Charles Dittman Leonard
July 7, 1932 ~ January 16, 2023 (age 90)
Obituary
Charles Dittman Leonard, known by "Chuck" was born July 7, 1932, in San Antonio, Texas. Chuck passed away peacefully at the age of 90 on the morning of January 16th, 2023. He was preceded in death by his wife of 13 years, Rosemary; his wife of 35 years, Margie; and his son, Mark. He is survived by his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Leonard; sons, Larry of Seattle, and David (wife, Linda of Baytown Texas); grandsons, Charles (wife, Holly), Samuel, Andrew, and Robert all of Albuquerque, Justin of Texas; and his great-grandchildren, Lexi, and Mark of Albuquerque.
Chuck grew up in Deer Park, Texas and started working at the age of 13 as a dishwasher at the San Jacinto Inn, having to bike across the Houston ship channel to get to work and to get back home. He bought two housing lots at the age of 15. He graduated from Deer Park High School at the age of 17, playing every sport and even played quarterback for the football team. He attended junior college in Baytown, Texas at Lee College to be a plumber and graduated at 19 years of age. He was then certified as a plumber in the state of Texas at the age of 20.
Not long after, Chuck was invited, one day by a friend, to go out flying, his friend's Cessna airplane and instantly knew he wanted to be a pilot. He entered the U.S. Air Force December 5, 1953, at the age of 21 as an officer and completed his flight training in Kinston, North Carolina. He then went on to fighter jet training at an Air Force Base outside of College Station, Texas, training in a T-33 single engine aircraft at the age of 22. His flight commander was Gus Grissom.
He married his first wife, Rosemary, at the age of 23 and adopted two of her sons, Larry, and David, and together they had their son, Mark.
Chuck's first duty station was Cannon Air Force base in Clovis, New Mexico flying B-29's and F86F Sabre Jets. He was then transferred to Williams Air Force Base in Mesa, Arizona as pilot instructor of the F86Fs Sabre Jets and where his son Mark was born in 1957. In 1958, Chuck was transferred to Alaska to initially fly B-29 aircraft but was transferred to Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida to learn to fly the B-57. This was because during his time in Alaska, he was the only pilot in his squadron with jet time/ training to then go and fly the B-57. During those 4 years out of Alaska, Chuck flew the RB-57A to gather air samples from the Russian nuclear tests. Chuck was one of two pilots to fly every model of the B-57 (B-57 A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) Canberra aircraft, two of which were high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Also, he stated that his favorite model of the B-57 to fly was the B-57F. He was the first USAF pilot to have flown 1000 hours in the RB-57F (long wing) aircraft and had the most flying time in that aircraft. In 1962, Chuck finished his Air Force career at Kirkland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While working at Kirkland Air Force Base, Chuck lost his wife Rosemary to cancer making him a single father to three boys. During his time in Albuquerque, Chuck volunteered to go to the Vietnam War and was deployed/ stationed in Thailand. During the Vietnam war, he was a part of the famous 13th Bomb Squadron where he flew 88 combat missions over Ho Chin Min Trail. On his last mission, his back was crushed by the g-forces of his jet while escaping gun fire directed at his aircraft. He spent six months in a hospital in the Philippines recuperating, was deactivated, and returned to Kirkland Air Force Base. He spent his remaining time flying the RB-57F (high altitude model) aircraft as a member of the F Troop where he did radiological air sampling for the French and Chinese nuclear tests and flew many years for NASA on the Earth Resources Project collecting radiological and weather data. He retired from the USAF in 1973 after a little over 20 years of service as a Lt. Colonel and received medals like the Purple Heart, The Meritorious Service Medal, The Air Medal, and The Distinguished Flying Cross.
Chuck married Margie, his second wife, in 1972 and began working as a commercial pilot in 1975 for Cutter Aviation for the next 36 years out of Albuquerque. He flew a small single jet engine and twin jet engine Beechcraft at Cutter Aviation, flying celebrities including Arthur Godfrey, Texas Governor George Bush, Christie Brinkley, Robert Redford, and Gene Hackman. Also, during his time at Cutter, Chuck helped land a plane by flying side by side next to woman whose husband (the pilot) suffered a heart attack mid-flight. Chuck was able to provide her instructions to safely land the plane while flying next to her every step of the way. In 2008, he retired from Cutter Aviation as the Vice President of Operations, President of Cutter Air Charter, and Chief Pilot.
He was awarded The Wright Brothers "Master Pilot" by the FAA for 50 years of flying. This finished his flying career with over 18,000 hours of flight time over the span of 56 years. His military and commercial pilot career gave him the opportunity to travel all over the world and when he was retired, he enjoyed spending his time traveling the world and celebrating good times with his wife, Margie, Joe and Dorothy Baca, Helene Poling, June and Harold Hoffman and his son, Mark and grandchildren and many other members of his family and friends. After his wife Margie passed away, he continued to travel the world with his special friend, Betty Gatto. Chuck was a very energetic, ambitious, hardworking man, who was always quick with a joke and wanted to make people laugh and smile and always wanted to host parties for people to enjoy. He was a member of The Quiet Birdmen, Order of Daedalians and the Disabled American Veteran (DAV). He enjoyed many hobbies like gardening, fishing, skiing, bicycle riding, racquetball, and doing things with his grandsons like watching their sporting events.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 11:00 a.m., St. Stephens United Methodist Church, 4601 Juan Tabo Blvd NE - Albuquerque, NM 87111. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Chuck to the DAV Disabled American Veterans or Joy Junction.
To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.
________________________________________
Services
MEMORIAL SERVICE
Saturday
February 4, 2023
11:00 AM
St. Stephen's United Methodist Church
4601 Juan Tabo Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87111
