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People In The NewsLeader In Piper Sales & Service, Howard Gregory(June 7, 1918 – July 24, 2012)DES MOINES, IOWA –Howard Verne Gregory, 94,Chairman of Des MoinesFlying Service, Inc., diedJuly 24, 2012, at WesleyAcres retirement village inDes Moines, Iowa. Gregory,who went by “Greg,” wasborn in Aurora, Illinois.He is survived by twodaughters, Linda (John)Lowe of Des Moines, Iowa;and Laura (David) Jacksonof Arrow Rock, Missouri,and their families; as wellas Gregory’s many friends,business associates, andemployees, includinglongtime employee DeePrice of Des Moines, who recentlyretired. Gregory was preceded in deathby his parents and his wife, Alice “Bea”Gregory.Des Moines Flying Service wasfounded at Des Moines MunicipalAirport (now Des Moines InternationalAirport) in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1937,and was acquired by Howard Gregoryin 1939.While attending Drake University,Gregory served as a contractor for theCivilian Pilot Training (CPT) programduring World War II, and was proud tohave trained members of the TuskegeeAirmen, including Luther Smith, who18 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINEHoward Gregorywent on to become the Senior VicePresident of General Electric.In 1987, Des Moines Flying Servicewas sold to Van Dusen Airport Services,which later became Signature FlightSupport. The ongoing aircraft salescompany was named Gregory AviationCompany, and was owned and operatedby the Gregory family.On January 1, 1994, the Gregoryfamily acquired the aircraft service,avionics and parts departmentsback from Signature, more closelyaligning Gregory Aviation with theiraircraft sales business. Followingthe reacquisition, the company wasrenamed Des Moines FlyingService (DMFS).Des Moines FlyingService has been affiliatedwith Piper Aircraft forover 73 years and has soldliterally thousands of newand used Pipers and otheraircraft makes worldwide.As a factory-direct PiperCheyenne turboprop dealer,DMFS has sold morenew and used Cheyennesthan any other dealer inthe world. Also, since1984, the company hassold over 150 Malibu andturbine-powered Meridianaircraft. Today, DMFSis an exclusive Piper dealer for Iowa,Minnesota, North Dakota, SouthDakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin andnorthern Illinois. The company’s PiperService Center is considered one of thelargest in North America.DMFS’s sales, maintenance, avionicsand parts departments are focusedon selling and supporting an array ofgeneral aviation aircraft including Piper,Beech, and Cessna Citations.In addition to providing completegeneral aviation maintenance services,DMFS is contracted to take care ofthe airline maintenance needs in DesMoines on an on-call and scheduledbasis – 24-hours a day, seven days aweek. DMFS is currently contracted toprovide this service to 18 air carriers atDes Moines International Airport.Des Moines Flying Service has asecond Piper Aircraft dealership andservice center called “Chicago Piper” atChicago/Aurora Municipal Airport inIllinois.In August 2006, Des Moines FlyingService was selected to be one of fivedealers to sell the all-new HondaJetexclusively in 12 Midwestern statesincluding Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa,Minnesota, North Dakota, SouthDave Weiman