Thomas Elwood Magness

Thomas Elwood Magness Sr (also known as Tom) born to Lena and Alvie Lee Magness on November 26th 1922 in Arlington, Kentucky passed away February 25th 2021 in Glendale, Arizona. He was one of thirteen children whom are all deceased. Tom was a loving, devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend.

Tom was married to the love of his life of 54 years, Jeannette Floy Cannon who passed away in 1996. He had two children, Dinah Sue D’Angelo (deceased) husband T.W. and Thomas Magness Jr wife Barbara. Tom had four grandchildren Allan Kelley wife Dawn, Timothy Kelley (deceased), Daniel Magness, Heather Kammeyer husband Shawn and his great-grandchildren Ryan and Brianna Kammeyer. He also had extended family that loved and cared for him.

TSGT Thomas E. Magness enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941. After bootcamp, he was transferred to Luke Air Force Base. Shortly thereafter, he met and married Jeannette in Phoenix. He served honorably as an Air Operations Specialist in the China Burma India Theater (CBI) and was discharged at the end of the war.

He loved airplanes. So as fate would have it, after the war he started working from the ground up with Bonanza Air Lines. First as a purser, then the Phoenix Station Manager and eventually Regional Manager (Superintendent) of Station Operations. After a successful career with Bonanza, he worked for a short time at Devry University, PHX. Upon retirement, he and Jeannette moved to Forest Lakes, AZ. There they spent many wonderful years together with family, tending to their kitchen garden and volunteering with the local church group and fire department.

Tom was very much a family man. He took his children boating, fishing and camping. When his grand and great-grand children came along he spent time going to their sporting events and playing tea sets. He also enjoyed watching any game involving the Phoenix Suns or the Arizona Diamondbacks. To keep his mind busy and up to date with current events, he loved watching the daily “Closing Bell” and the prime-time television shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. He also spent a considerable amount of time in his later years solving word Jumbles, telling stories about his childhood and his experiences while serving in the war. He had a great sense of humor and loved telling jokes to make others laugh. He was also a very punctual person (a byproduct of military and airline experiences) and he expected the same from everyone else.

His funeral service will be held on Friday March 5th, 2021 at the Phoenix Memorial Park and Mortuary, 200 W Beardsley Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85027.

His viewing will begin at 10:30AM, Funeral Service at 11:30AM and Graveside Ceremony at 12:30PM.

Flowers can be sent to Phoenix Memorial Park & Mortuary at 200 W Beardsley Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85027