Known as "Bop" by his grandchildren. The immediate family called him Uncle Ted, and the friends and most of Tuscaloosa called him Fred. He married Kathleen Hobson Searcy on 30 June, 1924.
The Tuscaloosa News
Saturday, September 10, 1988 page 1
Oldest naval flier in U.S. dies
By Joan Ladd
News Staff Writer
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Fred R. Maxwell, who was the nation's oldest naval aviator, died Friday afternoon at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa at age 99.
Funeral services for Maxwell, of 1609 Dearing Place, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church. The Rev. Ray Pradat will officiate with burial in Memorial Park and Hays Chapel Funeral Home directing.
Maxwell won his aviator's wings as a World War I reserve officer at the naval air station in Pensacola, just 15 years after the Wright brothers flew the first heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
He was credited with inaugurating the aeronautical engineering department at the University of Alabama. He was also instrumental in the development of three local airfields, including the one which serves this area today.
A man of many achievements, Maxwell was the recipient of the first mechanical engineering degree at UA, held the first driver's license issued in Tuscaloosa County and was the first carilloneur custodian of Denny Chimes.
Maxwell and his wife of 64 years, the former Kathleen Searcy Maxwell, were honored last May by the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County for their efforts to preserve local landmarks, including several University of Alabama structures.
"His first love was the University and close behind that was naval avaition," his daughter, Camille Maxwell Elebash, said Friday.
Maxwell was well known in Tuscaloosa for his contributions to the community's presersvation efforts, including rescuing Clark Hall on the University of Alabama campus from demolition in 1948.
Garland, Manly and Woods halls, other buildings in the Woods Quadrangle, were twice threatened with destruction and twice Maxwell also led the fight to save them.
He supervised major renovations on all Woods Quad buildings and led the effort to plant oak trees along University Boulevard on the UA campus and at Stillman College.
Maxwell persuaded the Veterans Administration Medical Center to donate land surrounding the hospital grounds to the University. The property was later developed into an arboretum and a golf course.
An engineer and a professor of engineering, Maxwell continued as a consulting engineer for the University of Alabama for many years after the 70-year age limit that mandated his retirement from teaching in 1959.
A 1911 graduate of the University of Alabama, Maxwell went on to receive two masters and an honorary doctoral degree from UA.
After enlisting in the Navy in 1917, he and 11 other men were accepted into the first class for flight training in the newly-formed U.S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps in Pensacola. In 1918, Maxwell was designated as a naval aviator.
Before the war, Maxwell worked as an engineer with the Tuscaloosa Railway and Utilities Co., and in 1919, he returned to work there as an assistant general manager.
In additions to teaching physics and electrical engineering at the University during the early 1920s, Maxwell began the Aeronautical Engineering program at Alabama in 1923, only the second in the country at the time. The program later evolved into UA's aerospace engineering department.
Also during 1923, Maxwell was responsible for constructing Druid Field, Tuscaloosa's first airport, by the Forest Lake subdivision.
After the airfield closed in 1925, Maxwell built a second airport, Maynor Field in Northport. He chaired the committee which was devoted to development of the present-day Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport.
After 23 years as a reservist, Maxwell returned to service in the Navy during World War II in early 1941, almost a year before Pearl Harbor Day. He was then 52 years old and served for five years as an officer-in-charge of Cadet Ground School in Pensacola.
Maxwell was a founder and member of the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, known as the Golden Eagles. He was a charter and life member of the U.S. Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, and a member of the Association of Navy Aviation. He retired from the naval reserve with the rank of Captain in 1954. In 1985, Maxwell was named to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame.
Maxwell was named as Tuscaloosa's Citizen of the Year in 1959. He received a plaque for being the oldest living naval aviator in October 1986 from representatives of Tuscaloosa County's three local governing bodies.
Maxwell was a lifelong member of Christ Episcopal church.
In addition to his wife, other survivors include two daughters, Camille Maxwell Elebash and Freda Maxwell Thomas, both of Tuscaloosa; six grandsons and a grand-daughter, Camille Elebash-Hill; and four great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Frederick Maxwell Thomas, Joab Langston Thomas, Charles Abbott Thomas, Karl Savary Elebash III, Searcy LeGrand Elebash, William Inge Hill, Charleigh Robert Davis and Frank Fitts III.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the Fred R. Maxwell Engineering Scholarship at the UA College of Engineering or Christ Episcopal Church in 'Tuscaloosa.
