A public memorial was held on May 27 in honor of John S. “Jack” Broome, an Oxnard, Calif., rancher and pilot whose philanthropy supported numerous education- and aviation-related projects and programs. Broome died last month at his ranch. He was 91.
Broome, who was among the first thousand people to join AOPA when it was founded in 1939, was a member of the AOPA President’s Council and the Air Safety Foundation’s Hat in the Ring Society. He was a transport pilot in World War II and later worked as an American Airlines pilot, according to The Los Angeles Times . The Times noted that, among his aviation accomplishments, Broome marked the fiftieth anniversary of his first solo flight in 1985 by flying solo round trip across the Atlantic at age 68.
Among numerous philanthropic endeavors, Broome donated $5 million to establish a library at the California State University’s Channel Islands campus.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Patricia; his son, John S. Broome Jr.; his daughters, Elizabeth Broome Grether and Ann Broome Priske; his sister, Elizabeth Broome Miller; and eight grandchildren.
