Biography

She is survived by two grandsons and three great-grandchildren.

She was named flight instructor of the year in 1979 by the Federal Aviation Administration and inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007.

She first soloed on November 4, 1944. She earned a private license in 1945 and commercial certificate in 1946. She became a flight instructor in 1947. She was one of the first women to get a helicopter license. As a pilot, she never crashed, maneuvering out of engine failures twice and fire once.

She was born in Corbin, Kentucky to a school teacher and a railroad conductor. Her family moved to Tennessee when she was 6 years old. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Tennessee Wesleyan College in Tennessee. She taught sixth grade for two years. She met her first husband, W.J. Bryan while attending summer school at the University of Tennessee. In 1933, they opened a dry cleaning business. In 1941, her husband entered the United States Army and she decided to take up flying as a hobby.

She was the oldest flight instructor in the world according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. She continued teaching for three more years. Her hours required included periods when students were at the controls but she, as instructor, was in charge. This last happened in 2005. She taught 5,000 student pilots before she stopped counting and certified more than 9,000 for the Federal Aviation Administration. She taught future pilots of jetliners, cargo planes, future airline executives, and former Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee.