Major Wanda L. Ewing

Wanda Ewing entered enteral rest on Tuesday, the 4th of May 2021. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Wanda accepted Christ into her life at an early age and was baptized in Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Wanda was a daughter, sister, adoptive mother to many, and friend. Wanda was the daughter of Ms. Janie B. Ewing and the late Walter Ewing. She was the sister of Rodney Ewing. She will forever be cherished and remembered by her sweet Lucky Sergio Ewing, Godchild Stori Harrell, loving friends Cathy Austin and Andrea Lagard, devoted friends whom she considered brothers, Riley Harrell and Calvin Roberts, and adoptive sister Tahtia Jones-Thomas.

Major Ewing was a member of the Sigma Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She was commissioned in 1981 following her graduation from Grambling State University in Louisiana, where she was Corps Commander in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. In 1983 she completed a Masters Degree in Business Administration and Management from Central Michigan University. In addition to ROTC, her professional military education includes completion of Air Command and Staff College by seminar in 1996. In 1984 she was assigned to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama as the Regional Director of Recruiting for the ROTC units in Alabama and northern Florida. She had assignments in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norton Air Force Base in California, Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

Major Ewing retired from active duty in 1997 and became an educator. She completed a Texas State Teaching Certificate in Special Education in 1999 and she has held teaching positions at Edison High School in San Antonio, Texas, J. Frank Dobie Middle School in Schertz, Texas, Billerica Memorial High School in Billerica, Massachusetts, and Cypress Fairbanks’ Cypress Springs and Cypress Woods High Schools in Cypress, Texas.

Her decorations include the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Achievement Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. There was one decoration you could not see while Major Ewing was in uniform. It was the many, many names of present and former cadets, which were engraved in her heart, as she always referred to them as “her babies.”

Wanda never met a stranger. She was known for encouraging students of all walks of life, helping others, and for her insatiable desire for crafting, crocheting, sewing, and giving. She often made diaper cakes for expectant mothers, decorated for gatherings, celebrated milestones of current and former cadets, and planned JROTC events at the school, while making it all look effortless. She loved buying gadgets or developing procedures to assure a smoother workflow. Planning made her happy and she was gifted in that area.