~
IN MEMORY ~
DL
F/O Kevin Day Eckley
April
13, 1961 - November 7, 2022
As
noted in the January-February 2023 Air Line Pilot magazine’s In Memoriam
column….the passing of Delta Air Lines pilot F/O Kevin Day
Eckley, age 61. Kevin joined Delta Air
Lines 02-10-2000. Obituary and notice of
his passing is available online at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/245577120/kevin-day-eckley
also at https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/26337937/kevin-day-eckley
Kevin Day Eckley
April 13, 1961 - November 07, 2022
Kevin Day Eckley passed away suddenly at his home
on Monday, November 7, 2022, at the age
of 61 following an ALS diagnosis over two years
ago. He was born April 13, 1961, the son of the
late Sandra L Clark and the late Joseph G Eckley
in Mexico, Missouri. On October 23, 1999, he
was united in marriage to Kimberly K. Lindsey in Oklahoma
City where they made their home and
raised their three sons.
Kevin was raised in Centralia, MO where he
graduated from Centralia High School in 1979. He
continued his education at the University of
Missouri’s School of Business and Public
Administration and received his bachelor’s degree
in 1987. While attending Mizzou, he was also
a member of the United States Air Force (USAF)
Reserve Officer Training Corps and was
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon
graduation. After his commissioning, he entered
active duty and attended USAF Undergraduate Pilot
Training at Williams Air Force Base (AFB) in
Mesa, Arizona. He was awarded the aeronautical rating
of pilot and had his silver wings pinned
on in April 1989. He was then stationed at Tinker
AFB, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he flew
the E-3A Sentry, also known as the AWACS. After completing
initial qualification training in the
E-3, Kevin’s first operational mission was in Operation
Just Cause in Panama in December of
1989. Less than a year later, August of 1990,
Kevin deployed to Saudi Arabia as an integral part
of Operation Desert Shield and flew combat missions
in Operation Desert Storm. While serving
in the AWACS, Kevin had been an aircraft commander
as well as a standardization and evaluation
flight examiner.
Following his successful and decorated Air Force
service, Kevin was honorably discharged as a
Captain in 1996 and started the next phase of his career
flying cargo worldwide with Gemini Air
Cargo. In early 2000, Kevin began a long career
with Delta Airlines flying various aircraft and
traveling all over the United States, South
America, and Europe until he was medically retired.
Kevin was a devoted and loving father and husband.
When he wasn’t flying, Kevin could be found
with his family vacationing, spending quality time
watching movies or football games, or
attending the boys’ activities and music
performances. Kevin also enjoyed working on multiple
DIY projects around the house, customizing his
Corvette, and sharing his knowledge with his
sons.
Kevin was preceded in death by his mother, Sandra
Lee (Mortimer) Clark, his fatherJoseph G
Eckley, and grandparents Henry and Evelyn
Mortimer, Leonard and Pearl Eckley, and Oran and
Arloa Clark.
In addition to his wife Kim of 23 years, he will
be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his
sons, Devon Eckley, and twins Dillon Eckley and
Dustin Eckley; his step-father, Daren Allen Clark
of Leeds AL; his brothers, Randy Eckley and his
wife Kay of Ashland MO and Shawn Eckley and
his wife Cheryl of Hendersonville TN; his sisters
Joni Henry and her husband Tim and Christi
Gilbertson and her husband Brian of Centralia MO;
as well as Glenn
and Judy Lindsey, Sherri and Bryce Fair, and Lori
and Brian Fagan of Oklahoma CityOK; and
many nieces and nephews, other relatives, and dear
friends.
Memorial service will be 2:00 p.m. Tuesday,
November 15, 2022, in the Vondel Smith Mortuary
North Chapel, 13125 N. MacArthur Blvd. Private
family inurnment will be in Resurrection
Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association, P.O. Box
37022, Boone, IA 50037-0022 or www.als.org
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