The Tuscaloosa News
Saturday, September 10, 1988 page 1
Oldest naval flier in U.S. dies
By Joan Ladd
News Staff Writer
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Fred R. Maxwell, who was the nation's oldest naval aviator, died Friday afternoon at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa at age 99.
Funeral services for Maxwell, of 1609 Dearing Place, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church. The Rev. Ray Pradat will officiate with burial in Memorial Park and Hays Chapel Funeral Home directing.
Maxwell won his aviator's wings as a World War I reserve officer at the naval air station in Pensacola, just 15 years after the Wright brothers flew the first heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
He was credited with inaugurating the aeronautical engineering department at the University of Alabama. He was also instrumental in the development of three local airfields, including the one which serves this area today.
A man of many achievements, Maxwell was the recipient of the first mechanical engineering degree at UA, held the first driver's license issued in Tuscaloosa County and was the first carilloneur custodian of Denny Chimes.
Maxwell and his wife of 64 years, the former Kathleen Searcy Maxwell, were honored last May by the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County for their efforts to preserve local landmarks, including several University of Alabama structures.
"His first love was the University and close behind that was naval avaition," his daughter, Camille Maxwell Elebash, said Friday.
Maxwell was well known in Tuscaloosa for his contributions to the community's presersvation efforts, including rescuing Clark Hall on the University of Alabama campus from demolition in 1948.
Garland, Manly and Woods halls, other buildings in the Woods Quadrangle, were twice threatened with destruction and twice Maxwell also led the fight to save them.
He supervised major renovations on all Woods Quad buildings and led the effort to plant oak trees along University Boulevard on the UA campus and at Stillman College.
Maxwell persuaded the Veterans Administration Medical Center to donate land surrounding the hospital grounds to the University. The property was later developed into an arboretum and a golf course.
An engineer and a professor of engineering, Maxwell continued as a consulting engineer for the University of Alabama for many years after the 70-year age limit that mandated his retirement from teaching in 1959.
A 1911 graduate of the University of Alabama, Maxwell went on to receive two masters and an honorary doctoral degree from UA.
After enlisting in the Navy in 1917, he and 11 other men were accepted into the first class for flight training in the newly-formed U.S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps in Pensacola. In 1918, Maxwell was designated as a naval aviator.
Before the war, Maxwell worked as an engineer with the Tuscaloosa Railway and Utilities Co., and in 1919, he returned to work there as an assistant general manager.
In additions to teaching physics and electrical engineering at the University during the early 1920s, Maxwell began the Aeronautical Engineering program at Alabama in 1923, only the second in the country at the time. The program later evolved into UA's aerospace engineering department.
Also during 1923, Maxwell was responsible for constructing Druid Field, Tuscaloosa's first airport, by the Forest Lake subdivision.
After the airfield closed in 1925, Maxwell built a second airport, Maynor Field in Northport. He chaired the committee which was devoted to development of the present-day Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport.
After 23 years as a reservist, Maxwell returned to service in the Navy during World War II in early 1941, almost a year before Pearl Harbor Day. He was then 52 years old and served for five years as an officer-in-charge of Cadet Ground School in Pensacola.
Maxwell was a founder and member of the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, known as the Golden Eagles. He was a charter and life member of the U.S. Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, and a member of the Association of Navy Aviation. He retired from the naval reserve with the rank of Captain in 1954. In 1985, Maxwell was named to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame.
Maxwell was named as Tuscaloosa's Citizen of the Year in 1959. He received a plaque for being the oldest living naval aviator in October 1986 from representatives of Tuscaloosa County's three local governing bodies.
Maxwell was a lifelong member of Christ Episcopal church.
In addition to his wife, other survivors include two daughters, Camille Maxwell Elebash and Freda Maxwell Thomas, both of Tuscaloosa; six grandsons and a grand-daughter, Camille Elebash-Hill; and four great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Frederick Maxwell Thomas, Joab Langston Thomas, Charles Abbott Thomas, Karl Savary Elebash III, Searcy LeGrand Elebash, William Inge Hill, Charleigh Robert Davis and Frank Fitts III.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the Fred R. Maxwell Engineering Scholarship at the UA College of Engineering or Christ Episcopal Church in 'Tuscaloosa.
