William Warren “Tommy” Tomlinson, 91
Lt. Col. - USAF Retired

William Warren “Tommy” Tomlinson died of natural causes on Monday at Florida Presbyterian Homes, Lakeland.
Born in Dover, Delaware on January 20, 1921, he was raised a farm boy. His father grew apples and peaches in Delaware and also ran a hunting reserve in mid-Alabama during the winter. He attended high school in Dover then left to attend college at the University of Delaware for two years where he learned to fly. His college days were interrupted by WWII which led him into a life-time aviation career. His first assignment was as a government contract flight instructor in Lakeland, FL. It was in Lakeland that he met and married Betty Langston, a native Floridian, in July of 1944. They moved twenty-eight times before returning to Lakeland in 1983. In addition to a number of assignments in the states, they lived in Hawaii, Turkey and Portugal. One of their most fortunate assignments was in the Washington, D.C. area where they kept the same address for 10 years. Six of those years were spent at National Airport with a Special Air Missions Group (SAM FOX) transporting high government officials, foreign dignitaries and members of congress on worldwide missions.
Tommy also served in Vietnam. During his time there, he directed 100 SAR (Search and Rescue) missions which resulted in the recovery of 81 aircrew personnel down in hostile areas. In addition, 56 other lives were saved on medical evacuation missions. His exceptional performance was demonstrated during an SAR incident when a large helicopter was forced to land on a sandbar in a river following serious battle damage. He quickly evaluated the enemy threat, arranged for US Cobra gunships to secure the area and Army UH-1 helicopters to recover the downed aircrew. Enemy fire became intense as maintenance personnel and a flight crew was flown in to recover the aircraft. He then coordinated the introduction of Army ground troops who provided protection required to complete the mission. His sound judgement, along with a thorough knowledge of available resources, were vital to the success of the mission.
Upon retirement from the Air Force, he held a faculty position as an Associate Professor of Aviation at the University of Illinois. He thoroughly enjoyed his work at Illinois and followed the progress of his students in the aviation world. In 1983, he retired from that position and moved to Lakeland, where he was immediately hired by Flight Safety International and was involved in training corporate and airline pilots in turbo-prop aircraft. He finally retired in 1995 but continued to volunteer at Sun N Fun for many years.
Tommy loved his Lord, his family, friends and everything connected to flying. He was especially devoted to his wife of 55 years, Betty.
Tommy was preceded in death by his oldest son, Thomas Russell “Rusty” Tomlinson in 1992 and his wife, Elizabeth Langston Tomlinson in 1999. He is survived by his sister, Elisabeth Tomlinson, Dover, DE; son, John L. Tomlinson (wife Linda), Maitland, FL; daughter, Barbara A. Kieszek (husband Joe), Fort Walton Beach, FL; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Tomlinson, Chantilly, VA; grandchildren, Melissa Tomlinson Romo (husband Agustin), Warren Tomlinson (wife Amy), Graham Tomlinson, Jason Kieszek, Connie Kieszek, Mark Tomlinson (wife Joanna) and Leigh Tomlinson; and great-grandchildren Ian Romo, Julian Romo, Alexander Tomlinson and ZacharyTomlinson.
He was a devoted and active member of the First Presbyterian Church, Lakeland. Services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Friday at First Presbyterian Church, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland. Memorials may be made to the Memorial Fund, First Presbyterian Church, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33803.
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