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Edwin George Duncan, 92, and long-time resident of South Padre Island and Harlingen, Texas, passed away Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007 in San Antonio, TX after a long illness, surrounded by his family.
Born in Garfield County, OK on Aug. 28, 1915. His parents, Robert E. Lee Duncan and Ula Lena Catlett Duncan raised Ed on his family's homestead farm with four older brothers and two younger brothers.
Ed was a graduate of Garber High School in 1931 and Oklahoma A&M; in 1935 with a BS in vocational agriculture. While teaching high school in the Texas Panhandle, he learned to fly, fulfilling a childhood dream. He then became a county agricultural agent while he logged flight hours to qualify as a flight instructor for the Army at Fort Sill, OK. His 32-year career with Braniff Airways began in 1943 when pilots were recruited by the commercial airlines to fulfill contracts with the Defense Department.
He met the love of his life in 1944, Betty Jo Hendrix, a flight attendant for Braniff. They married in Drumright, OK in February 1945 and began their 59-year marriage in Dallas, TX. Their daughter, Diann, was born in Dallas a year and a half before Ed and his family transferred to a new flight base in Lima, Peru, for three years. He described many of his South American adventures in a book he wrote in 1999, and described his true pioneering spirit in the early days of the airline industry. He would later fly Boeing 707s to Europe, South America, Hawaii, the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Vietnam. His interest in exercise and a healthy fresh diet factored into his robust health when he retired from Braniff at age 60 in 1975. He then channeled his energy into nutritional consultations and building a business in Rio Grande Valley "Air Ports," (coin-operated, compressed air machines at convenience stores), that continues today.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, and is survived by his daughter, Diann Duncan of San Antonio; grandchildren, Natalie St. John (and husband Rich) of La Feria and Clint Poulter (and wife Keri Golightly) of San Antonio; great-grandchildren, Jason, Chesney, Christopher, Bryce, Kaslyn St. John and Allison Poulter; and brother, Robert E. Lee Duncan Jr. of Winfield, KS.
A memorial service will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 at The Chapel By The Sea on South Padre Island.
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