Ervin B. (Buddy) Moreman, Jr. Born on December 9, 1933 in Amarillo, Texas, Buddy Moreman died unexpectedly but peacefully on July 31, 2012. He grew up in Amarillo and graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Industrial Engineering. A member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, he was a proud Red Raider.
Buddy loved airplanes. He took his first flying lesson at age 12 and was fortunate to be involved with airplanes and aviation for the rest of his life. An Air Force ROTC cadet, he received his commission as a 2nd Lt. in 1958. He was discharged from the Air Force as a B-52 pilot in the Strategic Air Command.
He worked for Texas Instruments for two years, returning to flying when he was hired first by Eastern Airlines and then Pan American World Airways. His career at Pan Am took him all over the world. He volunteered for a Pan Am Technical Assistance Project during the Vietnam War training Vietnamese pilots and establishing flight schedules for a new airline, Air Vietnam.
His adventures in Saigon included taking cover under the bed in his hotel room during the Tet Offensive and a rendezvous with his future wife, Terry, on the Saigon flight line. In 1970, he transferred to West Berlin, Germany and Pan Am’s Internal German Service. He married Terry O’Sullivan in 1971 and they moved to West Berlin where they lived for eight years.
After moving to Mercer Island, he returned to the IGS commuting to Berlin for three years. Flying the air corridors between West Berlin to West Germany made for interesting stories of being buzzed by Russian MIGs and being able to see in the windows of the apartments lining the final approach pattern to the runway at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport.
He was very proud of the many military charter flights he flew during the first Middle East War and he flew the last Pan Am polar flight between London and Seattle. Besides F-86s, and B-52s, he flew Constellations, DC-6s, Boeing 707s, 727s, 737s, 747s, and the Airbus A-300. He made his last commercial flight for Pan Am as a B-747 Captain.
He spent the next 20 years as a flight instructor, working at Alaska Airlines and then the Boeing Company as a 737 Instructor. The pilots he trained came from all over the world. They started as his students and became his friends
He is survived by Terry, his wife of 42 years; their two sons, Jeremy and Joshua; Kimberly Jacobs (Charles), Christopher Austin (Trish) and seven grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Lou Ann Little, his brother Bill, and his nephews. Remembrances can be made in Buddy’s name to the UW Foundation/UW Medical Center, P.O. Box 358045, Seattle 98095, to Aviation High School PTSA Scholarship Fund/Moreman, P.O. Box 98521, Des Moines 98198, or to your favorite charity. A celebration of Buddy’s life will be held in October. 668036