On June 22, 2013, just two days after her ninetieth birthday, WASP Betty Jo Streff Reed slipped away and took her final flight.
Betty Jo was born June 20, 1923 in Sherman, Texas. Her father was a general contractor and supervisor for the Georgia Marble Company, where his work created opportunities for the young family to travel. After Betty Jo was born, the family moved from Texas to Oklahoma City and, eventually, settled outside Chicago, Illinois.
Her life-long love of flying began when her dad shared his own love of aviation by taking the family to air shows, sometimes in a farmer's field, to watch the early barnstormers. She never forgot the planes flying upside down and watching the wing walkers and the parachutists.
She remembered at age four sitting in her dad's lap as he would read her news about Charles Lindbergh and his trip across the ocean. From then on, every time she heard an airplane fly over the house, she would run outside and yell, "Hi, Lindbergh!"
When she was six, Betty Jo's father paid $1 for her first flight in a Ford tri-motor at the Curtis-Reynolds Airport air show in Chicago. She later recalled, it was "love at first flight. I remember feeling free and happy and loving the whole experience. From that point on, I knew that I wanted to fly."
A few years later, she skipped school one day to watch the airplanes. Instead of turning left to ride to the junior high school on her bicycle, she turned right and rode nine miles out to the airport. She spent the day standing near the runway, watching the planes take off and land. The memory lasted a lifetime.
She struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability throughout her childhood. However, by the time she entered high school, she found a way to overcome every challenge with hard work, determination, and a curiosity to know "why." She became a pitcher for the girls' baseball team, a team so good, they beat the boys' team. She had a talent for art and soccer, showing up after school to play with the boys.
When America entered World War II, Betty Jo put her plans on hold for attending the Chicago Art Institute because so many of the instructors had signed up for military service. She went to work at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago and took flying lessons so that she could "do her part." It took half a week's salary to pay for one hour of flight instruction. Her first lesson was in a J3 Cub on skis.
Douglas Aircraft hired her in 1943 for their tooling department, and subsequently she was promoted to cockpit installation. While at Douglas, she saw a *Life* magazine issue with a woman pilot on the cover. She found the article about the WASP training program thrilling and was ready to sign up.
She had to receive special permission to even apply for the training program because her Douglas job was considered "essential" for the war effort. Then, she interviewed, passed all the required tests, and entered training as one of 98 women pilots in class 44-W-7.
She paid her way to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, arriving during one of the coldest winters in West Texas history. She described herself as "tall and skinny," when she entered training. On that first awkward day, one of her classmates affectionately gave her the nickname, "Birdlegs," creating an instant, comfortable friendship with her classmates that endured throughout her life.
On September 8, 1944, after seven months of training, Betty Jo and 58 of her classmates graduated and received their silver WASP wings. She immediately received US Army orders to report to the Eastern Training Command, Columbus Army Air Field, in Columbus, Mississippi, where she flew Beechcraft AT-10s and BT-13s as an engineering test, ferry, and administrative pilot.
She paid her way back home after the WASP were disbanded in December 1944, and returned to a job at the Douglas C-54 plant as a test pilot. When an automobile accident temporarily grounded her, Betty Jo married Carl W. Reed and they began a family. They were blessed with two boys and two girls.
The young couple opened the first McDonald's franchise in Colorado in 1957, the third one in the U.S. She began flying again a year after the birth of her fourth child, earning a rating to fly Lear and King Air jets. As their family business grew to 10 McDonald's, she became a corporate pilot.
She competed in six Power Puff Derbies, winning a "Best in Class" from *Flying* magazine. She was a member of the Ninety-Nines, the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Women Military Aviators, and the Air Force Association. She served as president of the Phoenix Wing of the American Aviation Historical Society and was a docent at the Champlin Fighter Aircraft Museum in Mesa, Arizona.
In 1999, the International Forest of Friendship inducted her. In 2010, the US Congress awarded her and her sister WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that body can bestow, for their pioneering military service during World War II.
Betty Jo is survived by daughters Melissa Reed of Aurora, Colorado and Sally Reed of Dallas, Texas; son John Reed of Deer Lodge, Montana; three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Her husband, son, and two sisters preceded her in death.
A memorial service was held on June 29th, 2013 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1270 Poplar Street, Denver CO 80220.
By Nancy Parrish.
Sources:
Wings Across America interview with Betty Jo Reed, Nov. 12, 2001.
*Out of the Blue and Into History* by WASP Betty Turner, pp 465, 466.
*US Air Force News*, Nov. 16, 2006.