Known as "Bop" by his grandchildren. The immediate family called him Uncle Ted, and the friends and most of Tuscaloosa called him Fred. He married Kathleen Hobson Searcy on 30 June, 1924.
The Tuscaloosa News
Saturday, September 10, 1988 page 1
Oldest naval flier in U.S. dies
By Joan Ladd
News Staff Writer
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Fred R. Maxwell, who was the nation's oldest naval aviator, died Friday afternoon at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa at age 99.
Funeral services for Maxwell, of 1609 Dearing Place, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church. The Rev. Ray Pradat will officiate with burial in Memorial Park and Hays Chapel Funeral Home directing.
Maxwell won his aviator's wings as a World War I reserve officer at the naval air station in Pensacola, just 15 years after the Wright brothers flew the first heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
He was credited with inaugurating the aeronautical engineering department at the University of Alabama. He was also instrumental in the development of three local airfields, including the one which serves this area today.
A man of many achievements, Maxwell was the recipient of the first mechanical engineering degree at UA, held the first driver's license issued in Tuscaloosa County and was the first carilloneur custodian of Denny Chimes.
Maxwell and his wife of 64 years, the former Kathleen Searcy Maxwell, were honored last May by the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County for their efforts to preserve local landmarks, including several University of Alabama structures.
"His first love was the University and close behind that was naval avaition," his daughter, Camille Maxwell Elebash, said Friday.
Maxwell was well known in Tuscaloosa for his contributions to the community's presersvation efforts, including rescuing Clark Hall on the University of Alabama campus from demolition in 1948.
Garland, Manly and Woods halls, other buildings in the Woods Quadrangle, were twice threatened with destruction and twice Maxwell also led the fight to save them.
He supervised major renovations on all Woods Quad buildings and led the effort to plant oak trees along University Boulevard on the UA campus and at Stillman College.
Maxwell persuaded the Veterans Administration Medical Center to donate land surrounding the hospital grounds to the University. The property was later developed into an arboretum and a golf course.
An engineer and a professor of engineering, Maxwell continued as a consulting engineer for the University of Alabama for many years after the 70-year age limit that mandated his retirement from teaching in 1959.
A 1911 graduate of the University of Alabama, Maxwell went on to receive two masters and an honorary doctoral degree from UA.
After enlisting in the Navy in 1917, he and 11 other men were accepted into the first class for flight training in the newly-formed U.S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps in Pensacola. In 1918, Maxwell was designated as a naval aviator.
Before the war, Maxwell worked as an engineer with the Tuscaloosa Railway and Utilities Co., and in 1919, he returned to work there as an assistant general manager.
In additions to teaching physics and electrical engineering at the University during the early 1920s, Maxwell began the Aeronautical Engineering program at Alabama in 1923, only the second in the country at the time. The program later evolved into UA's aerospace engineering department.
Also during 1923, Maxwell was responsible for constructing Druid Field, Tuscaloosa's first airport, by the Forest Lake subdivision.
After the airfield closed in 1925, Maxwell built a second airport, Maynor Field in Northport. He chaired the committee which was devoted to development of the present-day Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport.
After 23 years as a reservist, Maxwell returned to service in the Navy during World War II in early 1941, almost a year before Pearl Harbor Day. He was then 52 years old and served for five years as an officer-in-charge of Cadet Ground School in Pensacola.
Maxwell was a founder and member of the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, known as the Golden Eagles. He was a charter and life member of the U.S. Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, and a member of the Association of Navy Aviation. He retired from the naval reserve with the rank of Captain in 1954. In 1985, Maxwell was named to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame.
Maxwell was named as Tuscaloosa's Citizen of the Year in 1959. He received a plaque for being the oldest living naval aviator in October 1986 from representatives of Tuscaloosa County's three local governing bodies.
Maxwell was a lifelong member of Christ Episcopal church.
In addition to his wife, other survivors include two daughters, Camille Maxwell Elebash and Freda Maxwell Thomas, both of Tuscaloosa; six grandsons and a grand-daughter, Camille Elebash-Hill; and four great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Frederick Maxwell Thomas, Joab Langston Thomas, Charles Abbott Thomas, Karl Savary Elebash III, Searcy LeGrand Elebash, William Inge Hill, Charleigh Robert Davis and Frank Fitts III.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the Fred R. Maxwell Engineering Scholarship at the UA College of Engineering or Christ Episcopal Church in 'Tuscaloosa.
