PAA/DL Capt. Delbert Roaine Ackley

 

~ IN MEMORY ~

PAA/DL Capt. Delbert Roaine Ackley

AUGUST 3, 1935 – NOVEMBER 28, 2023

 

Notice of passing….retired Pan Am/Delta pilot Captain Delbert Roaine Ackley, age 88, of Prescott, Arizona passed away on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.  Captain Ackley joined Pan American 01-31-1966 and retired with Delta Air Lines.  He is survived by his wife, Elsemarie (Mia) Ackley, and by his children and their families.

 

You can watch a fun youtube interview with Bob at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xOQ9Lere1k

Interview is dated May 15, 2017

So, it's 0700, and I'm adrift, near the Driftwood Lounge, Lake Powell, Arizona. As I was departing, I noticed this Old-Timer wearing a Pan American World Airways Hat . . .

Ladies & Gentlemen,   Delbert Ackley     "Ack"  or "Del"

 

PCN memorial site :

https://clipperpioneers.com/in-memory-of/ 

Delbert R. Ackley, age 88, passed away at his home in Prescott, Arizona, on November 28, 2023. He was born in Bakersfield, California, and got his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University. A lover of all things related to flight, Del started his career with the U.S. Air Force during the late 1950s, training in the T-28s and T-33s, which prepared him for his favorite plane, the F-86-F. He then transferred to the Strategic Air Command, where he flew B-52G bombers around the top of the globe on 24-hour shifts. After the Air Force, he became a commercial pilot for Pan Am, based in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and West Berlin. When Pan Am closed in 1991 he transfered a pilot at Delta Airlines until his retirement in 1995. During his career, he flew 707s, 720s, 727s, 737s, 747s, DC-8s, and A-310s. Del is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Ackley and Ida Mae (Gates) Ackley, and his brother, Jerry Ackley. Del is survived by his loving wife, Elsemarie (Mia) Ackley; his two sons, Scott and Karl and wife Toni; his two daughters, Diane and Payton; and five granddaughters.