*Denver Post*, June 30, 2013
Betty Jo was born June 20, 1923 in Sherman, Texas. Her father was a general contractor and supervisor for the Georgia Marble Company, where his work created opportunities for the young family to travel. After Betty Jo was born, the family moved from Texas to Oklahoma City and, eventually, settled outside Chicago, Illinois.
Her life-long love of flying began when her dad shared his own love of aviation by taking the family to air shows, sometimes in a farmer's field, to watch the early barnstormers. She never forgot the planes flying upside down and watching the wing walkers and the parachutists.
She remembered at age four sitting in her dad's lap as he would read her news about Charles Lindbergh and his trip across the ocean. From then on, every time she heard an airplane fly over the house, she would run outside and yell, "Hi, Lindbergh!"
When she was six, Betty Jo's father paid $1 for her first flight in a Ford tri-motor at the Curtis-Reynolds Airport air show in Chicago. She later recalled, it was "love at first flight. I remember feeling free and happy and loving the whole experience. From that point on, I knew that I wanted to fly."
A few years later, she skipped school one day to watch the airplanes. Instead of turning left to ride to the junior high school on her bicycle, she turned right and rode nine miles out to the airport. She spent the day standing near the runway, watching the planes take off and land. The memory lasted a lifetime.
She struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability throughout her childhood. However, by the time she entered high school, she found a way to overcome every challenge with hard work, determination, and a curiosity to know "why." She became a pitcher for the girls' baseball team, a team so good, they beat the boys' team. She had a talent for art and soccer, showing up after school to play with the boys.
When America entered World War II, Betty Jo put her plans on hold for attending the Chicago Art Institute because so many of the instructors had signed up for military service. She went to work at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago and took flying lessons so that she could "do her part." It took half a week's salary to pay for one hour of flight instruction. Her first lesson was in a J3 Cub on skis.
Douglas Aircraft hired her in 1943 for their tooling department, and subsequently she was promoted to cockpit installation. While at Douglas, she saw a *Life* magazine issue with a woman pilot on the cover. She found the article about the WASP training program thrilling and was ready to sign up.
She had to receive special permission to even apply for the training program because her Douglas job was considered "essential" for the war effort. Then, she interviewed, passed all the required tests, and entered training as one of 98 women pilots in class 44-W-7.
She paid her way to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, arriving during one of the coldest winters in West Texas history. She described herself as "tall and skinny," when she entered training. On that first awkward day, one of her classmates affectionately gave her the nickname, "Birdlegs," creating an instant, comfortable friendship with her classmates that endured throughout her life.
On September 8, 1944, after seven months of training, Betty Jo and 58 of her classmates graduated and received their silver WASP wings. She immediately received US Army orders to report to the Eastern Training Command, Columbus Army Air Field, in Columbus, Mississippi, where she flew Beechcraft AT-10s and BT-13s as an engineering test, ferry, and administrative pilot.
She paid her way back home after the WASP were disbanded in December 1944, and returned to a job at the Douglas C-54 plant as a test pilot. When an automobile accident temporarily grounded her, Betty Jo married Carl W. Reed and they began a family. They were blessed with two boys and two girls.
The young couple opened the first McDonald's franchise in Colorado in 1957, the third one in the U.S. She began flying again a year after the birth of her fourth child, earning a rating to fly Lear and King Air jets. As their family business grew to 10 McDonald's, she became a corporate pilot.
She competed in six Power Puff Derbies, winning a "Best in Class" from *Flying* magazine. She was a member of the Ninety-Nines, the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Women Military Aviators, and the Air Force Association. She served as president of the Phoenix Wing of the American Aviation Historical Society and was a docent at the Champlin Fighter Aircraft Museum in Mesa, Arizona.
In 1999, the International Forest of Friendship inducted her. In 2010, the US Congress awarded her and her sister WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that body can bestow, for their pioneering military service during World War II.
Betty Jo is survived by daughters Melissa Reed of Aurora, Colorado and Sally Reed of Dallas, Texas; son John Reed of Deer Lodge, Montana; three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Her husband, son, and two sisters preceded her in death.
A memorial service was held on June 29th, 2013 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1270 Poplar Street, Denver CO 80220.
By Nancy Parrish.
Sources:
Wings Across America interview with Betty Jo Reed, Nov. 12, 2001.
*Out of the Blue and Into History* by WASP Betty Turner, pp 465, 466.
*US Air Force News*, Nov. 16, 2006.
