Windsor Sinclair Vick

Windsor Sinclair Vick, age 95, retired Beech Aircraft aeronautical engineer, aircraft A & P mechanic and missionary bush pilot with MAF, flew peacefully into the presence of the Lord Jesus on March 29, 2020, at Larksfield Place Health Care Center, Wichita, Kansas. Windsor, who was proud of his Norwegian heritage, was born in Boyd, Minnesota and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota by his father Jay M. Vick and his mother Hilda M. Vick. He had three brothers and three sisters.

He graduated from Parks Air College (now Saint Louis University) in Cahokia (near St. Louis), Missouri with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. He dreamed of serving our country by being a pilot in World War II and applied to the U.S. Army Air Corps to be a pilot. He was rejected after failing the eye exam. After working with an eye doctor, he then applied to the U.S. Navy where he passed the eye exam but failed the physical, when they discovered that he had a heart murmur. He was then ordered to Chicago to be drafted into the U.S. Army but was examined by two doctors and rejected because of his heart murmur. He moved to Los Angeles, California and began working at North American Aviation, a major American aerospace manufacturer, where he was one of the lead engineers on the North American F-86 Sabre, a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Windsor attended a Billy Graham Crusade inside a tent which had an impact on Windsor coming to a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as his savior. On April 14, 1950, Windsor married beautiful Rosella Lofthus, also a Norwegian from Madison, Minnesota, and they had four children born in Los Angeles. While working in Los Angeles, he became a volunteer in Fullerton, California where several World War II pilots had already formed the Christian Airmen's Missionary Fellowship (CAMF). They changed the name to Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) with a mission and a vision for how aviation could be used to spread the Gospel of Christ. This organization is now Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). MAF came to worldwide attention when, in 1956, MAF-US pilot Nate Saint and four other missionaries were killed on a beach in Ecuador by the primitive Huaorani (Auca) Indians. The story was featured in Life magazine, and several feature films have been made about the life and death of these missionaries, including End of the Spear in 2005. Nate Saint was one of Windsor’s best friends and together they tested Nate’s aerial “bucket drop” method which was used to airdrop and exchange gifts with the Auca Indians before Nate’s death. After Nate Saint’s death, Windsor was called by God to join MAF full-time and in 1959 drove his entire family in a station wagon with a trailer to Ixtapa in southern Mexico, in the state of Chiapas. There, he began his service to his Lord and Savior as a missionary pilot, serving Wycliffe Bible Translators in the remote jungles of Mexico. The family then moved to San Jose, Costa Rica to language school to become fluent in the Spanish language then moved to Siguatepeque, Honduras where he served for eight years. Just as Nate Saint gave his life in MAF service, three other MAF pilots he worked with were killed in flying accidents. Windsor and Rosella returned to the U.S. in 1968, so as not to be separated from their high school aged children. Windsor was hired by Beech Aircraft, in Wichita, Kansas as an advanced design aeronautical engineer and was credited with the original design for what became the Beechcraft Starship airplane. He and Rosella then took a leave of absence from Beech and returned to the north coast of Honduras with MAF and by then had logged thousands of flying hours. He returned to Beech Aircraft and in 1989, retired after 21 years of service. His three sons followed his example of service to our country and community by serving in law enforcement, the military and helping senior citizens live out their lives in dignity and his daughter is a prayer warrior.

Windsor was preceded in death by his parents, his lovely bride Rosella Vick on March 30, 1998, his brother John, brother Roger, sister Dorothy Budgett.

Windsor is survived by his sister Helen Hill, brother Tom, sister Patricia Houck, four children: Carolyn Vick, Paul Vick and his wife Ann, Dale Vick and his wife Sandie and Steven Vick and his wife Susan. He has nine grandchildren, Christine Benson, Kristin Brown, Ryan Vick, Andrian Vick, Autumn Vick, Cherissa Hanson, Robert Vick, Steven Paul Vick, Nicole Vick and eleven great grandchildren.

It is unfortunate that the COVID-19 virus caused restrictions by the government for the health and safety of family members and friends shortening the celebration of his life in a normal funeral service and limiting the attendance to ten or less.

From Windsor’s children: We have been blessed to have been raised in a strong Christian home to godly parents who are now together again. “We love you dad and look forward to the day when we see you again.” Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

Wichita – Private service will be held at 11:30am, Sat., April 4, 2020 at the chapel at Lakeview Funeral Home & Cemetery, 12100 E. 13th St N, Wichita, KS, followed by a private graveside service. A visitation will be held between 10:30am to 11:30am. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), P.O. Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653; Tel. 208-498-0759. Go to: https://www.maf.org/donate/tribute. MAF is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit charity.