Emil Ernest Cwach

1937 - 2020

Emil Ernest Cwach

Emil Ernest Cwach passed away peacefully July 30th, 2020. He died from cancer. He was a very strong, quiet man and modest of his many accomplishments.

Emil was born August 3, 1937 in South Dakota to a large farming family of Czech decent. His education started in a one room schoolhouse and continued on to the Air Force Academy where he graduated as a member of the first class. He is in the Yankton High School Athletic Hall of Fame for his football career and played for the AFA Falcons in the 1959 Cotton Bowl. His Air Force career included piloting F-100s and F-105s during the Vietnam war, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. Later he completed a Master's Degree and PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas - Austin. He went on to work for General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin on multiple projects including the F-16 and Titan Missile programs.

Emil married Marlin Day in 1960. Now after almost 60 years of marriage, he is survived by her and their three daughters Andrea, Lynn and Emily, ten grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Emil was an avid gardener and loved playing golf, bridge and poker with friends. He built furniture, could fix most anything, and laughed loudly at corny jokes. His greatest joy was family, his face lighting up at family dinners and gatherings.

Emil's memory is always in our hearts and he is greatly missed. He was well loved and lived a full life.

Services will be held at a later date at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Colorado.