ERNST SEHLMEYER, 85

 

Great Kills native had passion for airplanes

Monday, August 29, 2005

 

Former Staten Islander Ernst Gottfried Sehlmeyer, died Thursday, August 25^th, at his Casper, Wyo., home. He was 85.

 

Born in Great Kills in 1920 to German parents, he graduated from Tottenville High School in 1937. After graduation, he enrolled in several schools until he settled on the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics to study the mechanics of airplanes.

 

The Islander who would eventually work as an industrial engineer for United Airlines then traveled to Baltimore, where he worked on B-26 bombers and learned to fly, said his granddaughter, Kim Buyske.

 

"He loved to fly. He definitely liked the mechanics of it because he was an engineer at heart," Ms. Buyske said.

 

Mr. Sehlmeyer enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942 and served for four years as a flight instructor, his granddaughter said.

 

After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1951 with a degree in mechanical engineering, he settled in Los Altos, Calif., to work for United Airlines. He retired in 1985.

 

Mr. Sehlmeyer and his wife of 59 years, Marjorie Jean, then moved to Wyoming to be closer to their grandchildren.

 

Her grandfather's love of mechanics transcended his career, Ms. Buyske said, recalling quality time during visits with him.  "He had a lot of grandchildren and he always tuned up their cars. Every time we would go and visit he would take us outside and remind us how to fill our tires up with air," she said.

 

Mr. Sehlmeyer was a member of the Civil Air Patrol in Casper. He was a Civil War history buff, and his bookcase was filled with volumes ranging from architecture to alternative medicine, Ms. Buyske said.

 

In addition to his wife, Mr. Sehlmeyer is survived by his son, Pete Sehlmeyer; his three daughters, Claire Venn, Barbara Buyske and Kris Graves; 12 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. The funeral will be today from the Newcomer Family Funeral Home, Casper, with a service at 2 p.m. in the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery Chapel. Burial in the cemetery will follow.

 

Source: Staten Island Advance on line edition.

 

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