malmo and her husband, Dave, and grandsons, Weston, Brandon and Nathan, stepson, David Lemke and his wife, Jackie, and granddaughters, Robin and Lisa, of South Lyon, Mich.  Memorial services for Lt. Col. Wayne Leach, 79, were held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 3, 2001 at Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church.  Memorials may be made to Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church Elevator Fund, 1005 Asbury Drive, Columbia, SC 29209.

Colonel (Ret.) Kent Louis Aaron Zimmermanan of San Antonio, Texas, has spent many hours enjoying sending and receiving emails from many AWA members. As you may have heard, on April 27th, he peacefully passed away in the company of his loving family.  A Memorial Service was held in San Antonio on Sunday, April 30th and he will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on May 30th, 2001 with full military honors.  He is survived by his wife Marty and a son and daughter.

Bonita ("Bonnee") Johnston passed away on April 7, 2001 due to a series of strokes and the complications of diabetes. She was the only child of Ida Fem and James Everette Willits, born in Los Angeles, and a graduate of Beverly Hills High School ('37) and UCLA ('41). In September of 1941 she was married to Robert D. Johnston following a four-year courtship.
  Bonnee became an 'Air Force Officer's Wife' some six months later, a career which lasted the next thirty years. She and spouse Bob, a meteorologist with the U.S. Air Force Air Weather Service, had various stateside assignments, and enjoyed three-year overseas tours of duty in Germany, Japan, and England. Following her husband's retirement, the couple lived for 14 years in Upland, California, and since 1985, in Dana Point, California.
  Bonnee is survived by her husband of 59 years Col (Ret.) Robert D. Johnston, her daughter Randi Dee Johnson, and grandchildren Devon Vail Johnson and Michael Christopher Kamensky.
  It was her wish that her life be remembered in happy, informal social gatherings of dear friends. In accordance with her request, no formal services are planned and in lieu of flowers, friends may contribute to Hospice, or their favorite worthy cause.e.

William C. "Bill" Clark Jr. (1917-2001)
A Memorial Service was held on Wednesday, January 17, 2001, at 10:00 a.m. in La Villa Assisted Living Center, with Rev. Steve Chappell officiating, for William C. "Bill" Clark, Jr., 83, of Roswell, who passed away on Monday, January 15, 2001. Bill was born on September 4, 1917 in Youngstown, OH to William and Jessie Mae Clark. Bill married Dorothy Miller on December 13, 1947 in Youngstown. They moved to Roswell from Youngstown 17 years ago. Bill worked 39 years for Republic Steel Corporation/LTV in clerical and sales, and served with the 17th Weather Squadron, Army Air Corps with the rank of Staff Sergeant in World War II. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church. Bill was a supporter of the American Heart Association, Amnesty International, and Planned Parenthood. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to those organizations in his memory. Bill is survived by his wife, Dorothy at home; two sons, Douglas W. Clark of Los Angeles, CA, James G. Clark and his wife, Kristina of Tucson, AZ; one daughter, Barbara C. and her husband, Thomas P. Madora, of Wilmington, DE; two grandchildren, Hillary Clark and Jessie Hanna Clark of Tucson, AZ; two sisters, Dorothy Hoover of Poland, OH and Doris Mae Antonucci of Duarte, CA. Interment will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Youngstown, OH at a later  date. Services were under the direction of Anderson-Bethany Funeral Home and Crematory.

