Mrs. Dorothy Arline Layne McIntyre

Age 98, passed on to glory on Sunday, August 30, 2015 surrounded by loving family. Retired School Teacher for CMSD and proud Black Female Pioneer in Aviation at West Virginia State College. Beloved wife of the late F. Benjamin “Benny” McIntyre, dear mother of Dianne McIntyre and Donna M. Whyte, cherished grandmother of Miata E. Hunter and Mariama Whyte, loving great-grandmother of Amira Hunter, Aaron Hunter and Micaiah Sibindlana, with many precious nieces, nephews, other relatives and special friends. Family suggests memorial contributions to the Daughters of the King at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Dorothy Layne McIntyre, 98, pioneer in aviation and long-time resident of the Mt. Pleasant community, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Sunday, August 30. Dorothy Arline Layne McIntyre enrolled in West Virginia State College where she completed a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She was accepted into the Civilian Pilot Training Program offered by the college where she received a pilot’s license from the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) in 1940, becoming one of the first black licensed pilots among American women. This accomplishment fulfilled a lifelong dream that began as a child. Born January 27, 1917 in LeRoy, New York, Dorothy’s mother died when she was young leaving she and her sister Ruth to be raised by their father and grandparents until their father remarried. Growing up she would attend annual air shows at the LeRoy Airport, which began her love for flying and aviation. Upon graduation from college, Mrs. McIntyre was hired to work as a bookkeeper by Alonzo Wright in Cleveland, Ohio. She soon met, married F. Benjamin “Benny” McIntyre and joined her husband’s church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal where for many years she taught Sunday School and was a member of Daughters of the King. During her lifetime, she had successful careers as an independent accountant, social worker and a Cleveland Public School teacher, from which she retired in 1979. Mrs. McIntyre was a member of the Tuskegee Airman’s Alumni Association and was profiled in the 2001 publication of the book Distinguished African Americans in Aviation. She was also the subject of the dance production, Take-Off From a Forced Landing, created by her eldest of two daughters, award-winning choreographer, Dianne McIntyre. Among her many awards and honors is the Bessie Coleman Award, inclusion in the International Women’s Air and Space Museum at the Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport, induction into the Cleveland Educators and Alumni Hall of Fame, and recognition by the Tuskegee Airmen North Coast Chapter 17. Mrs. McIntyre’s daughter, Donna M. Whyte, Ph.D., is a lecturer in African-American History and Urban Studies at Cleveland State University. Her two granddaughters, Miata E. Hunter and Mariama Whyte, and three great grandchildren, Amira, Aaron and Micaiah, complete her immediate family. Mr. McIntyre passed away in 2005. Mrs. McIntyre continued to live in her Mt. Pleasant home until she passed away.

Mrs. Dorothy Arline Layne McIntyre

January 27, 1917 - August 30, 2015