Anchorage Daily News August 24, 2005
Carl Franklin Brady Sr., 85, who brought the first helicopter to Alaska in 1948 and went on to found Era Aviation, died Aug. 20, 2005, at his Anchorage home of natural causes. A funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Peter Loughman officiating. A reception was held afterward at the Hotel Captain Cook. Interment was in the Pioneer section of Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. His grandsons, Carl Brady III, Ben Brady, Brady Farr, Bob Garman, Forrest Bennett and Jeff Carlson, served as pallbearers.
Mr. Brady was born Oct. 29, 1919, in Chelsea, Okla., to Kirty and Ellen Brady. He was raised on a farm near Springdale, Ark., in a four-room house with no running water. He later attended the University of Washington for one year. He summered in Alaska from 1946 until 1961, when he moved here permanently. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church. In his nearly 50 years in Anchorage, Mr. Brady combined a pioneering flying career that gained him international acclaim in the industry with an active life of public and civil service encompassing banking, volunteer community activities and elected office. His political career included election to the Alaska House of Representatives, serving from 1965 to 1966, immediately followed by a term in the state Senate. A close friend and Republican ally of former Gov. Wally Hickel, Mr. Brady was considered a possible appointee to the U.S. Senate after the death of E.L. "Bob" Bartlett. Instead, in the course of fateful meetings in Hickel's Anchorage home, Mr. Brady removed himself from consideration and endorsed one of his best friends and fellow legislators, Ted Stevens, to fill the Senate vacancy. Hickel chose Stevens, who has since served in Washington. Although Mr. Brady enjoyed his legislative service, he was always more comfortable in the cockpit of an airplane or a helicopter. A pilot with more than 11,000 hours at the controls of commercial helicopters, Mr. Brady began his flying career in 1940 in Yakima, Wash. At the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Arcadia, Fla., to serve as a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He entered active military service in 1943 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Despite his desire to serve in combat, the Air Corps kept him as a flight instructor on the home front. He was discharged as a captain in 1946 and returned to Washington state, where, with two partners, he formed a crop dusting company called Economy Pest Control. The company began with one helicopter and one airplane. To promote the use of helicopters, Mr. Brady barnstormed at county fairs -- as he put it, "jitterbugging that whirlybird at air shows." The partners soon dropped out of the operation, and Mr. Brady changed the name of the company to Economy Helicopters in 1948 -- the same year he convinced the U.S. Topographic Survey that he could, in a single season, do aerial mapping of the northern half of Chichigof Island in Southeast Alaska -- a seven-year project if done on foot. To fulfill the contract, Mr. Brady leased a Bell 47B helicopter and had it flown to Alaska aboard an Alaska Airline freighter, and a new Alaska industry was born. A sister ship of that original Bell 47B, fully restored as it was when he flew it in the early days, is on display in the North Terminal of Ted Stevens International Airport. When Alaska entered the oil age, Mr. Brady and his company, by then known as Era Helicopters, were on hand to provide support -- first on the Kenai Peninsula and offshore in Cook Inlet, and then to Prudhoe Bay and the North Slope. A big, fixed-wing fleet became a part of the Era operations as the company continued to grow. In 1967, Era was purchased by the Rowan Cos. of Houston, Texas, with Mr. Brady serving as president and chief executive of Alaska operations, now with the name of Era Aviation. He also joined the board of Rowan, became a member of its executive committee and later was named executive vice president. He retired from Rowan and Era in 1984 but continued an active civic life. Mr. Brady served as president of the following: Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Alaska Crippled Children's Association and Petroleum Club of Anchorage; and chairman of the Southcentral Republican Party and Anchorage Electric Utility Commission. He twice served as president of the Helicopter Association of America and in 1976 received the Lawrence D. Bell Award for contributions to the industry. Mr. Brady also served as a member of the National Advisory Commission on Oceans and Atmosphere, a presidential appointment. For many years he also served as the honorary consul for the Belgian government in Alaska. Mr. Brady also was a longtime member of the board of Key Bank Alaska and earlier of Alaska Pacific Bank.