Col. Thomas William Lanene, Age 81, died Saturday December 23, 2000. He was born in Lane City, Texas on February 28, 1919, the son of Nina Lee Dayvoult and Thomas Whitfield Lane. In 1942, he married Imogene Bramlett Lane, his wife for 54 years, until her death in 1996. Tom Lane attended Schreiner Institute and later graduated from Oklahoma State University with a major in business. He also held a Master’s Degree in meteorology from MIT. A veteran of 30 years in the Air Force, he received multiple honors, including the Bronze Star and the Joint Services Commendation. He entered the Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet in 1941 and was commissioned in 1942. In 1945 he was assigned to the 14th Fighter Group in Italy as a P-38 pilot and returned home at the close of the war in Europe. During the Korean Conflict, Tom served as a Material Officer for the 20th Weather Squadron in Japan, where he was responsible for setting up the equipping the weather stations in Korea. He was Commander of the 30th Weather Squadron in Vietnam in 1964-65, during which time the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred. In 1965, Col. Lane became Chief of Operations, 1st Weather Wing, Hickam AFB HI, and two years later he was sent to Offutt AFB, NE to be Chief of Operations Division of the 3rd Weather Wing. Other tours of duty included Randolph AFB, Kelly AFB and Connally AFB Texas, Ft. Monroe VA and Chanute AFB IL. Tours overseas include Italy, Japan, Turkey and Vietnam. His last assignment as at Southwest Texas state University in 1969, where he assumed the position of Professor of Aerospace Studies. He retired in 1973 and remained in San Marcos where he lived and golfed for the next 23 years. There he was a member of the First United Methodist Church (where he was an usher for over 15 years) a former member of Kiwanis Club, past president of the Hill Country Retired Officers Club and former chairman of the San Marcos Heart Association. Colonel Lane lived the last 4 years in San Antonio where he remained very active. His wife, Imogene Bramlett Lane preceded him by four years to the day. Survivors include his daughter, Lee Ann Lane Fillman of the Woodlands TX; his tow grandchildren, Matthew Thomas Fillman and Alice Lane Fillman; and his sister Nina Lee Northington of Wharton, TX. Interment with Military Honors in Ft Sam Houston National Cemetery.

The memorial service for David A. Sankey was at 10:00am, Saturday, Dec 2, 2000.
Location:
Geneva Presbyterian Church
11931 Seven Locks Road
Potomac, Maryland (Montrose Road West Exit)
In lieu of flowers, those who wish to send a remembrance are asked to send it to:
HQ Viriginia Wing
Civil Air Patrol
7401 Airfield Drive
Richmond, VA 23237-2250
Include a note: that it is in memory of Dave Sankey.
  Dave Sankey was an AWA member, having served in the AWS before joining the FAA.
Here is an article from the Washington Post:
To view the entire article, go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47176-2000Nov21.html

Marjorie Arcella Brick Barnum, wife of 44 years to Col Dale C. Barnum (Ret), passed away on October 11, 2000 after a life-long struggle with heart disease. Marge was born August 20, 1935, in Lake Henry, Minnesota, to Othmar and Ella Brick. She attended schools in Lake Henry and Paynesville, Minnesota, and St Cloud State where she received training for a career in Radiologic Technology. Marge was an X-Ray Technician at St James Hospital in Butte, Montana when she met her future husband, Dale. They were married in the Lake Henry Catholic Church December 29, 1956. They journeyed to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Dale was stationed with the USAF. During her husband's military career, moving was a way of life, and Marge lived, at various times, in Tacoma, Washington, St Louis, Missouri, Belleville, Illinois, Tokyo, Japan, Scott AFB, Illinois, Andrews AFB, Maryland, Seoul, Korea, Langley AFB, Virginia, and Omaha, Nebraska.a.
  After her husband's retirement from the Air Force in 1984,
they enjoyed their retirement years at their home in the Quail Creek development near Bellevue, Nebraska, and at their condo in Missoula, Montana. During her years as a military wife, she was an unfailing supporter of her husband's military career, and was always active in efforts to improve the quality of life for the military families wherever they were stationed. She was involved in her church activities, as much as her health would permit, at the Capehart Chapel at Offutt AFB, and later at the new St Matthew's Parish in Bellevue, Nebraska.
  She was a loving mother with strong convictions about her faith and the sanctity of life, and her kind and gentle demeaner deeply touched the lives of her family and friends.
  A Mass of the Resurrection was held for Marge on October 14, 2000 at the St Matthew Catholic Church in Bellevue, Nebraska. Interment was in St Margaret's Cemetery in Lake Henry, Minnesota, on October 16, 2000.
  Survivors include her best friend and husband, Dale, son John of Missoula, Montana, and daughter Barbara of Rowlett, Texas; brothers, Harold of Roseville, Minnesota, and James of Lake Henry, Minnesota; sisters, Ramona Hylla of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, Marilyn Golembeski, of St Cloud, Minnesota, and Ruth Trageser, of Spicer, Minnesota; numerous nieces, nephews, and Godchildren, and a host of friends at St Matthew's Parish and in the Air Weather Service family around the world. Marge was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Eugene and Ralph.

