“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Myron Collier was one of the lucky ones for whom this was true. Myron’s life on earth ended on November 13th at the age of 95.
Born June 8, 1930 in Butler, Ohio, Myron was the only boy in the family after his twin brother Max passed away at 15 months. He and his two sisters helped on the family’s Springdale Dairy Farm. Myron would help his dad deliver milk every day before school.
From his earliest memories, Myron knew he wanted to be a pilot, despite not knowing any pilots or ever being around airplanes, except the occasional one flying overhead. His dad built his first toy plane fashioned after the Spirit of St. Louis. At ten, he got his first store-bought model airplane that flew only one time.
When he was 14, Myron hitchhiked to the Mansfield Municipal Airport and asked for a plane ride. The war was still going on, and no pleasure flights were allowed. So instead of a ride, they gave him a lesson. On one occasion, Myron rode his bike the 20 miles from Butler to Mansfield, sold it at a hardware store, and found a ride to the airport. He then used the bike proceeds to pay for a lesson, hitchhiking home. Lessons were $11 an hour. All he could afford was $2.75 for a 15-minute lesson. The school could see his interest, so they would stretch out the lessons to a half hour or more. Myron soloed on his 16th birthday.
As a teen, Myron and a friend bought a 40-horsepower Porterfield for $200 from a man in Mt. Vernon. It was so cheap because it needed new fabric. The man flew it to his farm in Butler, and the boys would taxi it around the field. When they grew tired of that, they took the wings off and taxied the fuselage along a straight stretch of State Route 95 near the farm. Myron’s Dad quickly put a stop to that, so they sold it to a local fellow who was going to restore it. Many years later, Myron tracked the plane to an antique airplane museum in Blakesburg, Iowa. In his 60s, he visited that museum and was reunited with the refurbished Porterfield. Before he passed, his family was able to determine that the plane was still on exhibit there some 30 years after that visit.
Myron had a teacher at Butler whose brother was a pilot in the military. At 17, having obtained his private pilot license, he rented a plane to fly to meet him in New York. When asked how he developed a flight plan, he said he would just follow the roads and towns along the way. Mid-flight, the plane experienced a mechanical issue. Approaching the side of a mountain, he made a 180-degree turn and was able to land the plane in a field. Myron spent the night with the owners of the farm while the local airport mechanic repaired his plane. He decided it was best to return to Mansfield.
A basketball star at Butler High School, Myron graduated in 1948 along with nine other
classmates. He would be the only one from his class to go to college. He attended Ashland College (now Ashland University) and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Education degree. (He later would earn a Master of Arts from Ohio State University.) He received his commercial pilot license at 18 and became a certified flight instructor at age 20. He financed his college education by teaching flying. He married Lois Pollock of Lexington and had two daughters.
After the war, military pilots had an advantage in gaining employment with the airlines, so Myron took a job teaching General Science at Johnny Appleseed Junior High School. He taught there from 1953-59. To motivate his homeroom students, he promised them an airplane ride if 90% of them achieved the honor roll. When they did, he fulfilled the promise. He flew each student over their home on their first-ever airplane ride. Needless to say, he became a favorite teacher. In fact, he stayed in contact with them, and at their 40th class reunion, he threw a luncheon for them. These reunion lunches continued until the students were well into their 80s and Myron in his 90s. One of his most treasured possessions is a book of letters from these students recounting their memories with Mr. Collier.
While teaching, Myron continued to fly charters for Richland Aviation. In 1959, a late spring snowstorm stranded executives of the Empire Reeves division of Cyclops Corporation in Michigan. Instead of providing flight instruction that afternoon, Myron flew to Detroit and brought the executives home. That trip earned him a job offer from the president of the division. He finished the school year and on June 15, 1959, at the age of 29, became Chief Pilot/Manger of Flight Operations for Empire Reeves Steel. Over the years, he would fly a Piper Apache, an Aero Commander 500-B and then a King Air B90. His hangar was only the second hangar at Mansfield Municipal Airport and was built by employees of the steel mill.
Myron encouraged his two daughters to learn to fly. His oldest daughter, Becky soloed at 16 but never flew again. His younger daughter, Betsy was a bit of a free spirit and prone to motion sickness, so he never attempted to teach her. Step-grandson Christopher continued the interest in aviation by becoming an Air Traffic Controller in the Navy. Myron had connections with a Navy admiral and was granted permission to ride on the USS Kitty Hawk with Christopher, sailing from Pearl Harbor to San Diego.
In addition to his role as Chief Pilot, he was also a flight examiner. He became a FAA
Designated Flight Examiner and gave countless flight tests as well as instrument exams for over 50 years. If you learned to fly in Mansfield, chances are he gave you your flight test. He was voted Professional Pilot of the Year by the NBAA in 1978 and later served on their Board of Directors for eight years.
