- By Joyce Hinshaw -
 |
| Mary Hanson, Resident |
Mary Hanson obtained a BA degree in Finance at the University of Illinois at age 21, then fell in love with flight at the age of 24.
In another year, Mary was teaching flying and within three years of her first flight lesson, earned the highest ratings.
The US military and airlines did not hire women as pilots at that time, and it was rare to find one teaching flight or ground school. But she began to teach, starting a 35 year aviation career that took her to most of the states and to Okinawa. For four years, she chaired a citizens committee in Washington, D.C., which directly advised the Federal Aviation Administrator.
In the mid 1970s, there were approximately 78 women in the world flying for military and civilian airlines. This included Mary who was the first woman pilot/flight engineer for Continental Airlines. Later, she became an FAA Operations Inspector and check pilot. That career ended in her eighteenth year with the Southern Region of the FAA due to a crash in an airline’s classic multi-engine seaplane. For 35 years, Mary had earned a living for her and her two sons by flying, an occupation she loved.
While recuperating from this crash she took post graduate courses over four years, attending the University of Florida’s Research and Education Center. She studied environmental plants, especially native and wetland plants such as those found in the Everglades.
Mary, an Oak Grove resident, has two sons and seven grandchildren ranging from six months to 17 years. They are a precious part of her life