Nicholas John Gavares died Tuesday, July 11, 2000, in Helotes, a suburb of San Antonio, Texas He was born on June 10, 1914 in Chicago, IL.  He graduated from the University of Chicago with a BS Degree in chemistry and later studied meteorology at both M.I.T. and the University of Chicago. He served 26 years in the Air Force, mostly in staff and command positions, retiring in 1966 as a Colonel. He then worked for 18 years with Educational Testing Service He is survived by his wife, Annie L. Gavares, daughter, Nicki Jo Messner of Sebring, FL, and two sons, Col Peter M Gavares at the Pentagon, and John Gavares of San Diego, CA, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.  Interment was with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

CMSgt Stanley A. Coffman expired on 24 July 2000 in Melbourne Fl. after a long illness. He was 70 years old. Stan was a good friend that worked with me when I was stationed in Spain as the Spanish Weather Liaison Officer. At that time he was a Radiosonde technician for the 21st Weather Squadron in Torrejon Spain. Later he became an excellent technician for the DMSP program and ended his tour in the AF at Scott AFB, at Hq. AWS. He came to Florida to work at Harris Corp. He worked in my Department for several years. He loved to travel with his wife Alice in their RV and has friends all over the country which he visited on a regular basis. Stan loved nature and was an avid rock collector, had a wonderful back yard full of citrus and avocados and was always ready to give you some when you visited him.
You can write Alice at: Alice Coffman 1697 Dixie Way Melbourne, Fl 3293434

It is with a deep sadness that we are once again faced with the loss of a weather legend. Maj Gen Russell K. Pierce, Jr., a retired Air Weather Service Commander, died Wednesday, 28 June 2000, in San Antonio, Texas.
  At this time all we know is that his funeral will be Monday with the burial at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
  Maj Gen Pierce, was a "Nebraskan" born in Fremont and a graduate of Fremont High School. He went on to attend Midland College majoring in chemistry and mathematics and joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. He began flight training at Mather Field, Sacramento, California and was commissioned a second lieutenant in March 1942.
  During WW II, Lieutenant Pierce served with the 98th Bombardment Group as a B-24 pilot and flew over 30 missions. He then became an aircraft instructor pilot and eventually director of flying training at bases in New Mexico and Nebraska. He went through Weather Officer School at Chanute in 1947 and then served as a station weather officer at Lowry Field, Colorado until 1948 when he became Commander of the 19th Weather Squadron, as a 24-year-old major!r!
  He spent two years in Tripoli, Libya as Commander of the 29th Weather Squadron and then moved to an assignment with the 1st Weather Group and a short time later became Commander of the 3d Weather Group. Eventually he went on to the position of Commander of the 10th Weather Group and staff weather officer to the Fifth Air Force, Fuchu Air Station, Japan. In October 1960, upon inactivation of the 10th Weather Group, he became commander of the advanced echelon of the 1st Weather Wing at Fuchu. In July 1961, he was transferred as Deputy Commander 3rd Weather Wing, Offutt AFB NE and in July 1963, he took command of the 3rd Weather Wing.
  When he assumed his final position with Air Weather Service as its Twelfth Commander in October 1965, he became the only commander who had not served as part of the AWS staff first. At age 45 he was promoted to Brigadier General and three years later became a Major General. In July 1970, he was appointed Deputy Commandant, Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Richard Dean Stonemark, Lieutenant Colonel, US Air Force, retired, 59, of Belleville, IL, born Sept 22, 1940, in Ironwood, MI, died of cancer Friday, March 17, 2000, at his residence.
  Mr. Stonemark served in the US Air Force for 25 years in Air Weather Service and the Military Airlift Command. He earned his bachelor of science degree at Michigan Technological University; attended graduate school at St. Louis University studying meteorology; and received a master's degree from Auburn University. For the past 15 years, he has been active in the real estate community, as an agent, broker and member of the board of directors of the Belleville Area Association of Realtors. He served as president of the board in 1998. At the time of his death, he was a broker and manager for Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors, O'Fallon, IL.
  Mr. Stonemark was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Ardeth, nee Nelson, Stonemark Surviving are his wife of 34 years, Patricia E., nee Butler, Stonemark; two sons, David R. (Kathleen) Stonemark of Panama City Beach, FL, and Robert H. (Carolyn) Stonemark of Omaha, NE; two grandchildren, Kelly Ann Stonemark of Panama City Beach, FL, and Emma Megan Stonemark of Omaha, NE; a special aunt, Kay Stonemark of Duluth, MI; and several cousins.
Dick's visitation will be 5 to 7 pm Monday, March 20 at George Renner and Sons Funeral Home in downtown Belleville, IL. The funeral will be 9:30 am Tuesday, March 21 at the same place with interment at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Saint Louis, MO.

