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Obituary for Kay Braxton (KB) Pearce of Atlanta. Georgia
April 9, 1939 - February 8, 2021
KB Pearce passed away on Monday February 8, 2021 with his wife Elda by his side. KB was hired by Delta Airlines in June of 1966 and retired as a Boeing 767 Captain and Line Check Airman on the 31st. of May 1997. KB had 31 years of service with Delta based in Atlanta, Georgia.
He was on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1960 until 1966. He was assigned to the Flight Escort Battalion, serving the Pentagon and the Executive Branch in Washington D.C. Prior to that he was with the 11th Air Assault Division at Fort Benning Georgia from February 1963 to June 1965, where they received some of the first OV-1 Mohawk aircraft when units were being formed. Captain Pearce was a gunnery range instructor for armed Mohawks.
He joined the Georgia Guard when he got hired by Delta Airlines. In February,1970, KB was one of two OV-1 pilots that brought the first two Mohawks to the Georgia Army National Guard. KB was the commander of the 159th Avn. Co., one of two Mohawk units in Georgia. Major Pearce became 151 Avn. Bn. Executive Officer and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, Assistant State Aviation Officer with 26 years of total service.
KB was the past president of the Mercedes-Benz club of America and the International Gullwing Group. He was an outstanding member of the Make a Wish Foundation.
KB was born on April 9, 1939 at Pearce's community in Franklin County, N.C., to Mavis Hayes Pearce and Aaron Jackson Pearce. He is survived by his wife Elda, son Kay Braxton Jr., three grandchildren, Kay Braxton III (Kelli), Brandon, Mary Margaret; great granddaughter Kinley Pearce, great grandson James Jones Boswell, brother-in-law Ronald McFadden (paggie), nephews Brent (Amy) and Timothy McFadden.
Source of obituary: PCN Flight West (representing all pilot families now under the Delta umbrella). http://pcnflightwest.blogspot.com
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John R. Jivatode
I knew Kay since grammer school. We were close friends during high school. I am sad to hear that he has passed on.
William Grady
Kay was my next door neighbor. Their family had a very cool Cadillac with those big fins on the back. Kay, Dickie Griffin, and I used to go over to State to lift weights, and we played a lot of Ping Long at Vetville. I was a little envious he learned to fly, and was proud to know him as he distinguished himself as an airman. Kay's list of a compliments show that he lived a life of service. Well done!,Thomas B. Carroll
Kay Pearce and GG Hall where the alpha males in our elementary class at Boiling Heights and then at Hugh Morison, which they brought over to Broughton when they came in the fall of '56. The rest of us non alphas had to settle for the slim pickings. Kay always was interested in the armed forces. So it was no surprise when he enlisted and became an aviator, another of his interest from a preteen. He was a good friend and a true national hero for his service to the nation he loved. He was one of the good guys and shall be missed by all who came into his sphere of contact. Tom Carroll