In 1981, Cyclops (the parent company of Empire Reeves) bought a Cessna Citation and moved their flight operations to Pittsburgh. Myron had never even sat in a Citation, but after a two-week course at Flight Safety, he was comfortable with the airplane. He commuted to Pittsburgh for two years, and then he and his wife Patricia moved to McMurray, PA where they would remain for over 40 years. He was recently asked who the most famous person was he ever piloted. He replied, “Henry Kissinger,” who he flew from Washington DC to Pittsburgh and back.
One of his most memorable flights was in January of 1982. On the evening of the 13th, he took off from Washington National Airport. Before landing back in Pittsburgh, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the Potomac River. News crews, knowing he had left shortly before that fateful takeoff, were waiting for him in Pittsburgh for comment. In true professional fashion, he declined to speculate on the cause.
On his 66th birthday, Myron tracked down the owner of the Luscombe he soloed in 50 years earlier. The current owner was a retired banker in Burleson, Texas, who agreed to let Myron come and fly the plane on the 50th anniversary of that solo flight.
After Myron retired in 1993, he was approached by the Pittsburgh Steelers to fly for their organization, but declined. In retirement, Myron took great pride in maintaining his yard and working on his computers into his 90s. He had become skilled at and known for making his own greeting cards for family birthdays and holiday celebrations. Myron and Pat enjoyed often visiting the Tange Verde Ranch in Tucson, AZ. He would also travel to California many summers for a boating weekend with some of his aviation friends. His favorite summer outing was to Fredericktown, OH for their annual Tomato Show. This was his favorite because it had become a family reunion of sorts, and he LOVED being with family.
When his wife Patricia passed away in 2023, Myron decided to move back to Mansfield to be closer to the family he loved so much. He enjoyed 2 ½ years back in his “old stomping ground” before having to park his beloved 20-year-old Honda for the last time, due to a chronic heart condition. He was sidelined for a little less than two months before Jesus called him home. He will be remembered as “one of our favorites” by the maintenance staff (who he referred to as technical support) and the housekeeping crew at Waterford.
Myron loved popcorn, Jones chips, gummi bears, and Starbucks coffee. He refused to eat chicken or seafood. He disliked facial hair, despite all of his sons-in-law sporting it handsomely. He owned two computers and five printers. He watched Fox News, Air Disasters, and Steelers football. He adored his children and his buddies (grandchildren). He will be missed greatly.
Myron was preceded in death by his wife Patricia (Tyler) Collier, twin brother Max Collier, parents Mary (Zody) & Lewis Collier, sisters and brothers-in-law Ruth & Robert “Red” Harris and Betty and Richard “Dick” Stimmel, nephew Rick Harris, and son-in-law Thomas Young.
He is survived by daughters Becky Young (Tom) Erndt-Mansfield, OH, Betsy (Mark) Lutz- Mason, OH, Stepdaughter Laura (Barry) Suchocki-Oro Valley, AZ. Grandchildren John-Mark (Megan) Young-Mansfield, OH, Andrew (Carolyn) Young-Columbus, OH, Morgan (Jeffrey) Sparenborg-Provo, UT, and Meredith Langford-Seattle, WA. Step-grandchildren Shelly (Blair) Sturts-Lexington, OH, Christopher (Cindy) Collier-Las Vegas, NV, and Julie (Glenn) Rollins-Statesville, NC. Great-grandchildren: Bella Young, Nash Young, Landrie Young, Caleb Young, Kate Young, Ava Young, Camden Sparenborg, Ember Sparenborg, Ada Sparenborg, Suri Sparenborg, and Wyatt Langford. Step-great-grandchildren Zane (Allie) Sturts, Clay Sturts, Emma Sturts, and Olivia Sturts. Step-great, great granddaughter Marley Sturts. Nieces Linda Lackney, Mary Lou Hannan, Sue Harris, and nephew Jim Stimmel.
In lieu of flowers (because Myron was a very practical man), the family requests donations be sent to Kind Hearts Hospice, 70 Park Ave. West, Mansfield, OH 44902, so that they may serve other families as lovingly as they served Myron.
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”
I Thessalonians 4:13
‘Til we meet again, Dad.
The Collier family will receive friends Friday, November 21, 2025 from 11 am to 1 pm in the Lexington Avenue Snyder Funeral Home where a memorial service will follow at 1 pm. Pastor Les Vnasdale will officiate.
Please visit snyderfuneralhomes.com to leave a message of support for his family.
Funeral Home: Lexington Avenue Snyder Funeral Home
Website: www.snyderfuneralhomes.com