July 18, 2007, Skip writes:

We live on an airpark near Jupiter, Florida , where I practice law.

We have a large hangar with two airplanes, no kids, and a lot of good
friends.

Each 4th of July, Pam and I celebrate with 100 or so of our friends in
the hangar and on the taxiway.  We serve Texas brisket and ribs with
all the trimmings and our friends bring the rest.  I have attached a few
photos.  That’s me in the middle serving Bar B Que and Pam is the
blonde in the other pictures.

I will put together more later.

Thanks for your efforts.

Skip
Skip's Page
7/4/07: Pam (left) and friend
7/4/07: Skip serves Texas BBQ. Got to keep good memories alive!
7/4/07: Pam gets ready for the feast on the Fourth.
May 08: Skip writes, "An old friend from the airline days and I hunted on Prince of
Wales Island (Alaska) earlier this month, and we were both successful. Hope no one is
offended."

Jan's note: Well, those claws look pretty scary...
So nice to hear from Skip.
Oct. 19, 2009 from Skip:
Since my birthday is on the 20th of November, I thought I would send
these photos. (In September) I had an opportunity to fly this float plane
(shown above) across the Alaska Range to a very remote lake about
150 miles west of Denali. A friend and I each flew a plane  (it is better
to fly with a buddy in the bush) to hunt moose from kayaks. The
weather was great for flying and camping, but not good for moose
hunting.

Keep up the good work.  Skip

(For some of Skip's photos from the trip, go to Travel: Alaska.)
Jan. 21, 2010 - Note from Jan: When preparing to do a feature on Skip I realized that
his bio was incomplete. I e-mailed him some questions and he got right back to me.
Here are the questions and responses:

1. Where were you born? Ft. Dodge, Iowa - my mother lived there while Dad was on
the USS Wasp in WWII.

2. Where did you attend elementary and junior high school? Elementary - Adak,
Alaska; Tacoma, Washington; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Norfolk, Virginia.  Junior High -
McGregor, Texas. High School - BHS

3. Who were some of your buddies in high school? I can easily recall John Eubanks,
Anton Moy, John Ross, Dwight Zook, and Winston Martin - but I would hate to leave
anyone out.

4. What did you do after graduation? Chevrolet mechanic, heavy equipment operator,
truck driver.  After the service - Commuter airline captain, real estate
development, then commercial broker, marine contractor, lawyer.

5. Where did you go to college? TJC; Central Texas College (A.A.); Eckerd College in
St. Petersburg, Florida (B.A.); University of Florida College of Law (J.D.).

6. When did you and Pam get married? 1975 in Port Aransas, Texas

7. Did you ever serve in the military? US Air Force, 4 years - Minuteman Missile
electronics technician, then Forward Air Controller (Pack rat), aerial photographer
and aerial observer in Bird Dogs in an air commando squadron in Vietnam 1967.

8. What work are you doing now? (You haven't mentioned retirement, and I'll bet
you'll keep going for several years yet, right?)  Still practicing law - mostly aviation
and commercial trial law.  Primarily I represent people in the aviation business or
people who own airplanes.  I don't see any reason to retire when people will pay me
to do what I enjoy and I can take off enough time to enjoy my hobbies (right now -
flying in Alaska).

We live on an airpark and have a big hangar for our airplane.  A few years ago we
closed our office in town and built office space in the rafters of the hangar. The work
hasn't slowed down, but the overhead has.  Pam is my paralegal now and I only take
cases that are interesting.
October 2010:
I was just enjoying the website and your input.
Here are a couple of shots from Alaska this year.  I flew a small plane from Vegas to Kenai, then went fishing and
moose hunting.  We have more sausage than we know what to do with.
Best regards,  keep up the good work.
Skip
2010 Christmas card from Skip and Pam:

(My abject apologies: I misplaced their card and letter and
have just now found it. Sorry for the delay. I've omitted
references to the holidays.)

We had a wonderful time at the Belton Class of 1960
Reunion, but it was not long enough. We wanted to spend
more time talking to you.

Pam is retired as a surgical nurse and working full-time as
a paralegal for Skip. Skip is still working full-time as an
attorney. Skip closed down his construction company in
1997 and is now devoting his time to the law practice.

In August Skip took off a month from work. One of the
fellows here in Tallwinds has a home and hangar in Alaska
on the Kenai Peninsula. He wanted a Cessna 207T Turbo
picked up in Las Vegas and delivered to his home in
Kenai, Alaska. Skip hunts and fishes with this fellow. Skip
flew to Las Vegas and after inspecting the airplane went
to Phoenix to pick up his friend Bill Smith. Bill and Skip
were captains at Rio Airways in Texas. They started out
from Las Vegas and the first stop was Great Falls,
Montana. Skip was stationed there in Minuteman Missiles
and saw many missile silos he was familiar with. The next
stop was in St. John, British Columbia. They were flying
along the Canadian-Alaskan Highway in case they had to
land in an emergency. They carried extra radios and EPIRB
(satellite tracking emergency signal) and a satelline
telephone. They took off the next day, but the weather
was bad and they came back, deciding to wait until the
weather cleared. (That was the day Senator Stevens was
killed in Alaska in an airplane crash.) After waiting two
days for the weather to clear, they took off and landed in
Yukon Territories at Whitehorse. The final day they landed
on the runway at Skip's friend's house in Kenai. The trip
took 2000 miles and Skip had a wonderful time. Skip also
was able to shoot a 1600-lb. moose, so we have to make
space for Mr. Moose's antlers. A fishing trip for halibut
and salmon has the freezer full.

