MN Pilots Suffer a Big Loss

Last week we lost one of Minnesota's most ardent, fervent supporters of aviation, Charlotte Swanson. She Headed West last week after suffering a disease which took only a few days from diagnosis to passing.

While I know only a small part of our Supercub.org family lives in Minnesota I thought it appropriate to recognize the impact that a terrific, honest journalist can have on aviation. I wrote this note on our MN Pilots Association Facebook page and on our www.mnpilots.org website as a means of recognizing how important a "lay person", like Charlotte, can have on a group like ours.

Dear fellow pilots and supporters of the Minnesota Pilots Association,

It is with great sadness that we received knowledge that Charlotte Swanson, Editor-in-Chief of Minnesota Flyer, passed away this morning after a brief, serious illness.

Charlotte was one of our most dependable supporters. She became Tim Franklin's "right hand person" in making the Minnesota Flyer an important resource for aviation supporters and pilots in Minnesota. From our very beginning as an organization Charlotte remained a constant, fervent positive influence on our organization, offering guidance and insights to us as we formed the MN Pilots Assn and as we held the Great Minnesota Aviation Gatherings. Personally, she was a frequent inspiration for my writings in the "MN Pilots Hangar Flying" monthly column, a task that sometimes required more finesse and political correctness than I possessed. She was at virtually every fly in that I have attended in Minnesota, keeping her fingers on the pulse of general aviation throughout the state. There was no one who loved aviation, and who appreciated the quality people in aviation, more than Charlotte.

To say that she will be greatly missed is such a huge understatement. Our heartfelt condolences to out to her family and friends.

While she was not a pilot herself, it is fitting that we wish her Blue Skies and Tailwinds.

Tomorrow morning I will be attending her memorial service in Moose Lake, MN, where she lived and based her writing. We will be developing an award to recognize this wonderful journalist who has done so much for aviation in Minnesota.

Randy

My sincere Condolences to family and friends.

Thank you for letting us know Randy! God bless and keep you Charlotte as you have entered into your eternal home. It's the beginning of a new chapter! Thank you for all that you did while you walked with us.

I had the pleasure to attend Charlotte's services and it was quite an uplifting experience. She has a very solid, loving family and the stories and experiences which were shared by her children and several teenage grandchildren were very touching. A point that was made more than once was how her energy level was amazing, how proud they were of her achievements with the Minnesota Flyer and in taking up interest in aviation at age 64 and making a difference for aviators in Minnesota. Her kindness and love of others permeated the time together.

For me, it gave me an opportunity to sit still and listen for over an hour, and to reflect on not only the memories I have of working with her, but also the opportunity to compare her memorial service with others I have attended. It also made me stop and consider what each of us might have said about us at our memorial services. I remember someone pointing out to me, when I was in academic medicine, that no one is going to read my list of publications and presentations and curriculum vitae at my graveside. Rather, we hope that our children, and grandchildren, and friends will reflect warmly upon the lives that we have lived.

Wishing you all a peaceful weekend,

Randy