Bruce Davey

Leigh and I have a small woodworking and painting business, and I do aviation consulting as an expert witness and in operational auditing-having bankrupted Eastern and United and turning 60 (mandatory retirement).  It is not what you would call high-stress or tremendously exciting, but I enjoy having some income to stagger through these years!  Our kids have been exceptional, and if you want to listen-just ask!  (I was looking at the graduation program and noticed that I had been left off the Honors list by mistake--again) We are all committed Christians-Nathan is a Naval Academy grad and is in fight training-seems like yesterday that the police department was wishing me on my way to USNA!  Hannah is an Engineer with Northrup/Grumman-something in  space-but she refuses to tell me what it is.  She is married to a really smart guy, Ryan, who is getting his PhD at CalTech. Hailey is a Junior, and is a lot like me-but better behaved with better grades and social skills-in fact not a lot like me at all.  Leigh is the best partner anyone could ask for, and much more than I deserve.  Here are some pix!

Leigh Ann & Me

Hailey, Nathan, Me, Leigh Ann, Hannah and Ryan

Hannah, Hailey and Leigh Ann

Nathan, Me and Ryan

Hannah 26, Nathan 24, Hailey 16, son in law Ryan 27
Two Matipoos named Jack and Jill--We are so retro!

It has been an interesting 40 years, and I am thankful to be able to write this. I have looked over all the pictures in the yearbook, and it makes me kind of sad that I have not known where most of the class is, or what they have been doing. I guess, just like everyone else, I have been busy doing things that I thought were important at the time, and have found out that a lot of them don’t amount to a great deal. Fortunately, the Lord has directed a few of my steps, and there are a few meaningful things that have gone on.

I graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1969, and went to flight training for the Navy in Pensacola, FL as an Ensign. While I was there I got my Masters degree in Aero Systems at the University of West Florida. I got my wings in early 1971, and stayed in Kingsville, TX for two years as an instructor in Advanced Jet Training. I got married to a gal that I had met at USNA, and moved to Virginia Beach, VA to fly F-4 Phantoms. When I went on cruise aboard the USS Saratoga in 1974, my wife moved to Georgia, to get her Masters at U of GA, met a cool guy in Landscape Architecture, and divorced me. I finished three years in F4’s, and went to Washington DC to work in the Department of Naval Personnel. I was there for a little over a year when I was selected to the Blue Angels, the US Naval Fight Demonstration Squadron, as it is officially known. After three years there, I got out of the Navy, as a Lt. Cdr, and came back to Idaho for ten of the best months of my life. I lived in McCall most of the time, and skied, ran, biked, sailed, and met my wonderful wife whom God had prepared for me from the beginning. Her name is Leigh, and she is from McCall. I got hired by Eastern Airlines, and we lived in Chicago for a short time and then moved back to the house that I had owned in Pensacola in the Blues. We lived there for nine years until Eastern went out of business. I was able to get a job with United Airlines, and we eventually moved to our present home in Evergreen, CO. By that time, we had two children, Hannah and Nathan. They were six and four when we arrived in CO.

Four years later, we had our last child, Hailey, in Evergreen. I am old and used up a bit, but Leigh is still beautiful and the children are wonderful. Hannah is married and will graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines next year. She is a track star, and is the NCAA Div II National Champion in the 3000m Steeplechase. She is married to a really cool graduate of CSM, Ryan, who is a surface physics (whatever that is) postgrad student. Nathan has just finished his first year at the Naval Academy. He is just like me, except that he is gentle, 6’4”, extremely talented athlete, sweet, handsome, and much more of a pleasant person to be around than I ever was. (There are many of you who will attest to this I know.) Anyway, you might be able to tell that I am in awe of my first two children. Hailey is the light of our lives. She has everything within her that any parent could ask for. I am so thankful that we have this last blessing. She is eleven, and, like most third kids, is ahead of the power curve on social development.

Leigh and I have had good and average times. We have had a lot more good than average, but they have both been there. The last couple of years have been a bit of a trial with United slowly going down the tubes, and health, sickness and death in our family. (I suspect that this is a common theme for us all, isn’t it?) I am required to retire from civil aviation at age 60, so we are trying to figure out how that all comes together. It seems like just last week that I was driving a ’55 Chevy and feeling good about life if I had two dollars and a ¼ tank. I miss that feeling, desperately, as I write the words.

I look forward to seeing you, and I mourn the passing of Ann Cline, who as a girl took notes for me, and as a woman, unknowingly, gave, through her bulk e-mails, the picture of the generous and loving person that I knew in high school.

My admiration to the organizers-Mrs. Hungerford would not, however, be pleased with the spelling of the spelling of “alphabetical” in the name index tab.

Love to all

Bruce