He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elaine. He leaves a family he was so proud of and dearly loved, son, Ross (Adrienne), daughter, Karen (Douglass), sister, Kristine Matthews (Colvin) and their son, Kevin, grandchildren, Christopher (Sara), Meghan, Jonas, Kenneth and Keith, two great grandchildren, William and Hailey.
Lt. Col. Earl spent 23 years in the Air Force. During his military career he lived and traveled worldwide, Including three tours in Antarctica on "Operation Deep Freeze". He received six Air Force commendation medals for Meritorious service. He had a True Love for our Country.
After he retired from the Air Force they moved from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey to Memphis where he worked as a corporate pilot and was well respected in the aviation community.
He enjoyed being a member of the Secret Order of Quiet Bird Men. After 50 consecutive years of flying with no accidents or incidents he was nominated and received the prestigious Wright Brothers "Master Pilot" Award by the FAA in appreciation for dedicated service, technical expertise, and professionalism.
He was a member of Germantown United Methodist Church. He loved snow skiing, scuba diving, building and flying radio control airplanes, hunting, and fishing. He had a knack to fix almost anything and enjoyed sports and auto racing.
As pilots say, he has "gone west" flying into the heavens.
A private family service will be held on Monday, May 11 at 10:00am. at Memphis Funeral Home on Poplar. Burial will be held in West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers memorials can be sent to an organization that supports veterans or Germantown United Methodist Church.
