OBIT: John V. BOWSER, 2005, Tyrone, Blair County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sharon Miller Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ _________________________________________ John V. Bowser Mr. John V. Bowser, father of Polly Jo (PJ) Bowser Skeebey, has taken his final flight on angel wings to meet with his Lord. Mr. Bowser, age 92, a guest at Epworth Manor and formerly of 1261 Logan Avenue, Tyrone died Sunday, September 11, 2005 at 1:10 a.m. at the Tyrone Hospital. He was born May 10, 1913 in Tyrone, the son of Harry F. and Clara E. Seeger Bowser. On January 7, 1940 he was married at the bride's home by Reverend J. Resler Schultz to E. Maxine Myers who preceded him in death July 3, 2004. He is survived by his daughter, Polly Jo (PJ) Bowser Skeebey of Lock Haven; two grandsons, Ira J. Skeebey and wife Ruth of Pemberton, OH and Mendel C. Sky and wife Tracy of Orlando, FL; a great-granddaughter, Makena Sky, Orlando, FL; one sister, Mrs. Christine (Punky), wife of Zillian Rumberger of Tyrone; his former son-in-law, John C. Skeebey, Hollywood, FL; two nieces, Mary Pollock and Margey Bridgens; four nephews, Jimmy Pollock, Harry and John Rumberger and Kim Clark. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Shirley Clark and Martaye Pollock. Besides loving his family, his devotion was to fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and the military. During the 40s and 50s he helped run a Clover Farm grocery store on Pennsylvania Avenue where the Pennsylvania House now stands. His friends were numerous from presidents (Truman, Eisenhower and Nixon) and company presidents (Bendix Corp., Boeing Aircraft, Glen L. Martin Company, White Motors, Proctor and Gamble and F. W. Woolworth's Air Cooled Motors, with whom he flew and worked with his daughter, Betty Hutton) and to his neighbors on Logan Avenue. He graduated from Tyrone High School, Penn State University in Aeronautical Engineering, entered Naval Air Cadet Training in 1937 and graduated from the Naval War College in Rhode Island and from the Naval Air Special Weapons Facility in Albuquerque, NM, where he studied nuclear physics. He taught Navy, Marine and British pilots at Pensacola, FL, including the men selected for the famous Black Sheep Squadron of Pappy Boyington. Howard (Pug) Piper of Piper Aircraft was one of his many students in instrument flight at Pensacola, FL. He was directly involved in setting up and maintaining the Atlas Missle System during the Cold War. He was a Group Leader at the Atomic bomb test flats in NV in the 50s. He was Aircraft Safety Director for Truman and Eisenhower and was called to fly for Pan AM for a period during World War II. He was a transport pilot in the Pacific and a graduate of the Naval Medical College for a crash course in medicine and was an assistant flight surgeon in the Pacific during World War II. He was involved in the development of Doppler radar and in numerous top secret projects which remain classified. He survived strafing by a World War II Japanese Zero during a night flight while transporting blood plasma and dehydrated food. He was chief test pilot for Sikorsky Aviation and an expert in helicopter technology. He held patents with Boeing and Sikorsky and had worked with NASA in the Office of Naval Intelligence. Prior to his retirement he was a Flight Safety Investigator for the state of PA. He had been a Commander of the US Navy and a Lt. Colonel in the US Army. He was a Quinet Birdman (QB), member of the Bald Eagle Fraternal Order of Police, a member of F. and A. M. No. 494 of Tyrone, a member of Gardner Club and a member of Wesley United Methodist Church of Tyrone. Private funeral service for Mr. Bowser will be held at the Richard H. Searer Funeral Home, Inc. with Reverend Dennis Gable officiating. Private interment will be made in Everett Cemetery, Everett. Contributions in his memory may be made to the William T. Piper Aeronautical Museum, Lock Haven Airport, Lock Haven, Pa. 17745. Tyrone Daily Herald, Tyrone, PA, September 12, 2005