Donald J. Fos

Donald Joseph Fos died Saturday, February 23, 2008 at home with his family in Leavenworth, Kansas. Born on New Year's Day 1938 in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was the only child of John Clemens Fos and Marietta Grimaldi Catalano. At sixteen, he joined the Air Force and became a surveyor throughout the Far East and South Pacific jungles. He received his pilot's license in Florida. In 1959 after leaving the Air Force, he flew for Shell Oil in South America, was an air traffic controller at Moisant Airport in New Orleans, flew Logair for Capitol Airways and then later flew for Ozark Airlines. In 1962, he began a thirty year career with TWA. Don met Sandy in 1961 at Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and they married later that year. They formed an unbreakable bond, explored the world and supported one another without compromise. When asked last week what his secret for staying married for forty-six years to the same woman, he replied, "Follow the directions on he box." He taught his daughters, Dana and Nicole, more than a lifetime of common sense: how to shift without a clutch, navigate mass transit anywhere in the world, avoid bar fights in Madrid (grab your drink and face the wall), get anything unstuck (from bolts to Caterpillars to yourself from La Guardia) negotiate with unfriendlies, shoot craps, and be eating dinner with folks you just met an hour ago, whether or not you speak the same language. His brutal honesty proved genetic, and fighting for what we believed in was a requirement. His loyalty was fierce, and the freedom he gave the three of us is the ultimate expression of his love. To Harlo, Emari, Darbi and Fred: work hard, play hard. "I fly a starship across the Universe divide// And when I reach the other side// I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can// Perhaps I may become a highwayman again// Or I may simply be a single drop of rain// But I will remain// And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again."--Jimmy Webb. No service will be held. In lieu of flowers and donation, venture on that trip you've always wanted to take, or start an IRA.