Skip hunts in Okeechobee, Florida, which is 1-1/2 hours
away from the house. He hunts on weekends for coyotes,
deer, and wild pigs. There are 8 fellows on the lease, and
each one has a motor home, and there is electricity and
water on the lease. Skip uses the airplane for business
and on weekends to visit friends. Pam was hooked on
airplanes the first time she flew with Skip.

Again, we want to say how much we enjoyed the reunion
and are looking forward to the next reunion.



(Skip's reply to a couple of questions I asked.)

Good to hear from you, Jan.

I turned back due to weather and waited it out in the
Yukon on a day of three crashes in Alaska. Then it was
clear sailing and we could see the magnificent vistas.

The plane in the photo is ours.  It is a Cessna Turbo 210, 6
passenger. The one I flew to Alaska was a Cessna Turbo
207, a similar airplane but which carries 7 passengers and
has non-retractable landing gear, which is more suitable
for bush flying.

I practice commercial trial law concentrating in aviation,
construction and trust disputes, along with the facilitation
of acquisitions and sales of aircraft and property for my
clients.  Almost all of my clients are airplane owners or
operate repair facilities.  I stay away from criminal and
family work.

The last few years I have whittled my practice down to a
few very good clients who demand most of my time. (quite
unlike when I was starting out when we took in anything
that came in the door).

Best regards to all. Keep up the good work.

Skip
(Skip's reply to a couple of questions I asked.)

Good to hear from you, Jan.

I turned back due to weather and waited it out in the Yukon on a day of
three crashes in Alaska. Then it was clear sailing and we could see the
magnificent vistas.

The plane in the photo is ours.  It is a Cessna Turbo 210, 6 passenger.
The one I flew to Alaska was a Cessna Turbo 207, a similar airplane but
which carries 7 passengers and has non-retractable landing gear,
which is more suitable for bush flying.

I practice commercial trial law concentrating in aviation, construction
and trust disputes, along with the facilitation of acquisitions and sales
of aircraft and property for my clients.  Almost all of my clients are
airplane owners or operate repair facilities.  I stay away from criminal
and family work.

The last few years I have whittled my practice down to a few very good
clients who demand most of my time. (quite unlike when I was starting
out when we took in anything that came in the door).

Best regards to all. Keep up the good work.

Skip
2011 Holiday Photo: Good-Looking Couple!
Happy Holidays from Skip and his wife Pam:

Skip and I want to say a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Our special time during the Christmas
holidays is reading the messages and cards from our friends. We remember the good times and fun we had with
you and it always brings a smile to our faces. We hope this Holiday Season will be special for you.

We are in good health and are still working full time in the law practice.

In March Skip took two weeks off and headed to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Our neighbor here in Tailwinds
(Florida) bought another property for hunting and fishing in Alaska near his summer home and wanted to build a
cabin. Skip was in charge of flying the 207T Turbo airplane from the Kenai Peninsula to a gravel landing strip near
this cabin. He would transfer the cargo from the 207 to a Super Cub and fly this cargo to the cabin and land on a
dry river bed. Skip set up a saw mill---and yes, they used the native trees in the area to build a log cabin to hunt
in. Upon completion they had three log cabins, one to live in, one to store equipment and all-terrain vehicles in,
and one for supplies. It was a challenge that he enjoyed. The object was to have a good place to hunt moose in
the fall. In addition, some salmon and halibut was sent home as an extra bonus.

In October Skip headed to Amarillo for hunting. He shot a deer and turkey with a crossbow. He had a chance to
visit his brother Bill and family. Chicken fried steaks and good Mexican food were a priority.

On the 4th of July we had our annual party in front of our hangar on the airport runway. 205 people arrived for the
party. We emptied out the hangar of airplances and set up tables inside. Skip cooked 9 briskets, 15 slabs of ribs,
and 4 pork butts. The American Airlines captain across the street, who is also an aerobatic champion, provided
an air show. Local neighbor children provided a model airplane show. One neighbor has a hangar full of muscle
cars and many people brought antique cars. We had muscle car races down the runway. Tailwinds Air Park has a
few professional entertainers and they provided music for the party. Sam White, a former navy pilot and American
Airlines captain and his wife provided bluegrass music with a banjo and guitars. Dr. Andy Moffitt and Jimmy and
Kathy Bennett also provided our favorite songs. Two other residents gave us a violin duet. Our Homeowners
Association president, Gill, who was a bass guitar player for Dion and the Belmonts, played bass guitar. This was
followed by a fireworks display. A good time was had by all.

Merry Christmas to all of you. We wish you a Happy New Year and good health in the coming year. Please keep
those cards and letters coming. We always enjoy hearing from you.

Skip and Pam