Travis K. Acheson

Everyone dies. But not everyone truly lives. For 55 years, 11 months, and 17 days, Travis Keith Acheson lived every single minute. Travis passed away at home on Friday, June 21 surrounded by all his girls. Even though he spent the last year of his life battling brain cancer, he never let it affect his eternal optimism, his ability to love big, or his humor.

Ever the patriot, Travis was born on July 4, 1968 in Des Moines, Iowa to Douglas Keith Acheson and Margaret Jean (Taylor) Acheson. He grew up on Army Post Road in West Des Moines and graduated from Valley High School in 1986. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from The University of Iowa in 1990, which is also where he began dating his future wife. And after five years together, Travis married Brooke (Berlin) in June 1995.

Travis spent a majority of his working life following his passion: flying airplanes. He retired from the military in September 2022 as a brigadier general after 33 years of service. Travis was a command pilot with almost 3,000 flying hours in the F-16 fighter jet. He was deployed overseas five times and flew over 500 combat hours during his military career. Travis was also employed as a commercial pilot with American Airlines for over 20 years. He was a captain on the Airbus at the time of his diagnosis. And although Travis’ first love was aviation, he also had a successful stint in the insurance industry when pilot furloughs made it necessary to resort to Plan B.

Travis was all in for everything. His favorite saying was that if it was worth doing, it was worth overdoing. Travis stood on the equator in both Ecuador and Kenya, he climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, he watched the Poland and Scotland national soccer teams play in Warsaw, he flew a jet around the world via a stop in the Azores, and he road tripped to see the Grateful Dead. He loved traveling, the Iowa Hawkeyes, trying to perfect his smoked ribs, and socializing with his friends. Travis had friends from all walks of life whether it be from school, little league baseball, his Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity, his aviation career, or sales. It’s safe to say if you were a friend, you were a friend for life.

Above all else, Travis was the best husband to Brooke and girl dad to Izzy, Emma, and Gretta. He coached soccer, gave manicures, and planned every detail of the Disney princess trips. He lead by example and modeled what it means to be patriotic, loyal, have character, and put others first. While all of West Des Moines enjoyed his yearly unofficial Fourth of July flybys over the Des Moines Golf pool, he really only did it because he knew that’s where his girls were. He taught his girls what it means to be brave and have courage. He taught them that they are entitled to their own opinions and political beliefs, but they need to be prepared to back those up with education and facts. He taught them that laughter and humor is the best medicine. And he taught them the importance of making good choices and that sometimes the right choice is the hardest one to make.

Travis is survived by his wife of 29 years, Brooke, daughters Isabelle, Emma, and Gretta, parents Keith (Kay) Acheson and Jeanie Acheson, siblings Shannon (Bruce) Buccio, Shay (Lisa) Acheson, and Brady (Carlye) Acheson, in-laws Frank and Jan Berlin and Brette and Fred Scott, and seven nephews and nieces: Zachary Rhoades, Ethan, A.J., Piper, and Maeve Acheson, and Evan and Frankie Scott.

A visitation will be held on Friday, June 28 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at West Des Moines Christian Church, 4501 Mills Civic Parkway. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a time for sharing and remarks. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, June 29 at 10:00 a.m. at West Des Moines Christian Church, 4501 Mills Civic Parkway. The celebration of life will also be live-streamed at wdmcc.org. Burial with military honors will immediately follow at Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the West Des Moines Community Schools (WDMCS) Student Scholarship Fund. A memorial scholarship is being established in Travis’ name to be given each year to a Valley High School senior who is interested in pursuing a career in the military or has been active in the Valley AFROTC program. Donations may be mailed to Student Scholarship Fund, c/o Cindy Todd, 3775 E.P. True Parkway #155, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265. Donations can also be made online at https://wdmcsssf.wixsite.com/website

In either case, please note the donation is for the Travis Acheson Memorial Scholarship.

Blue side up. Fly high Travis.