Dairis Shifers

After World War 2, his Latvian parents arrived in the USA under a church sponsored refugee program. His given Latvian name is Dairis, forever wrongly spelled and wrongly pronounced. To almost everyone, he was just Ron. After his parents divorced, Ron’s childhood was a Denver story with a single working mom. Ron and his mom were extremely close, and she paid for his flying lessons that began when he was 16. He got that single engine certificate at age 18. Ron received his Bachelor of Science from Metro State. Flying was his love. Ron started flying at Denver’s Pioneer Airlines in 1977, and continued on with Continental Airlines in 1985. He retired from United Airlines in 2015, as a 777 captain flying internationally. Ron loved cars and animals and martinis. He enjoyed his sailboat at Lake Dillon and then his power boat, where the most fun was at Lake Powell. And those cars! His Porsche, his Triumph, the Mercedes and his loyal old Bronco. He gave generously to animal welfare groups, and he and his wife Linda had multiple rescued and adopted dogs and cats. One of his retirement dreams was to drive a new Porsche around Europe and hit 150 mph on the Autobahn. This got done in the autumn of 2018. Two months later, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and his future changed forever. As his illness progressed, his talk was always of his pilot friends and their support. Thank you all! From the depths of his heart, Ron wants all of his friends to know how much they meant to him. And thank you from wife Linda. You sometimes drove me nuts, but you were my best friend and partner in laughter. You were the wind beneath my wings. I will take good care of fur babies, Penny, Boo and Romy. Love you Big Guy. Forever.