GONE WEST
MEMBER CENTRAL
Lyle Shelton
01/01/1933—04/08/2010
ONE YEAR AGO, LYLE SHELTON, six-time Reno Air
Races Unlimited Class gold champion, died in
Nevada at the age of 76. Lyle was the original
pilot and owner of Rare Bear, a highly modified
Grumman F8F Bearcat that hit top speeds of
more than 500 mph.
Lyle, EAA 376637, began his air racing
career in 1964. After reading an article about
an inaugural air race in Reno, he headed to
Nevada and became a crew member for Clay
Lacy. He borrowed planes for many races until
salvaging the Bearcat, which, after a tip from
another air racer, he found upside down and
missing its engine in a cornfield in Indiana.
He won his first Unlimited Class gold race in
1973, won again in 1979, and had a string of
victories in ’ 88, ’ 89, ’ 90, and ’ 91, all in Rare Bear.
Friends and family are invited to post obituaries and sign
a memorial guestbook online for Lyle and other EAAers who
have “gone west” at www.EAA.org/obituaries. The names and
stories of each person enshrined on EAA’s Memorial Wall in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, are also available here.
IN MEMORY OF
“Not alone into the sunset but into the company of friends who have gone before them.”
George Coover (EAA 269235),
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Fredrick Purinton (EAA 414026),
Prescott, Arizona
Dennis Skelton (EAA 839047),
Sahuarita, Arizona
Bob Fritz (EAA 525772),
Placerville, California
Jack Bongberg (EAA 792589),
Aurora, Colorado
Hugh Caldwell (EAA 476838),
West Simsbury, Connecticut
Robert Carlson (EAA 822243),
Forestville, Connecticut
Hal Tufty (EAA 1041702),
Washington, D.C.
Terry Fowler (EAA 691262),
Cocoa, Florida
Roy Stubbs (EAA 68705),
Lighthouse Point, Florida
Donnie Wiggins (EAA 12885),
Edgewater, Florida
Arthur Brown (EAA 1807),
Peachtree City, Georgia
Jeff Freeman (EAA 1016295),
Marietta, Georgia
Stuart Jones (EAA 712173),
Keaau, Hawaii
Chester Barnas (EAA 287029),
New Lenox, Illinois
Jerome Boyd (EAA 116225),
Worth, Illinois
Janice Case (EAA 372282),
Burbank, Illinois
Irving Rohr (EAA 187185),
Mascoutah, Illinois
Robert Foltz (EAA 147349),
Corunna, Indiana
Jacob Choitz (EAA 1038751),
Ellsworth, Kansas
Kenneth Walthers (EAA 589423),
Falmouth, Kentucky
Robert Hill (EAA 110100),
Kingsford, Michigan
Donald Irwin (EAA 479230),
Greenbush, Michigan
Oliver Baasi (EAA 862086),
Mountain Iron, Minnesota
Russell Johnson (EAA 129702),
Duluth, Minnesota
Darrel Domann (EAA 170524),
Springfield, Missouri
Gerard Gaylord (EAA 877822),
Ballwin, Missouri
John Harty (EAA 550096),
Dexter, Missouri
Leland Corkran (EAA 552182),
Bonner, Montana
Kathy Palamara (EAA 609222),
Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey
Bob White (EAA 644057),
Albuquerque, New Mexico
E. Haas (EAA 97763),
Palmyra, New York
Richard Dimond (EAA 300262),
Columbus, Ohio
John Hill (EAA 19362),
Columbiana, Ohio
Odell Owens (EAA 1019991),
Wilburton, Oklahoma
David Folker (EAA 454607),
Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania
Bob Murawski (EAA 348894),
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
John Bowden (EAA 201353),
Lampasas, Texas
Geary Gearn (EAA 421214),
Canyon, Texas
William Nelson (EAA 368179),
San Antonio, Texas
Ivan Wimp (EAA 57305),
Taylor, Texas
Thomas Fulcher (EAA 250895),
Gainesville, Virginia
Ron Spelhaug (EAA 593857),
Everett, Washington
Douglas Bishoff (EAA 771756),
Moorefield, West Virginia
John Schreiner (EAA 14241),
Wheeling, West Virginia
Alan Lewis (EAA 1634), Leichhardt,
New South Wales, Australia
Peter Oakes (EAA 414359),
West Pymble, New South Wales,
Australia
Paul Jess (EAA 1023663),
Milton, Ontario, Canada
Nancy Meyer (EAA 1023664),
Milton, Ontario, Canada
Dave Reid (EAA 300496),
Burford, Ontario, Canada
Udo Rumpf (EAA 354295),
Brighton, Ontario, Canada
Pierre Dutry (EAA 445320),
Le Nomdieu, France