Patricia E. "Patti" Stonemark, nee Butler, 62, of Belleville, IL, born August 10, 1940, in Ironwood, Michigan, died Thursday, November 21, 2002 at her residence. Mrs. Stonemark was a secretary for several social service agencies before her illness. She spent many years as an active American Red Cross volunteer and was awarded the Clara Barton medal, the highest award given for Red Cross volunteer service. She was a former member of the Rob Morris Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, as well as Air Force Officers Wives Clubs worldwide.
  She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard D. Stonemark, and her parents, Ralph and Frances, nee Lyness, Butler. Surviving are her two sons, David R. (Kathleen) Stonemark of Panama City Beach, FL, & Robert H. (Carolyn) Stonemark of Henderson, Nevada. 2 grandchildren: Kelly Ann Stonemark of Panama City Beach, FL & Emma Megan Stonemark of Henderson, NV, her brother, James F. (Ann) Butler of Port Angeles, Washington, her sister, Joan Geuder of Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, a special niece, Linda, and other nieces and nephews. Patti faced her disease as she did everything in her life, with grace and good humor always.
  Funeral services were held at 10:00 AM Monday, November 25, 2002, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, IL, with Pastor Drew Kramer officiating. Burial will be in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery where Richard is buried.

Frances Dvorak Eckmann,wife of Lt Col Frederick C. Eckmann, USAF Retired, passed away quietly at home, on 18 March 2000, after a long illness.
  During her career as an Air Force wife, she volunteered in several American Red Cross units, at Bases in the countries of Panama, Newfoundland and Japan. In Tokyo, she helped form the "Far East Women's Club - Japan" and became its first President.
  After leaving the Air Force in 1968, the Eckmanns lived and worked in Houston, Texas. Fran, as she was known, became interested in the local and State "PBX Clubs", rising to President of the Texas group. She worked as chief PBXer at several companies in Houston, notably MD Anderson Hospital.
  Retiring in Las Vegas in 1985, Fran studied Hotel courses at UNLV. In addition, she served a tour on the Las Vegas Senior Citizens Advisory Board and also volunteered again with the ARC at Las Vegas at the Nellis AFB Hospital. The Retired Officers Wives Club saw a winner and she was soon brought in and moved up the chairs to President.
  Fran is survived by her husband Frederick, her son Lyle of Dallas and two daughters: Lee Dotson of Las Vegas and Louise Strawderman of Luray, Virginia.