Mr. Brady is survived by his wife, Carol Brady; sons and daughters-in-law, Carl Jr. and Pamela Brady, and James and Lyndel Brady; daughter and son-in-law, Linda Brady Farr and Franklin Farr, all of Anchorage; grandchildren and spouses, Shannon Brady Garman and Bob Garman, Carl III and Laurel Brady, Jenny Brady Carlson and Jeffrey Carlson, Benjamin Brady, Megan Brady Farr, Holly Farr Bennett and Forrest Bennett, and Brady Farr; great-grandchildren, Jacob and Hannah Garman, and Caiden Brady; brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Dorothy Brady; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers, James and Kenneth Brady. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Salvation Fighting Blindness, P.O. Box 17279, Baltimore, MD 21203-7279, reference 650011-4100-9200, to find a cure for retinitis pigmentosa, a disease suffered by his grandson. Arrangements are with Evergreen Memorial Chapel.
Carl Franklin Brady Sr., 85, who brought the first helicopter to Alaska in 1948 and went on to found Era Aviation, died Aug. 20, 2005, at his Anchorage home of natural causes. A funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Peter Loughman officiating. A reception was held afterward at the Hotel Captain Cook. Interment was in the Pioneer section of Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. His grandsons, Carl Brady III, Ben Brady, Brady Farr, Bob Garman, Forrest Bennett and Jeff Carlson, served as pallbearers.
Mr. Brady was born Oct. 29, 1919, in Chelsea, Okla., to Kirty and Ellen Brady. He was raised on a farm near Springdale, Ark., in a four-room house with no running water. He later attended the University of Washington for one year. He summered in Alaska from 1946 until 1961, when he moved here permanently. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church. In his nearly 50 years in Anchorage, Mr. Brady combined a pioneering flying career that gained him international acclaim in the industry with an active life of public and civil service encompassing banking, volunteer community activities and elected office. His political career included election to the Alaska House of Representatives, serving from 1965 to 1966, immediately followed by a term in the state Senate. A close friend and Republican ally of former Gov. Wally Hickel, Mr. Brady was considered a possible appointee to the U.S. Senate after the death of E.L. "Bob" Bartlett. Instead, in the course of fateful meetings in Hickel's Anchorage home, Mr. Brady removed himself from consideration and endorsed one of his best friends and fellow legislators, Ted Stevens, to fill the Senate vacancy. Hickel chose Stevens, who has since served in Washington. Although Mr. Brady enjoyed his legislative service, he was always more comfortable in the cockpit of an airplane or a helicopter. A pilot with more than 11,000 hours at the controls of commercial helicopters, Mr. Brady began his flying career in 1940 in Yakima, Wash. At the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Arcadia, Fla., to serve as a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He entered active military service in 1943 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Despite his desire to serve in combat, the Air Corps kept him as a flight instructor on the home front. He was discharged as a captain in 1946 and returned to Washington state, where, with two partners, he formed a crop dusting company called Economy Pest Control. The company began with one helicopter and one airplane. To promote the use of helicopters, Mr. Brady barnstormed at county fairs -- as he put it, "jitterbugging that whirlybird at air shows." The partners soon dropped out of the operation, and Mr. Brady changed the name of the company to Economy Helicopters in 1948 -- the same year he convinced the U.S. Topographic Survey that he could, in a single season, do aerial mapping of the northern half of Chichigof Island in Southeast Alaska -- a seven-year project if done on foot. To fulfill the contract, Mr. Brady leased a Bell 47B helicopter and had it flown to Alaska aboard an Alaska Airline freighter, and a new Alaska industry was born. A sister ship of that original Bell 47B, fully restored as it was when he flew it in the early days, is on display in the North Terminal of Ted Stevens International Airport. When Alaska entered the oil age, Mr. Brady and his company, by then known as Era Helicopters, were on hand to provide support -- first on the Kenai Peninsula and offshore in Cook Inlet, and then to Prudhoe Bay and the North Slope. A big, fixed-wing fleet became a part of the Era operations as the company continued to grow. In 1967, Era was purchased by the Rowan Cos. of Houston, Texas, with Mr. Brady serving as president and chief executive of Alaska operations, now with the name of Era Aviation. He also joined the board of Rowan, became a member of its executive committee and later was named executive vice president. He retired from Rowan and Era in 1984 but continued an active civic life. Mr. Brady served as president of the following: Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Alaska Crippled Children's Association and Petroleum Club of Anchorage; and chairman of the Southcentral Republican Party and Anchorage Electric Utility Commission. He twice served as president of the Helicopter Association of America and in 1976 received the Lawrence D. Bell Award for contributions to the industry. Mr. Brady also served as a member of the National Advisory Commission on Oceans and Atmosphere, a presidential appointment. For many years he also served as the honorary consul for the Belgian government in Alaska. Mr. Brady also was a longtime member of the board of Key Bank Alaska and earlier of Alaska Pacific Bank.
