Charles "Chuck " McCurdy 90 died June 6, 2011 at his home on Sanders road after battling colon and liver cancer. He was born on November 13, 1920 in St. Joseph, MO. The only child of Salome Manila Moore and Evan William McCurdy. He was graduated from Benton High School in St. Joseph, Mo in 1937. He later received his BA in Business Administration from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM in 1955. As a teenager, he worked as a soda jerk at the local drugstore earning .35 cents a day. He later worked for a Safeway Store as a sales clerk. He married Katherine Anderson in 1940 and divorced in 1941. He then married Nancy Whitmore and they had a daughter Sharon and a son Gary. Chuck was inspired by the solo not-stop flight across the Atlantic in 1927 by Charles Lindberg on the single engine plane 'Spirit of St. Louis". He earned his private license to fly and entered the Army Air Corps in 1942, flying the PT 19. He also was a flight Instructor. During the latter portion of WWII, he flew in the Burma, China, India theater transporting supplies to the Allies along the Himalayan mountains. He received his command pilot wings in 1958 and during his Air Force career, he flew 24 different aircraft including the B52. During the Cuban Missile Crisis , he flew non-stop missions for almost a week, on alert against Russian nuclear attacks. Chuck retired in 1964 as a Lt. Colonel with more than 7000 flight hours He later worked in the Adjudication Division of the Veterans Administration in San Francisco, CA until his retirement there in 1979. He married Elizabeth Castillo on July 7, 1973 and they moved to their home on Sanders Road in the fall of 1979. Chuck loved all of the 26 cats that "adopted" him and they enjoyed walks around the property. He was knowledgeable in many kinds of guns and aircraft and shared that love with his friends. He and Elizabeth enjoyed the summers fishing, picking huckleberries and geocaching, a sport they recently were introduced to. Charles is survived by his wife Elizabeth at the home, his son and daughter-in-law Gary and Mary McCurdy of Woodland, CA and his daughter and son-in-law Sharon and Bill Wilbanks of Sumner, WA; 6 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. At his request, there will be no funeral. A gathering of his friends will be at a later date. The family suggests monetary contributions may be made to Hospice of Benewah Co. 702 College Ave., St. Maries, ID. Visit his online memorial and sigh his guest book at www.hodgefuneralhome.com
