Midwest Flyer Magazine

The First Lady of Cessna, Velma Wallace, DiesWICHITA, KAN. – Philanthropist Velma Wallace, 95, wifeof the late Dwayne L. Wallace who guided Cessna AircraftCompany for more than 40 years, died July 8, 2012. Wallacerepresented the last of Wichita’s early aviation pioneerfamilies.Wallace was born Velma Lunt on May 16, 1917 and grewup on her parents’ dairy farm in what is now north Wichita.She was active in 4-H and would tell people the farm youthorganization helped shape her, teaching her basic publicspeaking, organization and record-keeping skills. She was agraduate of North High School and Wichita Business College.In 1937, Wallace applied for a job at a tiny aviationcompany struggling through the Depression, Cessna AircraftCo. She was hired as the executive secretary for DwayneWallace. His uncle, Clyde Cessna, founded the company.And when it went into bankruptcy, the two Wallace brothers,Dwayne and Dwight, along with Velma Lunt, worked tobuild the company back up.A courtship began between Miss Lunt and DwayneWallace. They married in 1941 and had four daughters.Velma Wallace learned to fly and obtained both single andmulti-engine ratings.Dwayne Wallace led Cessna from its infancy in 1934through 1975. He died in 1989.A year out of the University of Wichita, with anWelcome Home Harry!by Stan RossSometimes the thing we want most is out of our reach for what seems likean eternity. For thousands of American families, veterans lost in distantbattles remain where they fell. Lost. Alone. Often, forgotten by thenation they served. Thousands of miles away from home. Lost for so long, manyor all of their direct family now gone. Waiting for homecomings that do nothappen before it's too late.For the family of one veteran, the incredible, unbearable wait finally endedin Minneapolis this summer. After hisdemise nearly seven decades ago inthe crash of a WWII Navy aircraft ona distant South Pacific island, RM1Harry Scribner was finally laid to rest inMinneapolis, 29 June 2012.Recovered from his crash site onthe South Pacific island of Vanuatu in1999, positive identification, locationof next-of-kin, and preparation forreturn to his family took another 13long years. Most of the family gatheredfor Scribner's interment had never methim, but joined to pay their respects tothis naval aviator who had lain wherePEOPLE IN THE NEWSaeronautical engineering degree and brief experience workingfor Walter Beech, Wallace persuaded his uncle to reorganizeCessna and make him general manager in 1934 at the ageof 23. Two years later Clyde Cessna retired and Wallacebecame president, a post he held until 1964 when he becamechairman. He retired in 1975, but continued to serve on theboard until 1983. He picked Russ Meyer to be his successor. #$%$&'(&)*')+,)-"./0."""+123)&'"456)-"+#%#718)"""!0