Commercial aviation historian Jonathan “Jon” Proctor, 78, died on April 22, 2020, in Sandpoint, Idaho. A celebration of life for the former River Forest resident will be held in the Lee Hangar at Sandpoint Airport on a date TBA.
Born on April 18, 1942, to Capt. Willis Heath Proctor and Lucena (Wood) Proctor in Chicago, he lived in River Forest until 1957, when the family moved to La Jolla, Calif. Jon graduated from La Jolla High School in 1960 and attended Palomar College and San Fernando Valley State. He worked for Pacific Southwest Airlines at the San Diego Airport in 1963 and joined Trans World Airlines (TWA) in 1964, interrupted only by a stint with Pan Am.
After retiring as a TWA line flight attendant in 1991, he worked for FedEx in Connecticut and commenced contributing to Airliners and Airways magazines. In 1993, he moved to Sandpoint, transferring to FedEx in Coeur d’Alene. He later became editor-in-chief of Airliners magazine and the Great Airliners Series of books. He wrote Convair 880 & 990 and Boeing 720 in the series, co-authored From Props to Jets, and co-edited Trans World Airlines – A Book of Memories. He photographed commercial airliners from childhood on.
A Bird Aviation Museum docent, EAA Sandpoint 1441 member and Festival at Sandpoint volunteer for many years, he was the first recipient of the World Airline Historical Society’s “Paul Collins Award” for his outstanding contribution to airline history preservation.
Preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Dick, Bill and Bob Proctor, Jon is survived by his sister-in-law, Ann Proctor; his nephew, Rick Proctor; his nieces, Penny Beebe, Joanne Proctor Spevack and Susan Proctor; and other relatives.
Memorial donations may be made in Jon Proctor’s name to Sandpoint EAA Chapter 1441, P.O. Box 1301, Sandpoint, ID 83864. Look up jonproctor.net to learn more.
