- Date Of Birth: June 27, 1929
- Date Of Death: March 13, 2009
- State: Missouri
Thomas (Tommy) Brice Munns, 79, of Steelville, Missouri passed away on March 13, 2009 at his home. He was born June 27, 1929 in Denver, CO to Kenneth Clifford Munns and Mary Eleanor Valona Wolfkiel Munns. Tommy was born and raised in Greeley, CO. In 1947, he joined the Army Air Corps as a jet engine mechanic and was part of the Air Corps’ transition to the United States Air Force. After his honorable discharge in 1951, Tommy devoted his life to flying and maintaining aircraft working for a variety of aviation organizations including Continental and Frontier Airlines in Denver.
On January 2,1956, he married Bessie Barbara Bowman of Timberville, VA, raising three children, Jeanne Marie, Clifford Brice and Thomas Malcolm. During these years Tommy flew and maintained the first generation of corporate aircraft including B-26s and DC-3s. In 1965, the Munns family relocated to Omaha, NE where Tommy was a corporate pilot for Union Pacific Railroad, flying the Sabreliner, the first generation of business jet transportation.
In 1971, the family relocated to Cody, Wyoming, where he flew for the Husky Oil Company. While living in Wyoming, Tommy flew for two companies and refined his passion of finding and restoring old Piper Cub aircraft to mint flying condition. Over the years, he rebuilt numerous ‘Cubs’ where many found service in the Alaskan bush. Tommy’s knowledge of rebuilding and modifying Piper Cubs for Alaska bush flying operations is legendary. In 1981, Tommy and Bessie opened Tom Munns Aircraft in Cody, devoting full time to his love and passion.
Following Bessie’s death on September 12, 1987, Tommy moved to Anchorage, AK in 1990 where he worked in a variety of flying industries including air cargo transit, bush plane repair and restoration and flying for local Alaskan corporations. Among his many aviation accomplishments, Tommy was the first pilot to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly selected business jets as a single pilot. It was during this time that Tommy met his second wife, Kitty Ann Dobbs. They were married in November, 2008.
In 2005, Tommy was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Both are awarded for lifetime achievements in aviation for superior flying ability and maintenance accomplishments. Each award category requires a minimum of 50 years experience and as of this date, Tommy is the only person to have received both FAA awards. Over his lifetime, he flew nearly every type of commercial aircraft, logging tens of thousands of flight hours.
A devoted husband, father and pilot, he will be sadly missed by his wife, Kitty of Steelville, MO; his daughter, Jeannie Marie Swartz, Anchorage, Alaska; his two sons, Clifford Brice Munns Gastonia, NC and Thomas Malcolm Munns, Leonardtown, MD; his brother, Robert Munns of Denver, CO; his sister, Rita Caulfield of San Francisco, CA, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild; other relatives and many friends.
