Carrier
in Aviation Mary Eileen Kaehler Raub, age 91, of Erie, Pa., died on
Sunday, May 5, 2013 at Twinbrook Medical Center. She was born on May 16,
1921 in Albion, Pa., a daughter of the late Leo E. and B. Marie
Kaehler. She grew up in Girard, graduated from Rice Avenue High School
and later attended Kent State University. She was a licensed pilot,
while in high school, and became a commercial pilot with ratings for
airplanes, both single and multi-engine, and was an instrumental flight
instructor. She was helicopter rated and held a certification for
maintenance of aircrafts and engines. Mary was employed as a flight
instructor at the former Fairview Airport, prior to becoming the
co-owner and manager of the former Erie Institute of Aeronautics, a
large flight training school at the former Kearsarge airport, which in
now the location of the Millcreek Mall. An extensive fire destroyed the
buildings and closed the school in 1948. She was the owner and operator
of Erie's Copter Service, the finest helicopter business in the Erie
area. Mary was the first woman helicopter instructor for the U.S. Army
at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. She was an FAA Inspector and an accident and
violations specialist. She worked on the National Transportation Safety
Board, as the group chairman on major aircraft accidents. She retired
from the NTSB and returned to Erie, from Fairfax, Va., in 1987. Besides
her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Louis A. Raub, in
1961, and a brother Melvyn Kaehler. She is survived by a sister Peggy
Melichar, several nieces and nephews, and her longtime caregiver, Marty
Wegemer and her husband, Pat. Friends are invited to call at the Brugger
Funeral Homes & Crematory, 1595 West 38th Street, at Greengarden
Blvd., on Tuesday from 11 a.m. until the time of a service at 1 p.m.
there, with Rev. Msgr. Daniel Magraw officiating. Burial will be private
at Girard Cemetery. Condolences and photos may be sent at www.bruggerfuneralhomes.com.
Published in the Erie Times-News on May 6, 2013
