Kenneth Oscar Mann

CUYAHOGA FALLS - Kenneth Oscar Mann died peacefully on May 24th, 2022, with two of his daughters by his side. He was born on March 13, 1930, to Leonard V. Mann and Virginia Coffman in Cloverdale, Indiana. Ken is preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Richard, and Gordon; his sister, Lenora Fossum, and his ex-wife, Bonnie Rapier Mann. He is survived by his five children, Renee Mann Johnson, Eric Mann and wife, Sheila Mann, Holly Mann, Monica Mann Jones and husband Steve Jones, and Kristopher Mann; his brother-in-law, Louis Rapier who he helped raise; nine grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren that he adored. After graduating high school with honors, Ken attended Purdue University on a 4-H scholarship for two years before joining the United States Air Force in 1950. In the Air Force, he found the true love of his life - flying and airplanes. Ken immediately went into officers’ training and trained to be a pilot. He had a front-row seat to Post WWII American History as a fighter and bomber pilot in Korea and beyond, and then as a commercial pilot in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Ken was most proud of his service to the United States Air Force. He trained on the T-6, The Texan, at Shepard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas. His first combat plane was the F80, a single-engine jet in which he flew 47 missions in Korea, based out of Japan. Ken then flew the RB-45 all jet bomber in reconnaissance missions over China and SE Asia during the Cold War and the Vietnam War. He also flew the P-51, B-25, the B-45, the B-47, and others. After he retired from the Air Force in 1956 and became a reservist, Ken flew C-119s out of Scott Air Force Base in Illinois transporting troops to and from Vietnam. He also flew the C-124. As a Lt. Colonel, Ken commanded the 707th Airlift Squadron of the 315th Airlift Wing flying MAC out of Charleston Air Force base. He also flew the C-141 Starlifter, bringing troops, equipment, and supplies to bases all over the world. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in February 1978. When Ken was based at Keesler AFB, he met and married Bonnie Rapier, his wife of 32 years. They settled down in St. Louis, Missouri, and had five children. Although he was away from home a lot, he always tried to make each of his children feel special and loved. Ken had various flying jobs in Florida and New York before he was hired by Ozark Air Lines in 1959 where he was a “Check” (Training) pilot for 10 years before becoming a captain. He absolutely loved Ozark and all the people there from the ground up. Some of the commercial planes he flew during his Ozark years, were the Douglas DC 3, the Fokker F27, DC-9-10, and the MD-82. Ken logged 28,264 hours flying over his career - we can't find all his logbooks. That is 3.2 years in the air. In 1990, at age 60, Ken retired from TWA, which had bought Ozark Airlines, and moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida. He started a second career with a lawn and caretaker business for the beach houses of friends. Ken married Mary Jo Downey in 1997. During the last 30 years of his life, he spent time with his children and their families, played golf, watched his favorite sport - basketball, and traveled the world. Ken had several beloved pets and was a great dog and cat Dad. He was passionate about genealogy and traveled all over the United States and Europe, seeking out church documents and hunting down information in graveyards and libraries. During every visit with his children, Ken would roll out genealogy graphs and keep us up to date on all his findings. “We will all miss our wonderful Dad, Grandpa, and Pawpaw!” Kenneth Mann will be interred at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery.