Doug was born on May 11, 1946, in Bloomington Illinois and grew up in Wood River, Illinois. The second of two sons of Howard August Oetting, of Wood River, Illinois, and Eva Van Winkle Oetting of Bloomington, Illinois. They were both public school teachers. His fraternal grandparents, Louis Oetting and Matilda Koch Oetting, grew up on farms in Black Walnut, St. Charles County, Missouri. His Maternal grandfather Robert Van Winkle was a building contractor and he and wife Catherine Petersohn Van Winkle moved to Bloomington from rual Indiana. His brother Robert Louis Oetting was born in 1940 and both attended East Alton-Wood River Community High School, where their father taught them physics and chemistry.
Doug’s marriage to Gloria Adelle Murowski, of Pensacola, Florida in 1973 ended in divorce. Ms. Murowski and Doug have one daughter, Rebecca Adelle Oetting. His marriage to Bernadette Francis (Jill) Robey, from Edgewood, Pennsylvania on January 1, 2000 flourished. They met while crew members flying for US Air and Jill had a high tolerance for Dougs mid-West humor and multiple interests. They shared a passion for travel and boating and enjoyed many adventures and laughs over the years. She surely was his soulmate.
Doug attended and received a BS in Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1969. He was a member of Kappa Sigma Social Fraternity and participated in the Marine Corps Platoon Leader Course while at university and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduation in 1969.He discovered flying while obtaining his Private Pilots Certificate at the University Of Illinois Institute Of Aviation in 1970. Military service took him from the East Coast to the U.S. to the Far East and Australia.
He initially trained in the F-4 Phantom II with Marine Fighter Squradron-333, the “Fighting Shamrocks”, at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, SC. Then served as an instructor Pilot with Training Squadron-4 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL flying T-2 Buckeyes, F-9 Cougars, and A-4 Skyhawk’s. His patience with struggling student pilots earned him their admiration and a reputation for empathy. His extraordinary piloting skill and coolness under pressure were demonstrated when he “dead-sticked” a Buckeye onto Faircloth Airfield after a student pilot error while executing a routine emergency procedure, thus avoiding an ejection for himself and the student pilot and an accident for the squadron and saved a valuable airplane for the taxpayers.
He then served with Marine Attack Squadron-223 “Bulldogs” flying the new A-4M Skyhawk’s for a Western Pacific tour, including trans-Pacific flights over and back, deployment to Australia, and operations from the Carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in the South China Sea. It was with the Bulldogs that he was anointed with the call sign “Dogman”, as the squadron plaque hanging in the national Naval Aviation Museum in NAS can attest.
Following a tour as Air Officer for the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines at Camp Lejeune, NC, Doug left the Marine Corps in the rank of Major in 1978 and, after brief employment as an engineer at Ford Motor Company was employed as a First Officer for Pacific Southwest Airlines and as a certified Air Transport Pilot and Captain for US Airways where he flew the McDonnelDouglas-80 and Boeing-737 on domestic and Caribbean routes. His reputation for empathy and coolness followed him to US Airways where he was designated a Check Airman for the MD-80. Introducing transitioning pilots to that airplane. He and wife Jill took advantage of their Pittsburg domicile to purchase and live aboard their houseboat “Naut Reality” docked in Beaver, PA on the Ohio River. There Doug earned Coast Guard designation as a Master Captain for ?? ton vessels. After the death of his father, Doug’s mother Eva Oetting followed them to Beaver where she resided ashore and later to Louisville KY.
Following retirement from US Airways in 2006, Doug and Jill cruised down river where Doug was an aviation Safety Inspector and Aircrew Program Manager for the MD-11 cargo aircraft for the federal aviation administration at United Parcel Service (UPS) international cargo airlines in Louisville, KY overseeing operations there. His extraordinary knowledge and skill as a pilot-in-command particularly suited him for that position and he gained yet another ATP rating.
Doug is survived by his wife Jill, daughter Rebecca Oetting, and granddaughter Evelan of Burkburnett, TX, step daughter Danielle Torress (Mauricio) of Denver, CO, and grandchildren Daniel, Dylan, and Abigail, stepdaughter Aja Barrett (Andy), of Pensacola, FL and grandson Aidan, and brother Bob (Sally), of Bethesda, Maryland and niece Meghan Gotkin of Chantilly, VA. Doug’s parents Howard and Eva Oetting died in 2000 and 2010. Doug has been a pillar of strength and example to all who love him, as a poet reminds us. “To fly west, my friend, is a flight we all must take for a final check."
Doug was not unlike most in that he experienced failures and disappointments, professional and personal. He credited his loving and secure childhood for preparing him for those, and his brother Bob, the other half of the Oetting Boys of Wood River” for connecting him to his family. His parents were very supportive and limited their advice to, “Remember to kick the tire”, an allusion to pre-flighting and airplane. For all the achievement and adventure, Doug was most proud to be the father of the strong, capable woman who is his daughter, Becky, step father to Aja and Danielle, and grandfather to their children.
If reincarnated, Doug plans to (Choose one?)
A. Return as a member of the Chippendales Male Revue Show in Las Vegas!
B. Return as a river barge pusher boat captain on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
C. Return as a float plane pilot in the Caribbean.
D. Return as a beach bum in Pensacola.
E. Return as_______________________________??????
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.oaklawnfunerals.com for the Oetting family.
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