Arthur H. Corwin

Arthur H. Cowin, 86, passed away March 11, 2018 at home in Olympia, Washington. He was born in Pocatello, Idaho, on December 16, 1931. His parents, Fred and Berniece Corwin, moved to San Francisco with their oldest son, Fred, three daughters, Helen, Betty, and Vyna, when Art was an infant. While a teenager in San Francisco, he worked with his father at Samarkand Ice Cream Co, helping to make ice cream. Art later worked as a service station attendant on Alamaney Blvd. He attended schools in San Francisco and his junior and senior years in Esparto, California, while living with his brother. He learned to play the trumpet in junior high and played with the Daly City Symphony Orchestra. In Esparto, he played the trumpet with the marching band and with the high school dance band with his future wife at the piano. After finishing high school in 1949, he joined the Navy Reserve and continued working as a service station attendant and later as a teamster for Liquid Carbonic in San Francisco. Wanting to become a jet engine mechanic, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1952. At that time, the Air Force needed Air Traffic Controllers. He was sent to Keesler AFB Biloxi, Mississippi, where he attended Control Tower Operator School and Radar School. He served as a controller at McClellan and Castle AFB and, in 1955, at Misawa Air Base in Japan. He was discharged in 1956 while at Travis AFB. While on leave, he married his high school sweetheart, Dolores Corwin, in Nevada on March 30, 1954. They renewed their vows on January 22, 1956, and rented an apartment in Sacramento, where he worked as a teamster for the Pittsburg Des Moines Steel Co. In June, he was hired by the CAA as a control tower operator, assigned to San Francisco Control Tower for a salary of $4,088. In February 1957, he was reassigned to Kirkland AFB Albuquerque, New Mexico, for $11,000. He continued working in various airports, including Tucson, Arizona; Great Fall, Montana; Los Angeles, California; Sacramento, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Maryville, California, and ending his 34-year career in the regional office in Seattle, Washington. He enjoyed working in air traffic control. After leaving the FAA, the family remained in Washington State. Art was an active member in Kiwanis International in Federal Way, Olympia and Lacey from 1986 to 2015, before joining the Lacey Midday Lions Club. He was also active in the Elks Club and Society of Airway Pioneers. Art loved the outdoors. He bought his first boat in 1959. Water skiing and fishing were two of his favorite pastimes. He fished with his boats in Arizona, California, Montana, and Washington. He stream fished and hunted with his friends and father-in-law. Yellowstone Park, Lake Powel and Alaska became favorites. In 1984 while touring Arizona, he became an avid bird watcher, adding 400 species to his Master List, sighting most birds in Arizona and Texas. His early retirement allowed him to travel. He toured every continent except Africa and Antarctica; traveled all 50 states; all but one providence in Canada; sailed on eight cruises; attended 15 Rhoads Scholar trips; and drove many times through the years to California to visit family. Road trips were his favorite. Art and Dolores “Dee” celebrated their 62th anniversary in 2016. Daughter, Zoe, is an Accountant/CPA. Son Brad died in 1978, causing much sorrow but he left his son, Ion Fleming, and three great granddaughters, Jordan, Charlotte and Alice who now live in Colorado. Please leave memories of Art or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.