Colonel Mortimer F. Bennet, 75, of Lebanon, IL, born April 25, 1924, in Albion, IN, died Tuesday, April 18, 2000, at Scott Air Force Base Medical Center.
  Col. Bennet retired from the U.S. Air Force after 35 years of service in many roles including a meteorologist and master navigator. In his retirement, he and his wife operated Bennet’s Scientific, a business that restored and sold antique clocks, barometers, and weather instruments.
  He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Lebanon, IL, past president of the Lebanon Library Board, past president of the Kaskaskia Library Board, past president of the Illinois State Library Trustees, a Paul Harris Fellow with the Lebanon Rotary Club, a life member of the Masonic Lodge, and was a clock maker certified by the American Watchmakers Institute. During his retirement, he served as a Red Cross volunteer at the pharmacy of the Scott Air Force Base Medical Center.
  Col. Bennet entered the service during World War II in the Horse Cavalry, and transferred into the Army Air Corps. He received a battlefield commission of first lieutenant during that war. Col. Bennet then joined the Air Weather Service as a meteorologist and a command navigator. He served in Bermuda with the Hurricane Hunters in the 1950s. He received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Southern Florida.
  He served on the founding academic staff of the Air Force Academy teaching meteorology and navigation. Later in his career, Col. Bennet was stationed in many overseas tours of duty including Newfoundland, Bermuda, Korea, Germany, Okinawa, and Vietnam. He served in World War II, Korean War, and the Vietnam conflict. In Vietnam, Col. Bennet commanded the 1st Weather Group responsible for providing all meteorological support in S. E. Asia to U. S. and Allied forces. In addition, Col. Bennet served tours of duty at Scott AFB at HQ Air Weather Service.
  During the last part of his career, Col. Bennet was a senior Department of Defense environmental official responsible to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. He represented the United States in environmental affairs as a representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in The Hague, Belgium.
  He was preceded in death by his parents, Minnie Mae, nee Brown, and Mortimer F. Bennet Sr. of Albion, IN, and a sister, Eunice Bennet Luther, also of Albion, IN.
  Surviving are his wife, A. Geneva, nee Schmid, Bennet of Lebanon, IL, whom he married in 1944, two children, Dr. Michelle Bennet of Boston, MA, and Kevin Bennet of Rochester, MN, a brother, Luther Bennet of Kirkwood, MO, and many nieces and nephews.
  Memorials may be made to the Memorial Scholarship Fund in memory of Mortimer Bennet, at the First United Methodist Church, 603 W. St Louis Street, Lebanon, IL 62254.
  Funeral: Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22, 2000, at the First United Methodist Church, Lebanon, IL. Interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C., with full military honors.

Col (Ret) Lowell A. Stiles of Honolulu, Hawaii, died on 20 April 2000. The funeral will be in Kaneohe, Hawaii on 1 May 2000.

Jim Van Dyne passed away in Akron, Ohio, on Wednesday, 3 May 2000, after a lengthy illness. It is a great loss to all, especially to the 17th Weather Squadron "Weather Merchants". Jim was the one who got us organized and single-handedly held us together. We will all miss him.

Col Ralph J. Steele died of a heart attack on Memorial Day 2000. A Funeral service will be on Thursday, 1 June at 4:30 PM at the McHenry Funeral Home in Corvallis, Oregon. Burial will be on Friday, 2 June at 11 AM at the Willamette National Cemetary. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the American Lung Association or each individuals own charity.
  John Fuller states in his Thor's Legions that Capt Ralph J. Steele won a Bronze Star for duty with the 21st WS in France; the 21st WS was the most decorated unit in WWII. Maj Steele also added an oak leaf cluster to the Bronze Star for weather service in the Korean War where he commanded the Seoul Forecast Center in 1952 "before becoming one of AWS' most vociferous proponents of centralized and computerized forecasting in the late 1960s and 1970s." 
Col Steele commanded the Air Force Global Weather Central at Offutt from 1965 to 1970 as it transitioned from Det 1, 3rd Weather Wing to AFGWC. He then became the first AWS Deputy Chief of Staff Systems at Scott AFB.
  Mrs Polly Steele is at 6060 Tokay Place, Corvallis, OR 97330-9504