Herb A. Webber

1923 - 2015

Herb A. Webber, 91, passed away on April 26, 2015 in Arlington, Texas and is now in the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ. Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday (May 7) at the West Funeral Home Chapel with Deacon Tony Dominguez of St. Edward Catholic Church officiating. Military honors will be performed by the Carlsbad Veterans Honor Guard. Entombment will follow at the Mausoleum at Sunset Gardens Memorial Park Cemetery. Condolences may be expressed at westfuneralhomellc.com
Herb was born on October 3, 1923 in Cloquet, Minnesota and graduated from Cloquet High School in 1941. Herb was an Airline Transport Pilot, flight instructor, and an FAA safety counselor and was type rated and qualified to fly numerous large and small jets, turbo props, and single engine air planes.
After graduating from high school, Herb joined The United States Army Air Corps where he served honorably in WW II (1942 to 1944) and flew the B-17G bomber as a Second Lieutenant and pilot. While stationed in Carlsbad, New Mexico for training he met and married the love of his life, Geraldine (Gerry) Marie Webber. They were married for 70 years before her passing on March 29, 2015.
In 1955, he moved his family to Arlington to begin his career in commercial aviation working for American Airlines flying Boeing 707s and 747s along with several other commercial aircraft. He retired from American Airlines as a Captain in 1983. Herb continued to work in the airline industry in various capacities providing training, check rides, and flight checks for up and coming pilots.
In August of 1989 Herb accepted a job as Captain with TAG flying the Boeing 707-138B for TAG to the Middle East and other parts of the world. He flew for TAG until January of 2004. After leaving TAG, from 2004 to 2010, Captain Webber flew various aircraft, including a Conquest 441-II, one of his favorites, across the USA as an employee for Hilliard Energy, Ltd. As if Captain Webber did not have enough to do, from September 2001 to 2014 he also flew for Van Bortel Aircraft. While at Van Bortel he selected pilots, provided check rides for customers and employees, scheduled pilots, performed flight tests on airplanes out of maintenance, and picked up new aircraft from the Cessna factory.
In his spare time Captain Webber was a Colonel in the Commemorative (Confederate) Air Force air shows where he flew the B-17G, Sentimental Journey, and several other WWII aircraft all over the US and Canada. At the time of his death Captain Webber was the oldest employed corporate pilot in America and had logged over 42,700 hours of flying time.
Herb's proudest accomplishments in life were wrapped around Gerry Webber, the love of his life for over 70 years, his three children, his grandchildren, and his lifetime love for flying.
He was preceded in death by his wife Gerry, his father Albert Webber, mother Irene Webber, brother Kenneth Webber, sister Kathleen Ekholm, and grandson Dax Webber.
Herb Webber is survived by his three children: son Dennis and wife Robyn Webber; son Michael and wife Donna Webber; and daughter Karen and husband John Quebe. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Kelly Rutter, Scott Webber, Dru Hollis, Gretchen Koen, and Josh Quebe and his eight great grandchildren.
Pallbearers: Scott Webber, Derian Webber, Josh Quebe, and Paul Koen. Honorary Pallbearers: George Van Bortel, Randall Funston, Brent D. Hilliard, Bobby R. Whisenant, John Smale, and Chuck Dion.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to either the Make-a-wish Foundation (www.ntx.wish.org ), 6655 Deseo, Irving, Texas 75039 or the Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 1200 N. Davis, Arlington, Texas 76102 or the Community Hospice Of Texas c/o Texas Health Resources, 612 East Lamar Blvd, Arlington, Texas 76011.