*Denver Post*, June 30, 2013
On June 22, 2013, just two days after her ninetieth birthday, WASP Betty Jo Streff Reed slipped away and took her final flight.
Betty Jo was born June 20, 1923 in Sherman, Texas. Her father was a general contractor and supervisor for the Georgia Marble Company, where his work created opportunities for the young family to travel. After Betty Jo was born, the family moved from Texas to Oklahoma City and, eventually, settled outside Chicago, Illinois.
Her life-long love of flying began when her dad shared his own love of aviation by taking the family to air shows, sometimes in a farmer's field, to watch the early barnstormers. She never forgot the planes flying upside down and watching the wing walkers and the parachutists.
She remembered at age four sitting in her dad's lap as he would read her news about Charles Lindbergh and his trip across the ocean. From then on, every time she heard an airplane fly over the house, she would run outside and yell, "Hi, Lindbergh!"
When she was six, Betty Jo's father paid $1 for her first flight in a Ford tri-motor at the Curtis-Reynolds Airport air show in Chicago. She later recalled, it was "love at first flight. I remember feeling free and happy and loving the whole experience. From that point on, I knew that I wanted to fly."
A few years later, she skipped school one day to watch the airplanes. Instead of turning left to ride to the junior high school on her bicycle, she turned right and rode nine miles out to the airport. She spent the day standing near the runway, watching the planes take off and land. The memory lasted a lifetime.
She struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability throughout her childhood. However, by the time she entered high school, she found a way to overcome every challenge with hard work, determination, and a curiosity to know "why." She became a pitcher for the girls' baseball team, a team so good, they beat the boys' team. She had a talent for art and soccer, showing up after school to play with the boys.
When America entered World War II, Betty Jo put her plans on hold for attending the Chicago Art Institute because so many of the instructors had signed up for military service. She went to work at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago and took flying lessons so that she could "do her part." It took half a week's salary to pay for one hour of flight instruction. Her first lesson was in a J3 Cub on skis.
Douglas Aircraft hired her in 1943 for their tooling department, and subsequently she was promoted to cockpit installation. While at Douglas, she saw a *Life* magazine issue with a woman pilot on the cover. She found the article about the WASP training program thrilling and was ready to sign up.
She had to receive special permission to even apply for the training program because her Douglas job was considered "essential" for the war effort. Then, she interviewed, passed all the required tests, and entered training as one of 98 women pilots in class 44-W-7.
She paid her way to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, arriving during one of the coldest winters in West Texas history. She described herself as "tall and skinny," when she entered training. On that first awkward day, one of her classmates affectionately gave her the nickname, "Birdlegs," creating an instant, comfortable friendship with her classmates that endured throughout her life.
On September 8, 1944, after seven months of training, Betty Jo and 58 of her classmates graduated and received their silver WASP wings. She immediately received US Army orders to report to the Eastern Training Command, Columbus Army Air Field, in Columbus, Mississippi, where she flew Beechcraft AT-10s and BT-13s as an engineering test, ferry, and administrative pilot.
She paid her way back home after the WASP were disbanded in December 1944, and returned to a job at the Douglas C-54 plant as a test pilot. When an automobile accident temporarily grounded her, Betty Jo married Carl W. Reed and they began a family. They were blessed with two boys and two girls.
The young couple opened the first McDonald's franchise in Colorado in 1957, the third one in the U.S. She began flying again a year after the birth of her fourth child, earning a rating to fly Lear and King Air jets. As their family business grew to 10 McDonald's, she became a corporate pilot.
She competed in six Power Puff Derbies, winning a "Best in Class" from *Flying* magazine. She was a member of the Ninety-Nines, the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Women Military Aviators, and the Air Force Association. She served as president of the Phoenix Wing of the American Aviation Historical Society and was a docent at the Champlin Fighter Aircraft Museum in Mesa, Arizona.
In 1999, the International Forest of Friendship inducted her. In 2010, the US Congress awarded her and her sister WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that body can bestow, for their pioneering military service during World War II.
Betty Jo is survived by daughters Melissa Reed of Aurora, Colorado and Sally Reed of Dallas, Texas; son John Reed of Deer Lodge, Montana; three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Her husband, son, and two sisters preceded her in death.
A memorial service was held on June 29th, 2013 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1270 Poplar Street, Denver CO 80220.
By Nancy Parrish.
Sources:
Wings Across America interview with Betty Jo Reed, Nov. 12, 2001.
*Out of the Blue and Into History* by WASP Betty Turner, pp 465, 466.
*US Air Force News*, Nov. 16, 2006.