Mr. Brady is survived by his wife, Carol Brady; sons and daughters-in-law, Carl Jr. and Pamela Brady, and James and Lyndel Brady; daughter and son-in-law, Linda Brady Farr and Franklin Farr, all of Anchorage; grandchildren and spouses, Shannon Brady Garman and Bob Garman, Carl III and Laurel Brady, Jenny Brady Carlson and Jeffrey Carlson, Benjamin Brady, Megan Brady Farr, Holly Farr Bennett and Forrest Bennett, and Brady Farr; great-grandchildren, Jacob and Hannah Garman, and Caiden Brady; brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Dorothy Brady; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers, James and Kenneth Brady. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Salvation Fighting Blindness, P.O. Box 17279, Baltimore, MD 21203-7279, reference 650011-4100-9200, to find a cure for retinitis pigmentosa, a disease suffered by his grandson. Arrangements are with Evergreen Memorial Chapel.
Anchorage Daily News August 24, 2005
Carl Franklin Brady Sr., 85, who brought the first helicopter to Alaska in 1948 and went on to found Era Aviation, died Aug. 20, 2005, at his Anchorage home of natural causes. A funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Peter Loughman officiating. A reception was held afterward at the Hotel Captain Cook. Interment was in the Pioneer section of Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. His grandsons, Carl Brady III, Ben Brady, Brady Farr, Bob Garman, Forrest Bennett and Jeff Carlson, served as pallbearers.
Mr. Brady was born Oct. 29, 1919, in Chelsea, Okla., to Kirty and Ellen Brady. He was raised on a farm near Springdale, Ark., in a four-room house with no running water. He later attended the University of Washington for one year. He summered in Alaska from 1946 until 1961, when he moved here permanently. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church. In his nearly 50 years in Anchorage, Mr. Brady combined a pioneering flying career that gained him international acclaim in the industry with an active life of public and civil service encompassing banking, volunteer community activities and elected office. His political career included election to the Alaska House of Representatives, serving from 1965 to 1966, immediately followed by a term in the state Senate. A close friend and Republican ally of former Gov. Wally Hickel, Mr. Brady was considered a possible appointee to the U.S. Senate after the death of E.L. "Bob" Bartlett. Instead, in the course of fateful meetings in Hickel's Anchorage home, Mr. Brady removed himself from consideration and endorsed one of his best friends and fellow legislators, Ted Stevens, to fill the Senate vacancy. Hickel chose Stevens, who has since served in Washington. Although Mr. Brady enjoyed his legislative service, he was always more comfortable in the cockpit of an airplane or a helicopter. A pilot with more than 11,000 hours at the controls of commercial helicopters, Mr. Brady began his flying career in 1940 in Yakima, Wash. At the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Arcadia, Fla., to serve as a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He entered active military service in 1943 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Despite his desire to serve in combat, the Air Corps kept him as a flight instructor on the home front. He was discharged as a captain in 1946 and returned to Washington state, where, with two partners, he formed a crop dusting company called Economy Pest Control. The company began with one helicopter and one airplane. To promote the use of helicopters, Mr. Brady barnstormed at county fairs -- as he put