1928-2009
Loved Family, Farming and Flying
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He passed away peacefully at the University of Colorado Burn Center in Denver on April 7, 2009. He was life-flighted there on March 6 after an accident on his hay farm in Olathe. When his loved ones remember Derald Skalla and think of him in the years to come, it will not be that last flight nor his death that they remember. It will be his flight through life, and how that flight impacted their lives for the good, that they remember.
Derald was born in Telluride, Colo. on March 27, 1928. He is the second of three sons of Tony and Helen Skalla of Norwood, Colo., who preceded him in death, as well as older brother, Allan (wife Berti) Skalla of St. George, Utah, and a daughter-in-law, Laura Skalla, of Austin, Texas.
Derald is survived by his wife, Jan and their son, Matt and his fiancée Radhika, all of Montrose. He is also survived by his children, Teresa Skalla Cranney of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Greg and Christine Skalla of Monkton, Md., and Barbara Skalla of Columbia, Md. Derald’s brother, Dean, and his wife, Judy Skalla, live in Ridgway. Derald is also survived by four precious grandchildren, Mark, Sandy, Rebecca and Rachel Skalla.
His interest in flying began as a youth in Uravan, where his father was mining uranium and vanadium. His first solo flight was at the tender age of 16. He wanted to be ready to fly if he was needed in World War II. His career in flight spanned the era of propeller planes to the space age. (More on that in a moment.)
A graduate of Nucla High School, he played on the school’s state champion six-man football team in 1946. Derald was the quarterback. He attended the University of Colorado on a Navy V-6 program and is a graduate of the Naval War College in Monterey, Calif.
Derald flew a fighter/bomber off an aircraft carrier during the Korean War. It’s been said by those who know that launching a plane from a carrier is like being shot out of a cannon, and that landing on a carrier is really just a controlled crash, and one of the most dangerous operations in aviation. Derald no doubt helped save many lives by providing close ground support to U.S. troops, in particular during the battle of Chosin Reservoir. It’s ironic that one of the gentlest souls to ever walk the earth was also a brave warrior.
After the war, Derald tested jet airplanes for the Navy for many years. In such a dangerous job he never had so much as a scratch. Derald was invited to participate in the Mercury Astronaut program and the Navy Blue Angels, but declined in order to continue testing jet aircraft for the Navy. He was assistant director of the Naval Test Pilot school in Patuxent River, Md. He started a second career with Westinghouse as a test pilot in 1970.
Derald and Jan were married in Pasadena, Md., April 11, 1981. They moved to the Redvale area in 1988, where he followed his father’s footsteps and began a retirement career of farming and ranching. In 2003, the family moved to Montrose and Derald continued raising much sought-after horse hay in Olathe.
The things that made Derald happy were family, farming and flying. He also enjoyed doing assessment work on his father’s old uranium claims in the Uravan area with his brothers, especially using the modern technology of ATVs and a GPS. The brothers also enjoyed exploring the red rock country during the off-farming season while listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio.
Derald never met a kid or an animal he didn’t like. When he visited his young granddaughters in Maryland, he would make them special breakfasts and always pick them up at their bus stop after school. He has enjoyed his various dogs over the years, especially his current pets Tazz and Jax. Someone said their goal in life was to be the kind of person their dog thought he was. Derald Skalla was that kind of person.
He delighted in this year’s bumper crop of pinon nuts and was spotted on occasion perched precariously high above in the branches shaking the tree to get its tasty prize to fall. Known as a very even-tempered man, his children remember him helping them with homework, politely!
Derald would only occasionally lose his temper by saying, “Oh, darn!” He never spoke an unkind word about anyone. We have lost an incredibly wonderful man!
Like the prices he charged for his hay, Derald was from another time. His quiet kindness, his respect for others, his duty to country and his love of family all seem to be qualities that are more and more rare these days. His family and friends will all miss him dearly, but they will never forget his humble example, nor his flight through their lives. God speed, Derald Skalla. Contributions in memory of Derald Skalla, may be be made to The University of Colorado, Attn:Burn Unit, 225 East 16th Avenue, Suite 900, Denver, CO 80203.
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 11, 2009, at Crippin Funeral Home Chapel. Interment with military honors will follow the service at Cedar Cemetery on Miami in Montrose. Arrangements are under the direction of Crippin Funeral Home, Montrose, Colo.
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