*Denver Post*, June 30, 2013
Betty Jo was born June 20, 1923 in Sherman, Texas. Her father was a general contractor and supervisor for the Georgia Marble Company, where his work created opportunities for the young family to travel. After Betty Jo was born, the family moved from Texas to Oklahoma City and, eventually, settled outside Chicago, Illinois.
Her life-long love of flying began when her dad shared his own love of aviation by taking the family to air shows, sometimes in a farmer's field, to watch the early barnstormers. She never forgot the planes flying upside down and watching the wing walkers and the parachutists.
She remembered at age four sitting in her dad's lap as he would read her news about Charles Lindbergh and his trip across the ocean. From then on, every time she heard an airplane fly over the house, she would run outside and yell, "Hi, Lindbergh!"
When she was six, Betty Jo's father paid $1 for her first flight in a Ford tri-motor at the Curtis-Reynolds Airport air show in Chicago. She later recalled, it was "love at first flight. I remember feeling free and happy and loving the whole experience. From that point on, I knew that I wanted to fly."
A few years later, she skipped school one day to watch the airplanes. Instead of turning left to ride to the junior high school on her bicycle, she turned right and rode nine miles out to the airport. She spent the day standing near the runway, watching the planes take off and land. The memory lasted a lifetime.
She struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability throughout her childhood. However, by the time she entered high school, she found a way to overcome every challenge with hard work, determination, and a curiosity to know "why." She became a pitcher for the girls' baseball team, a team so good, they beat the boys' team. She had a talent for art and soccer, showing up after school to play with the boys.
When America entered World War II, Betty Jo put her plans on hold for attending the Chicago Art Institute because so many of the instructors had signed up for military service. She went to work at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago and took flying lessons so that she could "do her part." It took half a week's salary to pay for one hour of flight instruction. Her first lesson was in a J3 Cub on skis.
Douglas Aircraft hired her in 1943 for their tooling department, and subsequently she was promoted to cockpit installation. While at Douglas, she saw a *Life* magazine issue with a woman pilot on the cover. She found the article about the WASP training program thrilling and was ready to sign up.
She had to receive special permission to even apply for the training program because her Douglas job was considered "essential" for the war effort. Then, she interviewed, passed all the required tests, and entered training as one of 98 women pilots in class 44-W-7.
She paid her way to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, arriving during one of the coldest winters in West Texas history. She described herself as "tall and skinny," when she entered training. On that first awkward day, one of her classmates affectionately gave her the nickname, "Birdlegs," creating an instant, comfortable friendship with her classmates that endured throughout her life.
On September 8, 1944, after seven months of training, Betty Jo and 58 of her classmates graduated and received their silver WASP wings. She immediately received US Army orders to report to the Eastern Training Command, Columbus Army Air Field, in Columbus, Mississippi, where she flew Beechcraft AT-10s and BT-13s as an engineering test, ferry, and administrative pilot.
She paid her way back home after the WASP were disbanded in December 1944, and returned to a job at the Douglas C-54 plant as a test pilot. When an automobile accident temporarily grounded her, Betty Jo married Carl W. Reed and they began a family. They were blessed with two boys and two girls.
The young couple opened the first McDonald's franchise in Colorado in 1957, the third one in the U.S. She began flying again a year after the birth of her fourth child, earning a rating to fly Lear and King Air jets. As their family business grew to 10 McDonald's, she became a corporate pilot.
She competed in six Power Puff Derbies, winning a "Best in Class" from *Flying* magazine. She was a member of the Ninety-Nines, the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Women Military Aviators, and the Air Force Association. She served as president of the Phoenix Wing of the American Aviation Historical Society and was a docent at the Champlin Fighter Aircraft Museum in Mesa, Arizona.
In 1999, the International Forest of Friendship inducted her. In 2010, the US Congress awarded her and her sister WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that body can bestow, for their pioneering military service during World War II.
Betty Jo is survived by daughters Melissa Reed of Aurora, Colorado and Sally Reed of Dallas, Texas; son John Reed of Deer Lodge, Montana; three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Her husband, son, and two sisters preceded her in death.
A memorial service was held on June 29th, 2013 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1270 Poplar Street, Denver CO 80220.
By Nancy Parrish.
Sources:
Wings Across America interview with Betty Jo Reed, Nov. 12, 2001.
*Out of the Blue and Into History* by WASP Betty Turner, pp 465, 466.
*US Air Force News*, Nov. 16, 2006.
*Denver Post*, June 30, 2013
Family Members
Siblings
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