it, "jitterbugging that whirlybird at air shows." The partners soon dropped out of the operation, and Mr. Brady changed the name of the company to Economy Helicopters in 1948 -- the same year he convinced the U.S. Topographic Survey that he could, in a single season, do aerial mapping of the northern half of Chichigof Island in Southeast Alaska -- a seven-year project if done on foot. To fulfill the contract, Mr. Brady leased a Bell 47B helicopter and had it flown to Alaska aboard an Alaska Airline freighter, and a new Alaska industry was born. A sister ship of that original Bell 47B, fully restored as it was when he flew it in the early days, is on display in the North Terminal of Ted Stevens International Airport. When Alaska entered the oil age, Mr. Brady and his company, by then known as Era Helicopters, were on hand to provide support -- first on the Kenai Peninsula and offshore in Cook Inlet, and then to Prudhoe Bay and the North Slope. A big, fixed-wing fleet became a part of the Era operations as the company continued to grow. In 1967, Era was purchased by the Rowan Cos. of Houston, Texas, with Mr. Brady serving as president and chief executive of Alaska operations, now with the name of Era Aviation. He also joined the board of Rowan, became a member of its executive committee and later was named executive vice president. He retired from Rowan and Era in 1984 but continued an active civic life. Mr. Brady served as president of the following: Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Alaska Crippled Children's Association and Petroleum Club of Anchorage; and chairman of the Southcentral Republican Party and Anchorage Electric Utility Commission. He twice served as president of the Helicopter Association of America and in 1976 received the Lawrence D. Bell Award for contributions to the industry. Mr. Brady also served as a member of the National Advisory Commission on Oceans and Atmosphere, a presidential appointment. For many years he also served as the honorary consul for the Belgian government in Alaska. Mr. Brady also was a longtime member of the board of Key Bank Alaska and earlier of Alaska Pacific Bank.
Mr. Brady is survived by his wife, Carol Brady; sons and daughters-in-law, Carl Jr. and Pamela Brady, and James and Lyndel Brady; daughter and son-in-law, Linda Brady Farr and Franklin Farr, all of Anchorage; grandchildren and spouses, Shannon Brady Garman and Bob Garman, Carl III and Laurel Brady, Jenny Brady Carlson and Jeffrey Carlson, Benjamin Brady, Megan Brady Farr, Holly Farr Bennett and Forrest Bennett, and Brady Farr; great-grandchildren, Jacob and Hannah Garman, and Caiden Brady; brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Dorothy Brady; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers, James and Kenneth Brady. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Salvation Fighting Blindness, P.O. Box 17279, Baltimore, MD 21203-7279, reference 650011-4100-9200, to find a cure for retinitis pigmentosa, a disease suffered by his grandson. Arrangements are with Evergreen Memorial Chapel.
Carl Franklin Brady Sr., 85, who brought the first helicopter to Alaska in 1948 and went on to found Era Aviation, died Aug. 20, 2005, at his Anchorage home of natural causes. A funeral was held at First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Peter Loughman officiating. A reception was held afterward at the Hotel Captain Cook. Interment was in the Pioneer section of Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery. His grandsons, Carl Brady III, Ben Brady, Brady Farr, Bob Garman, Forrest Bennett and Jeff Carlson, served as pallbearers.
