Madeline Tinker McCormick, widow of the first commander of what later became MacDill Air Force Base, died at age 104.
The widow of Gen. Clarence Tinker died Thursday in Tampa, where she lived for six decades.
In the 1930s, Tinker was one of several generals tapped to find an appropriate site for an airfield in the southeast. He was instrumental in getting the military to place MacDill Field in Tampa.
The Tinkers moved to Tampa in 1940. Two years later, he died in World War II, shot down over the Pacific just after the Battle of Midway.
Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City is named for him.
When Tinker was killed, his wife was working in a wartime center in Tampa, monitoring the movements of enemy planes and submarines.
She remained in Tampa with her children and mother and years later, married former pilot Charles McCormick. He died in 1973.
Madeline McCormick was a native of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
In 1939, she and the wife of another Army Air Corps general helped choose an anthem for what was to become the Air Force.
They went through hundreds of entries, until a music teacher turned in his composition and Madeline McCormick liked its zip.
The Army Air Corps agreed, and now most of the nation knows it as "The Air Force Song": "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder."
McCormick is survived by a son, Gerald Tinker of Bonita, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Jean Joiner of Lake Panasoffkee; 11 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
The widow of Gen. Clarence Tinker died Thursday in Tampa, where she lived for six decades.
In the 1930s, Tinker was one of several generals tapped to find an appropriate site for an airfield in the southeast. He was instrumental in getting the military to place MacDill Field in Tampa.
The Tinkers moved to Tampa in 1940. Two years later, he died in World War II, shot down over the Pacific just after the Battle of Midway.
Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City is named for him.
When Tinker was killed, his wife was working in a wartime center in Tampa, monitoring the movements of enemy planes and submarines.
She remained in Tampa with her children and mother and years later, married former pilot Charles McCormick. He died in 1973.
Madeline McCormick was a native of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
In 1939, she and the wife of another Army Air Corps general helped choose an anthem for what was to become the Air Force.
They went through hundreds of entries, until a music teacher turned in his composition and Madeline McCormick liked its zip.
The Army Air Corps agreed, and now most of the nation knows it as "The Air Force Song": "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder."
McCormick is survived by a son, Gerald Tinker of Bonita, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Jean Joiner of Lake Panasoffkee; 11 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Madeline Tinker McCormick, widow of the first commander of what later became MacDill Air Force Base, died at age 104.
The widow of Gen. Clarence Tinker died Thursday in Tampa, where she lived for six decades.
In the 1930s, Tinker was one of several generals tapped to find an appropriate site for an airfield in the southeast. He was instrumental in getting the military to place MacDill Field in Tampa.
The Tinkers moved to Tampa in 1940. Two years later, he died in World War II, shot down over the Pacific just after the Battle of Midway.
Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City is named for him.
When Tinker was killed, his wife was working in a wartime center in Tampa, monitoring the movements of enemy planes and submarines.
She remained in Tampa with her children and mother and years later, married former pilot Charles McCormick. He died in 1973.
Madeline McCormick was a native of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
In 1939, she and the wife of another Army Air Corps general helped choose an anthem for what was to become the Air Force.
They went through hundreds of entries, until a music teacher turned in his composition and Madeline McCormick liked its zip.
The Army Air Corps agreed, and now most of the nation knows it as "The Air Force Song": "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder."
McCormick is survived by a son, Gerald Tinker of Bonita, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Jean Joiner of Lake Panasoffkee; 11 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
The widow of Gen. Clarence Tinker died Thursday in Tampa, where she lived for six decades.
In the 1930s, Tinker was one of several generals tapped to find an appropriate site for an airfield in the southeast. He was instrumental in getting the military to place MacDill Field in Tampa.
The Tinkers moved to Tampa in 1940. Two years later, he died in World War II, shot down over the Pacific just after the Battle of Midway.
Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City is named for him.
When Tinker was killed, his wife was working in a wartime center in Tampa, monitoring the movements of enemy planes and submarines.
She remained in Tampa with her children and mother and years later, married former pilot Charles McCormick. He died in 1973.
Madeline McCormick was a native of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
In 1939, she and the wife of another Army Air Corps general helped choose an anthem for what was to become the Air Force.
They went through hundreds of entries, until a music teacher turned in his composition and Madeline McCormick liked its zip.
The Army Air Corps agreed, and now most of the nation knows it as "The Air Force Song": "Off we go, into the wild blue yonder."
McCormick is survived by a son, Gerald Tinker of Bonita, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Jean Joiner of Lake Panasoffkee; 11 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
