More detail on this person: Glenn Alden
Leister, 72, a retired Army lieutenant colonel,
died Feb. 10, 2006, at his home in Lynchburg of
prostate cancer.
Col. Leister, who was born in McAlester, Okla.,
entered the Army in 1956 and served for 26 years
until his retirement in 1982. He was a master Army
aviator whose military service included two tours
in Vietnam flying both Caribous and helicopters.
He earned 19 Air Medals, the Vietnamese Cross of
Gallantry with Palm and a Bronze Star with one oak
leaf cluster. While in the army, Col. Leister
served two tours with Headquarters, FAA in
Washington, D.C. He received a Legion of Merit
award for his work in rewriting the Airman's
Information Manual and Standard Instrument
Departure Procedures and a second Legion of Merit
for developing procedures used in air traffic
control, flight advisory and flight assistance to
users of national airspace. He wrote the Army's
first ATC Flight Facility and Service Evaluation
Handbook.
After retiring from the Army, he worked for the
Helicopter Association International as director
of Heliports, Airways and Regulations and also as
director of Safety and Flight Operations. He
represented HAI on the FAA National Airspace
Review Executive Committee, NAR, RTCA, ICAO,
NASA and NTSB. Col. Leister also served on the
University of Southern California Aviation
Advisory Board.
His commitment to aviation continued after he left
Washington by writing for Professional Pilot
Magazine. He wrote the Av Hazard and Accident
Recap columns and particularly enjoyed writing
feature articles on new helicopters and
technology.
Col. Leister graduated with a bachelor's degree in
fine arts from Oklahoma State University in 1955,
and graduated from the University of Southern
California with a master's degree in aerospace
safety and systems management in 1970.
Thereafter he continued to give impromptu safety
lectures to family, friends, and complete
strangers.
After moving to Lynchburg, he was a member and
strong advocate of Peakland Baptist Church. He
continued his passion for aviation and made his
last flight three weeks before his death. Everyone
who visited him later knew that he made one last
perfect landing while co-piloting Harry Tatum's
Cessna.
Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Sue C.
Leister of Lynchburg; five children and their
spouses, David and Beth Leister of Ft. Defiance,
Ariz., Karen and Ed Pagan of Flemington, N.J., Don
Leister and Laura Chessin of Richmond, Melinda
and Andrew Reams of Bedford, Bryan and Becky
Leister of Alexandria; and 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Peakland
Baptist Church at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 with
a reception following. Burial will be in
Arlington
National Cemetery at 11 a.m. March 8 with full
military honors.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests honoring
Glenn's memory through the Hospice of the Hills or
the Gimbie Project at Peakland Baptist Church of
Lynchburg.
Heritage Funeral Service and Crematory, (434)
239-2405,
From: Lynchburg News & Advance internet news
paper dated February 12, 2006.
Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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