The Tuscaloosa News
Saturday, September 10, 1988 page 1
Oldest naval flier in U.S. dies
By Joan Ladd
News Staff Writer
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Fred R. Maxwell, who was the nation's oldest naval aviator, died Friday afternoon at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa at age 99.
Funeral services for Maxwell, of 1609 Dearing Place, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church. The Rev. Ray Pradat will officiate with burial in Memorial Park and Hays Chapel Funeral Home directing.
Maxwell won his aviator's wings as a World War I reserve officer at the naval air station in Pensacola, just 15 years after the Wright brothers flew the first heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
He was credited with inaugurating the aeronautical engineering department at the University of Alabama. He was also instrumental in the development of three local airfields, including the one which serves this area today.
A man of many achievements, Maxwell was the recipient of the first mechanical engineering degree at UA, held the first driver's license issued in Tuscaloosa County and was the first carilloneur custodian of Denny Chimes.
Maxwell and his wife of 64 years, the former Kathleen Searcy Maxwell, were honored last May by the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County for their efforts to preserve local landmarks, including several University of Alabama structures.
"His first love was the University and close behind that was naval avaition," his daughter, Camille Maxwell Elebash, said Friday.
Maxwell was well known in Tuscaloosa for his contributions to the community's presersvation efforts, including rescuing Clark Hall on the University of Alabama campus from demolition in 1948.
Garland, Manly and Woods halls, other buildings in the Woods Quadrangle, were twice threatened with destruction and twice Maxwell also led the fight to save them.
He supervised major renovations on all Woods Quad buildings and led the effort to plant oak trees along University Boulevard on the UA campus and at Stillman College.
Maxwell persuaded the Veterans Administration Medical Center to donate land surrounding the hospital grounds to the University. The property was later developed into an arboretum and a golf course.
An engineer and a professor of engineering, Maxwell continued as a consulting engineer for the University of Alabama for many years after the 70-year age limit that mandated his retirement from teaching in 1959.
A 1911 graduate of the University of Alabama, Maxwell went on to receive two masters and an honorary doctoral degree from UA.
After enlisting in the Navy in 1917, he and 11 other men were accepted into the first class for flight training in the newly-formed U.S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps in Pensacola. In 1918, Maxwell was designated as a naval aviator.
Before the war, Maxwell worked as an engineer with the Tuscaloosa Railway and Utilities Co., and in 1919, he returned to work there as an assistant general manager.
In additions to teaching physics and electrical engineering at the University during the early 1920s, Maxwell began the Aeronautical Engineering program at Alabama in 1923, only the second in the country at the time. The program later evolved into UA's aerospace engineering department.
Also during 1923, Maxwell was responsible for constructing Druid Field, Tuscaloosa's first airport, by the Forest Lake subdivision.
After the airfield closed in 1925, Maxwell built a second airport, Maynor Field in Northport. He chaired the committee which was devoted to development of the present-day Tuscaloosa Municipal Airport.
After 23 years as a reservist, Maxwell returned to service in the Navy during World War II in early 1941, almost a year before Pearl Harbor Day. He was then 52 years old and served for five years as an officer-in-charge of Cadet Ground School in Pensacola.
Maxwell was a founder and member of the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, known as the Golden Eagles. He was a charter and life member of the U.S. Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, and a member of the Association of Navy Aviation. He retired from the naval reserve with the rank of Captain in 1954. In 1985, Maxwell was named to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame.
Maxwell was named as Tuscaloosa's Citizen of the Year in 1959. He received a plaque for being the oldest living naval aviator in October 1986 from representatives of Tuscaloosa County's three local governing bodies.
Maxwell was a lifelong member of Christ Episcopal church.
In addition to his wife, other survivors include two daughters, Camille Maxwell Elebash and Freda Maxwell Thomas, both of Tuscaloosa; six grandsons and a grand-daughter, Camille Elebash-Hill; and four great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers will be Frederick Maxwell Thomas, Joab Langston Thomas, Charles Abbott Thomas, Karl Savary Elebash III, Searcy LeGrand Elebash, William Inge Hill, Charleigh Robert Davis and Frank Fitts III.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the Fred R. Maxwell Engineering Scholarship at the UA College of Engineering or Christ Episcopal Church in 'Tuscaloosa.
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