Charles Jacob Query

CHUCK QUERY Charles Jacob Query was born on February 20, 1919, and died peacefully on April 4, 2011, at the age of 92. He was the 2nd of seven children, and his parents called him Chuck because his dad was called Charlie. For most of his childhood, he lived on a farm outside of Straughn, Indiana, just a mile or so east of Oliven and Laura Hoover. The Hoover’s had a daughter named Bertie Ellen, and over the years Chuck and Bertie fell in love. They were married right out of high school. Chuck didn't care much for farming and had his eyes in the sky and a heart for flying. His father claimed that Chuck had hoed more than a few rows of corn and beans underground watching airplanes instead of where the tractor was going. Chuck’s grandmother supported his desire to fly, and when he was 19, he and his grandmother drove from Indiana to San Diego in a 36 Plymouth towing a really small travel trailer. Bertie later followed on a bus, 18 years old and pregnant with their first child. The trailer was their first home. Chuck went to work for Ryan aircraft as a flight line mechanic. After WWII started, Ryan School of Aeronautics began training pilots for the 5th Army Air Corps in Hemet, California, and Chuck, by then a foreman, was selected for their program. In 1943, Chuck and Bertie moved to Kansas City where he went to work for TWA, entering their flight engineer program. From there, they moved to Alexandria, Va., where Chuck began flying the day his daughter was born. He flew out of Dulles International in Washington D.C. as a member of the Army Air Corps Transcontinental and Western Air ATC Group where he earned three campaign medals. After the war was over he returned to flying commercial routes with TWA to all points in Europe, Africa and India. He had many great stories of trips to Dar es Salaam, Cairo, Frankfurt, Milan, Rome, London, Scotland, Bangkok, Vietnam, China, Japan and so many other far-away places. Flying international routes required him being gone for 10 to 14 days, but then he would be home for two weeks before flying out again. In 1952, Chuck and Bertie decided they’d had enough of east coast freezing winters and humid summers and decided to move back to sunny California. Dad's best friend and fellow flight engineer for TWA, Ed Marshall and his family, also decided to make the move. So they sent the wives and kids by plane and Chuck and Ed drove the cars and two dogs cross-country. Chuck and Bertie settled in Woodland Hills, at the western end of the San Fernando Valley when it was all orange and walnut orchards and dairy and alfalfa farms. From their house in the Valley, Chuck commuted to the LA airport, which in those days before the freeways, was quite a trek. In 1958, he decided to take on an even longer commute, and they moved to Fallbrook, built a house and planted an avocado grove. Chuck started flying in 1943 in the C-54. The commercial version was the DC-4. After the war was over, TWA used the DC-4 for a couple of years while the airline transitioned into the Lockheed Constellation. The Connie was probably the most beautiful airliner ever built and Chuck was privileged to fly in each of the models TWA used. It was always described in superlatives such as "highest," "fastest," "best" and "most." Along the way, it acquired reputations in the field of smuggling, war, spraying, freight hauling, fine dining and whisking US Presidents to various parts of the globe, in addition to its duties for the major airlines of the world. The last Connie flight was in 1967 when TWA was the first airline to go all jet. In late 1960, the pilot's union decided they wanted three pilots in the cockpit, the third pilot taking over the flight engineer's job. Of course, the flight engineers took issue with that and threatened to strike. After months of negotiations, it was resolved when the engineers agreed to be trained as pilots. Over the next year, Chuck took flying lessons and finally attained his dream of becoming a pilot. He was qualified as a 707 pilot but retained his flight engineer’s seat to retain his seniority, which he would have lost if he joined the pilots union. In 1970 TWA introduced the Boeing 747 and Chuck went back to Kansas City to learn that aircraft and qualify as engineer and pilot. After he finished the training he said "that's the last school I go to. These airplanes are just becoming too complex with all the electronics and computers." He flew another eight years and retired at the then mandatory age of 60 in 1979. He flew for 35 years for the same company and accumulated 35,000 hours in the air. Not too bad for a kid coming off the farm in Indiana with only a high school education. Of course, Chuck had a PhD in the school of hard knocks and common sense. He could fix anything (but if he wasn’t around, Bertie could probably jury-rig it until he got home). He built a camper on a Corvair pick-up (and his daughter went on her honeymoon to the Sierras in it). Over the years he built a stereo cabinet, several rifle stocks, and most of their house in Fallbrook. Fishing and golf were Chuck and Bertie’s favorite recreational activities, especially after they retired, sold the avocado grove and moved to Valley Oaks Mobile Home Park. Chuck and Bertie were members of the Fallbrook Country Club for many years. They travelled often with friends to the Klamath River, the Sierras and to many places in Baja California and Mexico, fishing and golfing along the way. Chuck kept friends and family supplied with Alaskan salmon and halibut with frequent fishing trips to Sitka. They passed on their love of fishing and the outdoors to their kids and grandkids. In his later years, Chuck found many friends and much companionship, and some home-cooked meals, at the Fallbrook Chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Fallbrook Moose Lodge. Chuck is survived by his son Mike Query and daughter-in-law Jeri, and his daughter Sharon Tamiya and son-in-law Richard, grandchildren Charles Alan (Chuck) Query (Stacia), Kristin Query, Lani Doser (Randall), Andrew Query, and Merrill Tamiya, and great-grandchildren Kirstie Cooper Query, Mitchell Doser, Bethany Doser and Andrew Doser, and by his younger brothers and sisters and many nieces, nephews and other relatives scattered across the U.S. His beloved wife Bertie predeceased him. At Chuck’s request, no services will be held, and his ashes will be scattered in the Pacific to join Bertie’s. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Chuck’s honor to the VFW at: Veterans of Foreign Wars, Fallbrook Post 1924, PO Box 194, Fallbrook, CA 92028-0194. He was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.