Larry Statham
For 60 years, I wandered around a bit in my career with the Federal
Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Control. Having worked in NM, AZ, NV, CA, CO and IN, some more than once, at thirteen different sites, I’ve enjoyed a variety of responsibilities. Since high school, I’ve lived in ten states, picked up a pilot’s license, raced sports cars, scuba dived, sailed, and fly-fished. I love cooking, but never was bitten by the golf bug.
I’m on my second marriage now, enjoying 46 years with my bride so far. After retiring from FAA, like many others, I tried a couple of jobs to keep busy: picked up a real estate license, worked as an aviation consultant, and taught air traffic control. When I realized I enjoyed travel more than any job except Air Traffic Control, we sold our house 
and made full-time RV travel a life-style for eleven years, not a minute of which I regret.
Now we are settled down again in a cute town outside Tucson called Oro Valley. No snow, not too busy.
I miss the days of freedom that traveling unfettered provides, but not the disadvantages of dragging a house behind you at 65-70 MPH.
Stay young, stay active, and stay safe, classmates. We made great memories.
Larry Statham was in my high school home room. I have been very impressed with his career as an air traffic controller, carefully moving so many airplanes around on that map!
I lived in Colorado Springs in those early years. One Saturday morning I woke up to beautiful, clear and sunny weather and suddenly dashed to the phone to call Denver aircraft information to see if my dad was in the air. I gave out his name and tail number on his Mooney and asked if they had a flight plan. Sure enough, Dad was flying in from Kansas, due to land in 20 minutes. Joel and I dashed through the house to grab every remnant of a promotion party (Joel was Captain Park now), and hide the alcohol from my tea-totaling parents. Then we grabbed the baby and headed to the airport in time to see the plane land and taxi to a stop. At that happy moment I appreciated the personal service of air traffic control—beyond the hair-raising memory of hundreds of planes on the US map in a life-and-death job of three dimensional chess. Thank you, Larry, for being calm and cool-headed all those years when you held our safety in your hands!