Posted by xxxxxxx on January 28, 2003:

McGINNESS, WILLIAM T. LT. COL. USAF Ret. Died January 13, 2003. Born in Cherryvale, Kansas on Nov.19, 1925, the son of the late Mayor Charles S. and Francis C. McGinness, Bill graduated high school in 1943, Valedictorian of his CHS class. He attended Wentworth Military Academy for one year, before entering the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; Commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force upon graduation in 1948, Bill completed flight training in Texas and Louisiana before flying to Washington, D.C. where he and Catherine were married in 1949. Assigned to Smyrna A.F.B. in Tenn., Bill flew his Troop Carrier plane to Japan to drop paratroopers in Korea during the Korean War. Upon returning to the U.S., he earned his Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University in 1952 and began teaching Air Operations in Naval Warfare and Meteorology at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. Bill's next assignment, in 1955 was in Research and Development; during which time he was assigned as Liaison Officer to the National Academy of Science at Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Maine. A year later he was sent to San Antonio, TX to become qualified as a jet pilot. In 1960 he completed Command and Staff School in Montgomery, Alabama before being assigned to the Pentagon in Research and Development Programs. Bill attended the Defense Intelligence School in 1965, preparing him for his assignment as Assistant Air Attache, U.S. Embassy, Paris, France from 1966 to 1969. An Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, he served as Assistant Boy Scout Commissioner for France, while in Europe. Retiring from the Air Force in 1969, Bill moved to Dallas, TX to become a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of Manufacturing of Liquid Paper Corporation. During his tenure, he also served as Chairman of the Board, President and CEO Liquid Paper Ltd, Toronto, Canada. After Liquid Paper Corp. was sold in 1979, Bill worked for Bunker Sales and Marketing / ESCO for nearly 20 years. Bill was a member of the Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi; The North Texas Association of West Point Graduates, the Cherryvale Kansas Masonic Lodge, the Independence Kansas Masonic Lodge and Knights Templar. An active member of Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist in Dallas and the First Church of Christ Scientist, Boston, MA., Bill served his church as a member of the Board of Trustees, First Reader, Treasurer, Sunday School teacher and Sunday School Superintendent as well as many other church committees. A friend recently described Bill as "an example of flawless character, integrity, strength and kindness". He had a heart big enough to embrace the whole world. Preceded in death by his sons William T. Jr. and Charles R., Bill is survived by his wife Catherine R., his son Allen R., daughter-in-law Jill L., granddaughters Teryn R. and Mackensie T. of Dallas, brother Charles C. McGinness of Joplin, MO, and sister Constance H. D. Davis of Green Valley, Arizona. A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 18 at 12:00 noon at Sparkman Hillcrest funeral home. Military interment will be at the Arlington National Cemetery Chapel, Washington. D.C. on Friday, March 14, 2003 at 11:00am. Flowers may be sent or contributions can be made to Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, Dallas, Texas or the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Dignity Memorial Sparkman Hillcrest 7405 W. Northwest Hwy. Dallas (214) 363-5401 Published in the Dallas Morning News on 1/16/2003.

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