Lt. Col. Don Arthur Oldis

Lt. Col. Don Arthur Oldis, Sr. USAF (retired) died Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at his home in The Huntington Landmark in Huntington Beach, California, following a bout with pneumonia. He was 90 years old.

He is survived by his third wife, Eilene, 9 children, 14 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. His large family includes daughter Eloise Hall and son Daniel Oldis from his first marriage to Betty Seymoure Oldis; sons Don Jr. (a.k.a. "D.A.") and David Oldis, and daughter Stephanie Gerg from his 50 year marriage to second wife Jean Sickels Oldis (deceased); and step-children Lana Nelson, Nanse Payne, Jon Lowry and Jenni Sisk from Jean's first marriage to Wayne Lowry.

Oldis was born on September 20, 1924 in Hinton, Iowa to Arthur William Oldis and Minnie "Gigi" Soule Oldis. He attended North Junior High School and Central High School, both in Sioux City, Iowa. He graduated in 1942, enlisted in the US Army Air Corp and was sent to cadet training school in California. He became a fighter pilot, stationed in the Pacific Theater on the island of Attu in the Aleutians. While there he found a dog presumably left by the Japanese Army when they made their hasty retreat off the island a few days before the Americans recaptured it. True to his swashbuckling nature, Oldis took the dog, which he named Blackie, back to the States in the cockpit of his P-38 at the end his tour of duty.

After World War II Oldis returned to Iowa where he joined the Air National Guard, took a job in the advertising department of the Sioux City Journal, married nurse Betty Seymoure and had his first two children.

On April 15, 1951 his unit (the 174th) was activated and he, along with 101 other aviators, including his buddies Gen. Richard Baughn (ret.) and Col. Warren "Bud" Nelson (ret.), were recruited for a classified Cold War mission created to deter the Russians from invading West Germany, an action which would potentially have caused the outbreak of World War III. Long range bombers had dropped the A-bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima but Oldis' unit would be the first squadron of fighter planes to carry atomic bombs.

The group initially went to Langley Air Force Base to receive training in high-altitude dive-bombing. They were taught to climb to 20,000 feet, dive down then pull up and flip away upside-down, releasing their single atomic bomb upward and outward in the process. This unusual maneuver was designed to give the pilot as much time as possible to escape the blast radius.

After Langley they moved to Sandia, New Mexico to learn about the inner workings and destructive power of atomic weapons. Finally the group, called the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing, flew to England where they were each assigned a specific target in Russia. They stood on alert for months on end in England but never had cause to deliver their ordnance since the Russians, who feared the possibility of a nuclear reprisal, opted not to cross into West Germany.

After England, Oldis returned to Iowa and rejoined the Air National Guard. He and Betty divorced and he later married Jean Sickels with whom he had three more children. He initially resumed his job at the Journal but left in the late 1950's to start his own newspaper – the Sioux City Press Dispatch. He also ran for City Council in the early 1960's but was defeated by Stanley Gregg who went on to become a U.S. Congressman.

Oldis was known as a crusader and rabble-rouser who used his newspaper to expose the corruption allegedly running rampant in the local Sioux City government and police department. But his business was eventually burnt to the ground under mysterious circumstances. At that point Oldis decided to leave Sioux City and move his growing family to Fullerton, CA, where he continued to fly for the Air National Guard.

After two years he once again relocated, this time to Lakewood, a suburb of Denver, Colorado. He worked for several years in newspaper advertising in Colorado but then took a job as the Director of the Merchants Association for the Villa Italia Shopping Center in Lakewood. Then along with wife Jean, Oldis later owned and operated two businesses inside the mall – the Gladiator Restaurant and Forum Banquet Hall.

Oldis was still flying for the Air National Guard in 1972 – having achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel – when he was informed by the military that on his 48th birthday he would no longer be eligible to fly and would have to accept a desk job. Not interested in staying in the Air Force if he could no longer be a pilot, Oldis passed on a likely promotion to full-bird Colonel and retired from the Air Force after 30 years of distinguished service. About this time he also sold his fledgling businesses at the Villa Italia Mall.

Never one to give up, Oldis began a new career in Real Estate in 1972. Astonishingly, by 1973 he was the top real estate agent in Colorado. The following year he was the top ReMax agent in the entire United States. Two years later he opened his own company – Don Oldis Realty and continued to thrive. But when interest rates skyrocketed and the real estate market crashed in 1981 he pulled up stakes and once again moved his family to Southern California. Once again he delved into real estate, specializing in bank REOs (Real Estate Owned, also known as Foreclosures) and continuing to win Top Realtor awards.

In California, Don and Jean Oldis became active members of American Legion Post 291 in Newport Beach. The duo could be found dancing and dining there every Friday night for decades. And Oldis would regularly stump for his favorite Post 291 officer candidates. But Jean's health began to fade and she passed away at age 87 in the summer of 2013. Later that year Don married his business partner, Eilene Huffman, and the newlyweds continued the tradition of frequenting the Legion.

In his twilight years Oldis belonged to the Orange Country Freedom Committee, actively attended meetings held by MOAA (Military Officers Association of America) and the Old Bold Pilots group, played poker with his friends in Huntington Beach every Tuesday, spoke often at Veterans Day celebrations and venues like the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA, was the Grand Marshal in multiple parades, and was a Living History subject for students from various Orange County high schools. And all the while he continued to sell real estate, his career buoyed by the hundreds of faithful clients and friends he had won over during his previous 34 year residency in California.

Right up until his last moments Oldis was busy designing a new advertising campaign, planning a cross-country trip and envisaging his future speaking engagements. He loved life, loved people and loved working. He was truly bigger than life.

Some of the planes he flew during his 30 year tenure in the Air Force:

WWII: P-38, P-51, P-39

Korea: P-51, F-80, F-84, F-86

Vietnam: C-119, C-121, C-124

A closed-casket memorial service will be held for Lt. Col. Don Arthur Oldis, Sr., USAF (retired) on at 11AM Thursday, July 9, 2015 at American Legion post 291, located at 215 15th Street, Newport Beach, CA 92663.

Before the memorial service an open-casket viewing will be held from 8:30AM until 10AM on Thursday, July 9, 2015 at Harbor Lawn – Mount Olive Mortuary located at 1625 Gisler Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

The burial will take place at 11AM on Saturday, July 11, 2015 at Logan Park Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa.