Dear Friends and Colleagues,
We have reached the moment when the powers that be must decide whether to continue the RNPA website – RNPA.org. The primary contacts (hits) to our website are to view pilot obituaries. The relative low number of Memoriam – Obituary electronic inquiries beg the question of whether to shut down the website for good. Please take a moment and consider our options.
For some time, the Delta affiliated group, ‘PCN Flight West’, has been posting traditional obituaries submitted to newspapers and funeral homes for deceased Delta and affiliated premerger airline pilots. May I suggest you ‘check out’ the Delta affiliated website at: https://pcnflightwest.blogspot.com? PCN Death Notice Communicator Carol Ann Faulkner does a terrific job as a master sleuth seeking out obituary and death notice information. I am also in contact with DAL Captain Mark Sztango (Ret.) who oversees the PCN Flight West website.
Our present system is a bit fragile in that it is dependent upon only a couple individuals. Of recent many of those pilots whose death notices and obituaries I post are younger than me. I often depend upon the PCN communicators to call my attention to the death of NWA pilots.
The unique character of the traditional NWA pilot obituary in the Contrails publication, was that it contrasted to newspaper and funeral home obituaries by being solely intended for a pilot reader. We sought out specific education and aviation/military background information on the deceased that would be of interest to airline pilots. In contrast, the PCN Flight West system posts the generalized obituary common to newspapers and funeral home websites.
The practice of posting/reading newspaper and funeral home obituaries is more common to specific regions of the country. I specifically refer to the deep south where Delta is headquartered. It is a fact that western USA local newspapers are not as widely read as those on the east coast and south. Some regions of the country prefer the traditional ‘Funeral’ while others are electing to opt for a “Celebration of Life” format. The major difference being the timely nature of religious funeral/burial services. At RNPA, out of respect for the family, we generally waited a month before initiating contact with the grieving family. The PCN Flight West system seeks to disseminate information about the date/time of religious funeral services and those dates are usually within two weeks of the date of death. You can see the difference in concepts of urgency and time.
It is likely the long established RNPA practice of posting obituaries on the RNPA website in a fashion akin to the ‘Contrails’ publication will be soon terminated. At that time the postings will be solely on the PCN Flight West website. This begs the question of how to assure the obituaries not posted in local newspapers or funeral homes reach the PCN Flight West system. Rest assured this is being discussed and will be resolved before the RNPA website is terminated.
As always, your suggestions are appreciated. Your messages will be forwarded to the key players in the decision process.
Bill Day