Mr. Brady was born Oct. 29, 1919, in Chelsea, Okla., to Kirty and Ellen Brady. He was raised on a farm near Springdale, Ark., in a four-room house with no running water. He later attended the University of Washington for one year. He summered in Alaska from 1946 until 1961, when he moved here permanently. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church. In his nearly 50 years in Anchorage, Mr. Brady combined a pioneering flying career that gained him international acclaim in the industry with an active life of public and civil service encompassing banking, volunteer community activities and elected office. His political career included election to the Alaska House of Representatives, serving from 1965 to 1966, immediately followed by a term in the state Senate. A close friend and Republican ally of former Gov. Wally Hickel, Mr. Brady was considered a possible appointee to the U.S. Senate after the death of E.L. "Bob" Bartlett. Instead, in the course of fateful meetings in Hickel's Anchorage home, Mr. Brady removed himself from consideration and endorsed one of his best friends and fellow legislators, Ted Stevens, to fill the Senate vacancy. Hickel chose Stevens, who has since served in Washington. Although Mr. Brady enjoyed his legislative service, he was always more comfortable in the cockpit of an airplane or a helicopter. A pilot with more than 11,000 hours at the controls of commercial helicopters, Mr. Brady began his flying career in 1940 in Yakima, Wash. At the outbreak of World War II, he moved to Arcadia, Fla., to serve as a civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He entered active military service in 1943 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Despite his desire to serve in combat, the Air Corps kept him as a flight instructor on the home front. He was discharged as a captain in 1946 and returned to Washington state, where, with two partners, he formed a crop dusting company called Economy Pest Control. The company began with one helicopter and one airplane. To promote the use of helicopters, Mr. Brady barnstormed at county fairs -- as he put it, "jitterbugging that whirlybird at air shows." The partners soon dropped out of the operation, and Mr. Brady changed the name of the company to Economy Helicopters in 1948 -- the same year he convinced the U.S. Topographic Survey that he could, in a single season, do aerial mapping of the northern half of Chichigof Island in Southeast Alaska -- a seven-year project if done on foot. To fulfill the contract, Mr. Brady leased a Bell 47B helicopter and had it flown to Alaska aboard an Alaska Airline freighter, and a new Alaska industry was born. A sister ship of that original Bell 47B, fully restored as it was when he flew it in the early days, is on display in the North Terminal of Ted Stevens International Airport. When Alaska entered the oil age, Mr. Brady and his company, by then known as Era Helicopters, were on hand to provide support -- first on the Kenai Peninsula and offshore in Cook Inlet, and then to Prudhoe Bay and the North Slope. A big, fixed-wing fleet became a part of the Era operations as the company continued to grow. In 1967, Era was purchased by the Rowan Cos. of Houston, Texas, with Mr. Brady serving as president and chief executive of Alaska operations, now with the name of Era Aviation. He also joined the board of Rowan, became a member of its executive committee and later was named executive vice president. He retired from Rowan and Era in 1984 but continued an active civic life. Mr. Brady served as president of the following: Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Alaska Crippled Children's Association and Petroleum Club of Anchorage; and chairman of the Southcentral Republican Party and Anchorage Electric Utility Commission. He twice served as president of the Helicopter Association of America and in 1976 received the Lawrence D. Bell Award for contributions to the industry. Mr. Brady also served as a member of the National Advisory Commission on Oceans and Atmosphere, a presidential appointment. For many years he also served as the honorary consul for the Belgian government in Alaska. Mr. Brady also was a longtime member of the board of Key Bank Alaska and earlier of Alaska Pacific Bank.
Mr. Brady is survived by his wife, Carol Brady; sons and daughters-in-law, Carl Jr. and Pamela Brady, and James and Lyndel Brady; daughter and son-in-law, Linda Brady Farr and Franklin Farr, all of Anchorage; grandchildren and spouses, Shannon Brady Garman and Bob Garman, Carl III and Laurel Brady, Jenny Brady Carlson and Jeffrey Carlson, Benjamin Brady, Megan Brady Farr, Holly Farr Bennett and Forrest Bennett, and Brady Farr; great-grandchildren, Jacob and Hannah Garman, and Caiden Brady; brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Dorothy Brady; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brothers, James and Kenneth Brady. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Salvation Fighting Blindness, P.O. Box 17279, Baltimore, MD 21203-7279, reference 650011-4100-9200, to find a cure for retinitis pigmentosa, a disease suffered by his grandson. Arrangements are with Evergreen Memorial Chapel.
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