Earle Wheeler Risdon

Earle W. Risdon, age 88, entered into eternal life on June 17th. He was born on October 31, 1925 in Fresno, CA, the only son of Earle W. Risdon & Donna Mae (Hutson) Risdon. Earle's early years were spent in Southern California, eventually settling in Long Beach, where he attended high school and then Long Beach City College before enlisting in the US Army Air Corps Reserve in 1943. He was called to active duty in March 1944 and served as an air crew member on B-24s and B-29s. He was honorably discharged in 1946. He attended the University of Southern California where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commercial Aviation and Transportation. After graduation he joined United Air Lines in Los Angeles in 1951 serving in various different capacities in marketing and sales positions. From there he was transferred to Reno, NV; Washington, DC; Seattle, WA, and Pittsburgh, PA and back to Washington, DC where he was privileged to work with the Reagan White House Travel Office handling press charters until his retirement in 1989. After retiring from UAL he served an additional 5 years in Washington with SATO Travel which specialized in government travel management. Earle met his lovely wife Jean during his last assignment with United in Washington. They were married in Williamsburg, VA in 1984 and celebrated their 30th anniversary on May 19 of this year. After retiring from SATO Travel in 1994, Earle & Jean moved to Prescott. Earle was very active in the community. He was an Ambassador with the Prescott Chamber of Commerce for 20 years, served on the board of the YC Performing Arts Charitable Endowments, President of the Board of Directors of Y.E.I.! for 10 years, actively supported the American Diabetes Association Step Out Walk to stop diabetes, served many years in the management of the Tanglewood Hills Property Owners Association and was active in the Trinity Presbyterian Church. Prior to moving to Prescott he was an active member of the Presbyterian Church in Virginia as an Elder and Deacon. Earle loved life and he touched so many lives. He was a true gentleman, kind, humble, and always giving of his time for others. Earle and Jean loved to travel and certainly did a lot of it during their 30 years together; one of the highlights was the Orient Express. Earle is survived by his wife Jean; his step-son Mark Jungers of Falls Church, VA; daughters Anne (Tom) Bowles, Lynn (Bruce) Rush; and four grandchildren: David Bowles, Michael Bowles, Claire Rush and Colin Rush. Special thanks go to Granite Mountain Home Care and Hospice which so lovingly and gently cared for Earle during his last days at home, especially Eddie, Pam, Geri, Anita and Daniel.

Cemetery:
A private graveside committal was held at 10 a.m. June 24th at with full military honors provided by the U.S. Air Force and American Legion Post #6 at the