Richard 'Dick' Hauff

Richard ‘Dick’ Hauff

1940 ~ 2020

    Captain Richard Hauff, age 79, passed away quietly on December 9, 2019. He was a lover of country, church and Carol, his wife of twenty years. Dick was raised an only child and grew up in Royersford, PA. He graduated from West Chester University where he met his wife Carol.

   Dick entered the Naval Officer Candidates School in August of 1962. He thereafter reported (one day late) to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, VA for USN BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) Class 29. This rigorous training program also included Army Airborne Training, guerrilla warfare training, which together added the air and land components to the sea (Frogman) UDT qualification. It can be safely assumed that all who graduated from this high washout program excelled in all respects.

   The range of Dick’s SEAL assignments would be worthy of a captivating book, but he was especially proud of the cover of Time magazine showing his UDT team attaching the first flotation bladders to the Gemini Three space capsule after splashing in the Pacific.

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Nolan Parmer

Nolan Jesse Parmer

1941 ~ 2019

    Captain Nolan Parmer, age 78, flew west for the last time on September 17, 2019 after a courageous fight with   heart and kidney disease.

     Nolan was born February 7, 1941 to Jesse and Zeda Parmer in Port Arthur, Texas. He had no siblings. When Nolan was nine years of age the family       moved to Phoenix to find a better climate for his severe asthma. He graduated from Camelback High School in 1959 where he participated in Junior   ROTC (JROTC). Following high school Nolan matriculated to Arizona State University where he concurrently completed the Air Force ROTC curriculum   and earned a degree in electrical engineering.

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Fran DeVoll

 Francis L. DeVoll

1926 ~ 2019

   Francis DeVoll, age 95, former NWA Seattle Manager of Flight Operations, passed away quietly Wednesday morning, November 6, 2019, at the Harbor View Adult Family Home. His son Michael had spent the day with him.

   After graduating from high school in Madelia, Minnesota, Fran attended business school then followed the lead of many young men of the time and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He served in the 15th Army Air Force, flying 25 missions over Europe as a B-24 Liberator nose gunner. Thus, began a lifelong love of flying. After VE day he was reassigned stateside to Buckingham Army Air Base at Fort Myers, Florida where he met Lorraine, his wife of 65 years who predeceased him in September 2010.

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Richard 'Dick' Bradford

Jim Bestul

James Allen Bestul

1933 ~ 2019

   Captain James Allen Bestul, age 86, of Excelsior, Minnesota flew west for the last time on Nov. 07, 2019. Son of Sylvan and Rebecca (Ensberg) Bestul, Jim was born in Washington DC and grew up in Arlington VA and Bremerton WA. Jim was the oldest son, having a younger brother. For thirty-four years Jim’s father was an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Due to his father’s employment Jim attended his first three years of high school in Bremerton, WA and then his senior year back in Arlington, VA. Despite his fragmented high school experience, Jim played the trombone in high school marching band in Bremerton. He also played in a Dixieland jazz band.

   Jim spent four years at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio; where he studied accounting, graduating in 1955. A friend convinced Jim to look into Naval Aviation. Jim whizzed through the screening tests. Now having completed his bachelor’s degree Jim was off to Pensacola for pre-commissioning officer training followed by primary pilot training. The Pensacola training was followed by advanced training at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas.

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Gene Winn

 Gene Glen Winn

1931 ~ 2019

 Gene Winn, age 87, passed away on August 26, 2019 in Estero, Florida. His cause of death was lung cancer.

   Gene was born November 10, 1931 in Birmingham, AL the fourth son with a younger sister. He grew up in Pleasant Grove, AL. His father was a steelworker. All of Gene’s siblings, three brothers and sister, graduated from Auburn University, but Gene chose to earn his degree at Oklahoma State University. Family lore has it that Gene was an advanced student who skipped two grades. He began his university studies at Auburn University but dropped out to enlist in the USAF Aviation Cadet pilot training program.

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