Departures - 2003
We publish departures based on the year listed in the obituary. If no year is listed then we publish them when they are received.
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.
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 Army Air 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.
Loyola E. (Gene) Ralston, SMSgt USAF, age 66, died on Nov 22, 2003. Survived by wife Marilyn, daughter Debbie and husband Ron Fischer. Bellevue: 2 grandchildren, Ryne and Kylee; sister, Mary Ruhle, Phoneix, AZ. Member F.O.E. 3912. Memorials to American Diabetes Association. FUneral Service Tues 11am, Bellevue Memorial Chapel. Interment Bellevue Cemetery. Visitation Mon 6-8pm.
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.
Bill Tazewell died on September 27, 2003. Bill was one of the first members of the AWS in 1937, a historian, the patriarch of the Internet, etc.... He voluntarily started Web pages for the Air Weather Association, National Weather Association and helped SSgt Steve Elliott with the first pages for AFWA/PA back in the mid-90s. He would send messages to us regarding his thoughts on how retirees could help the active duty, let us know when he found interesting Web sites, etc. He was always after us to think well into the future because with the Internet and other new technologies we are reaching the "foreseeable" future faster than ever before. He didn't start his Webmaster skills until he was 79 in the early 90s. Over the past few years he has been in/out of the hospital with heart problems. He will be missed.
Sadly,
Kevin
Dear Sirs,
My father died on September 27. We are sure he is happier where he is now. His brother was with him and the doctors were very compassionate and kind. There will be a simple graveside service in due time. He had a long, interesting, and full life and it was time to go. We will miss him. Thanks for your inquiry.
- Will Dawson
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."
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.
William C. "Andy" Anderson, 83, died 16 May 2003 at home in Fairfield, Calif. of natural causes. William C. “Andy” Anderson, 83, passed away of natural causes last month in Fairfield, California, with his family in attendance. Since 1988, Anderson had written MotorHome’s "Off Ramp" column, punctuating the last page of each issue with his wit and humor. The son of Robert and Fannie Anderson, he spent his youth in Boise, Idaho, graduating from Boise High School, then attending Boise Junior College. His formal education was interrupted in 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Anderson enlisted in the U.S. Army as an aviation cadet. Graduating as a pilot, he flew bombers in the 15th Air Force, stationed in Italy. As a career Air Force officer, he flew the Berlin Airlift, piloted air-evacuation aircraft during the Korean Conflict and commanded a weather reconnaissance squadron during the Eniwetok H-bomb tests. From there, his flying duties took him to Hawaii, where he engaged in hurricane reconnaissance with the Air Weather Service. Anderson held the record for the longest hurricane-hunting mission. He participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his last military duties were at “Fort Fumble,” as he lovingly called the Pentagon, where he served in the office of the Air Force Secretary in Public Affairs. Upon retirement from the Air Force, Anderson turned to his first love — writing — and published some 20 books. Most of his works were sold or optioned for motion pictures or television. Bat-21 was a bestselling book about a real pilot who was shot down behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War. Anderson also wrote the screenplay when it was made into a 1988 movie starring Gene Hackman. In 1948, Anderson married his true love, Dortha Power, also of Boise. Among his survivors, in addition to Dortha, are: a son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Candyce of Rohnert Park, California; a daughter and son-in-law, Holly and Danny Weil of Guadalupe, California; and a daughter, Ann Kiessling, of Boston, Massachusetts; plus two grandsons and four granddaughters. Memorial contributions may be made to the Andy Anderson Stem Cell Program, care of the Bedford Research Foundation, 53 Concord Road, Bedford, Massachusetts 01730.
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.
Larry Earl Nye March 22, 1940 - March 26, 2003 of Valrico, Fla., formerly of Monroe (Oregon) died Wednesday in Florida. He was 63. He was born in Junction City to Orrin B and Alice E Brock Nye. He grew up in Alpine and graduated from Monroe High School. After four years of college, he served 28 years in the Air Force, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He then worked for the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County. He enjoyed golf, fishing and family life. Survivors include his wife Edith;, father and stepmother, Ruth, of Junction City,; sons, Keith of Valrico and Bryan of Riverview, Fla.; daughter Betsy Kushner of Tampa, Fla.; sister Melba of Euless, Texas; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his mother. A service will be held Sunday, March 30 at Stowers Brandon Chapel, Brandon, Fla. Burial will be at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fla. Adelle's address is: 1502 Holleman Drive, Valrico FL, 33594 Her e-mail address: anyemema@verizon.net A personal note - "Larry was a great guy - he was the kind of troop that just put his head down and did the job - and he had some tough ones - and a lot of Army support. He also had a tough hook shot in basketball that I never could block." Norm Rauscher
Anthony T. Shtogren, Major General USAF (Ret.) (1917-2003) – passed away gently on 22 March 2003 at Atlantic Shores, Virginia Beach, Virginia, after fighting with patience and determination through two months of medical challenges. Gen. Shtogren retired from active duty in 1971 as deputy director of the J-6 (communications- electronics) organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Born in Boston on May 13, 1917 to Peter and Albina Scholar, Gen. Shtogren was raised by his aunt, Helen Scholar, after he and his two brothers, Emil and Harry (who have predeceased him) were orphaned when “The General” was 10. At Boston English High School he won a Latin scholarship to Boston College and graduated magna cum laude in 1939 with a BS in Chemistry, never having taken a Latin course. He soon added a MS in Chemistry summa cum laude from Holy Cross in 1940. During this period he courted and wed Margaretta Dunkerley, who in 1998 also predeceased him after 55 years of marriage. With war brewing in Europe, the Army Air Corps recruited him for their new Weather Service. He trained at MIT in 1941 but was shipped to Turner Field in Albany, Ga. before completing work for his second Masters. This he gained in 1948 when he earned an MBA from Columbia University. Beginning in 1941, The General served his country in many posts until his retirement in 1971. After Georgia, he went to England in August 1942, where he served as a weatherman for the 2nd Air Division (B-24’s). After the war, during which he participated in forecasting the weather for numerous operations including D-Day, he returned to the United States in May 1945 and attended advanced meteorological school at Chanute Field, Ill. He was then assigned to Langley Field, Va., where he served as director of Personnel and Administration, Headquarters Air Weather Service, from January to September 1946. He then served at Andrews Air Force Base at Air Weather HQ, until August 1951, when he received his first command, the 2102nd Air Weather Group, which became the 2nd Weather Group at Langley AFB, where he was weather advisor to Gen. Joe Canon’s Tactical Air Command. Then he went to Tokyo, where he commanded the 1st Weather Wing (Dec 54 – Jun 57) and was advisor to Gen. Lawrence Kuter’s Far East Air Command. There Col. Shtogren won the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the smooth conversion of three reconnaissance squadrons of B-29s to the longer range B-50s without dropping a single mission. During this assignment, General Shtogren was awarded his second Legion of Merit for establishing unique systems of pilot weather reporting and en route meteorological watch that materially improved flying safety within the command. He also assisted the commanders of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, the Republic of Korea Air Force and the Chinese Nationalist Air Force in the development of a weather service. In 1957, Gen. Thomas Power summoned Col. Shtogren to command the 3rd Weather Wing for the Strategic Air Command, the CIA and Air Force One. His work at Offutt helped start the AF Global Weather Central pioneering the use of computers in AF weather forecasting. The wing was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its support of SAC. In 1963, promoted to brigadier general, he commanded the Eastern Communications Region (Thule, Greenland to Puerto Rico; the Azores to Ohio). From 1965 to 1968, he was Commander, Pacific Communications Area. In addition to commanding all communications units in Pacific, he was responsible for Air Traffic Control west of Hawaii, and represented the United States in Air Traffic negotiations with Far East foreign governments. For his work during the Vietnam War he received the DSM. Promoted to major general, he was J-6 deputy director of communications and electronics for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, from 1968 to his retirement in 1971. One of his responsibilities was tearing down the Communications and Air Traffic systems he had built during the War. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm, the Army commendation Ribbon, Distinguished Unit Citation Emblem, and The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster. After retiring from the Air Force, he became vice president in charge of Construction for Datran, an early data-only transmission system, building their first line from Texas to St. Louis. During this time he also built his retirement home at Lake Anna, Va., where he was able to fully express his long-standing love affairs with fishing, hydroponics and gardening, especially the cultivation of rare roses, fruit trees, corn, unusual vegetables and wonderful stories. Old injuries forced him to move to The Fairfax, a retirement community near Fort Belvoir, Va. A desire to be closer to his children caused he and his wife to move to Atlantic Shores retirement community in Virginia Beach. There, he was affectionately known as “The General” and received much love and care during his final weeks at their Seaside Health Center. He survived by five children, Thomas Shtogren of Sierra Vista, Ariz., Carol Van Valkenburg of Danville, VA., Peter Shtogren of Linewood, Wash., Maureen McGrath of Virginia Beach and Margi Moore of Jacksonville, N.C., his sister-in-law, Margaret Shtogren of Two Rivers, Wis.; cousins, Emil Scholar, Elaine, Paul and John Sudanowicz and Diane Dynan, all of Boston, Mass; and his best friend and adopted daughter, Nicky Dozier of Norfolk. He also rejoiced in his 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The family wishes to thank the physicians and staff of Virginia Oncology Associates, especially Dr. Robert Burger, and the wonderful staff of Atlantic Shores and Seaside Health Center for the tender care they gave The General in his six years in Virginia Beach, and especially during his last days. Internment was at Arlington Cemetery on April 7, 2003 at 11 a.m. Donations may be sent to Covenant House, P.O. Box JAF 2973, New York, NY 10116-2973 or to your local rescue squad. -- obituary from various sources.
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.