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Monday, February 11, 2019

DL Capt. William Poddick Jr.

~ IN MEMORY ~
Military veteran,  DL Capt. William Poddick Jr.
October 14, 1938 ~ April 18, 2018

Belated news... as noted this month in ALPA’s magazine In Memoriam Column, the passing of Delta Golden Wings member retired Delta pilot Captain William Poddick Jr., age 79.  I believe born/raised in Florida and a military veteran, Captain Poddick joined Delta Air Lines 06-13-1966 and retired with Delta in May 1997.  He was based earlier at Miami and DFW, then 031/ATL at the time of his retirement.  Captain Poddick had most recently resided in Tavernier, FLorida.  No other details could be found. 
If anyone has additional information to share, corrections/updates are always appreciated.
            Thank you,

                ~ Carol for the PCN   

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From: Gerald B Smith [mailto:geraldbsmith38@gmail.com] Subject: William Poddick
 
Bill was a good friend for many years when we flew out of Dallas for Delta. He was a member of the Navy Skeet Team and taught Carolyn and I to shoot sheet before we both began a long stretch of competetive skeet shooting. He was also an expert in shooting International Skeet and live pigeons. Bill and I also did a lot of bird hunting in Texas and shared a rather perilous goat hunt in Alaska. He was a unique individual.
 
Thanks,

Jerry
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2 comments:

  1. TrinityDecember 27, 2019 at 4:56 AM

    Willie was my best friend for 10 years, the last 10 years of his life. He lived two streets away from me in Tavernier Florida. I would love to give you information, Trinity

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousAugust 23, 2025 at 4:56 AM

      Hi Trinity - You were indeed very close to Willy. I can add info to Jerry's summary. Poddick's parents were German immigrants and his father was a captain of Rockefeller's Miami based yacht. Bill graduated from eithe Miami or Jackson High and then Univ. Fla. before joining USN. He was a Vietnam vet flying cargo and people into Vietnam, mostly from Okinawa. We became friends when I was in Grad School and working for Bell Helicopter in 1968, then best friends and hunting buddies from there.
      He introduced me to International skeet and Pigeon shooting and we hunted and fished mostly in Texas, Mexico, Uruguay and Ireland - sometimes the Keys until skin cancer kept cropping up.
      I had the distinction of introducing him to his wife (the Raptor) Diane. That was a train wreck that ultimately led to his demise, but Trinity became a very close friend during and after Hurricane Diane to help him during some very tough times.
      I think of Poddick often. I also think he was one of a handful of the best all-around shotgunners, any sport, that I have ever seen and I knew a lot of top shooters. More than that he had a wicked sense of humor and unassailable integrity.

      R.I.P. Willy, hopefully Star and Pete were there to greet you when you crossed the Bridge.

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