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Michael R. Cooper passed away on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, at his home in Country Estates.Michael was born on February 23, 1947, to Walter Ralph Cooper and Sybil Baxley Cooper. He was born and raised in Clearwater, FL.He joined the Navy in 1965, and in 1973, graduated from Vanderbilt University, as a Naval Officer, with a degree in Computer Science and Engineering.After flight school in Pensacola, FL, he began flying E2's for the Navy on the Enterprise aircraft carriers off the Coral Seas. He taught aviation at the Pensacola Naval Flight Training School for ten years.About 1984, or so, Michael was stationed at Miramar Naval Base and continued to live in the San Diego area until retirement.Michael was loved, thought well of and respected by many friends and his family. Funeral service will be held on Friday, February 28, 2020, at 11:30am, at Miramar National Cemetery. His ashes will be inurned in a military ground plot and hopefully a fly-by may happen.Please join us at his Miramar service to gather and pay our respects for an officer and a gentleman, good man, good friend and good brother.Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Noble Drive, San Diego, CA 92122. Bonham Bros & Stewart Mortuary and Cremation Service is assisting the family. Please sign the guest book online at legacy.com/obituaries/ ramonasentinel Michael Ralph Cooper February 23, 1947 - December 10, 2019
Published in the Ramona Sentinel on Jan. 16, 2020
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On 12 February 2019 Lieutenant Daniel Joseph “FEY” McGourty, a Hawkeye pilot, passed away after a heroic battle fighting cancer.
McGourty is a 2001 Wallowa High School graduate. He joined the Navy in 2003 after fulfilling basic education requirements at Eastern Oregon University. He enlisted in the Navy to see the world, but the Navy soon saw something in him and began to invest heavily in his career. He began his career as an Aviation Electrician and Air Crewman Rescue Swimmer and was soon serving as crew chief on a medevac helicopter in Kuwait. He received an Army Commendation Medal for his work in Kuwait, where he served November 2005 to May 2006. By 2007 McGourty was enrolled in the Seaman-to-Admiral 21 program on his way to a commission. The Navy then sent McGourty for more training and he earned a Mechanical Engineering Degree in 2011, after which he was commissioned as ensign prior to beginning flight training. He was designated a Naval Aviator in 2013 and went on to fly E-2C Hawkeye jets with the “Golden Hawks” Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 112. He was deployed in the Western Pacific in 2016 aboard the USS John. C. Stennis. Dan McGourty, son of Ron and Celene Gay of Wallowa, Oregon, has been awarded the President George Herbert Walker Bush Award, given to first-tour, carrier-based pilots who best exemplify the skill, commitment, loyalty and courage of America’s 41st President. The elder Bush was commissioned and winged just days before his 19th birthday and was the youngest Naval Aviator on record. He later was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for combat action. McGourty received the award during the 2017 Tailhook Reunion in Reno, Nev. A superb officer who had already made his mark on our Community and was very popular with all who knew him, there was a desire to honor his memory in some way. The VAW/VRC Wing directed that the auditorium in the new Hawkeye training building at Pt Mugu be named after LT McGourty. The auditorium was dedicated in his honor during a ceremony 19 September 2019.  Thomas Richard Amantea, Esq. Captain, United States Navy (Ret.)
Longtime Bonita resident and attorney, Captain Thomas Amantea, U.S. Navy (Ret.) passed away peacefully on Nov. 30th after a long and valiant battle with complications from surgery to repair an aneurism. He was 82. Captain Amantea was born Jan. 4, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York to Ignatius and Concetta (Caruso) Amantea. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and graduated from City University of New York with a Bachelor degree in Political Science. Besides his family, to whom he was devoted, Tom had three passions: naval aviation, law and fishing. Upon graduation from college, he joined the Navy and completed flight training in Pensacola, Florida. In April of 1960, he was commissioned an Ensign through the Aviation Officer Candidate program and embarked upon a distinguished, 26-year career as a Naval Flight Officer. He rose to command Airborne Early Warning (VAW) Squadron 114, composed of carrier-based E2B (Hawkeye) aircraft. Captain Amantea was a Vietnam War veteran. Among his numerous sea and shore assignments, he served as Flag Secretary to Commander Carrier Division Three based in Alameda, California and as Comptroller on the staff of Commander Naval Air Forces, Pacific Fleet. His medals and decorations include the Air Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, Navy Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (with silver star), Vietnamese Air Gallantry Cross, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross (with palm device) and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. While in the Navy, Tom attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, graduating with a Master of Science degree in Economics and Systems Analysis in 1966. He also attended the National War College, graduating in 1978. After retiring from the Navy, he took up another of his passions and enrolled in law school, graduating from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree. He then passed the California Bar exam and opened his own private practice in Bonita, focusing on estate planning and tax law. Tom was an avid sports fan and he particularly loved baseball and fishing. He enjoyed fishing for lake trout from his boat with his fishing buddies and camping with family members. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. Tom had a wide circle of friends who greatly appreciated his keen sense of humor and his legal counsel. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Marianne, a retired psychiatric nurse and Director of Outpatient Services; their three children Lisa (Jeff) Jarvis, Thomas (Angelica) Amantea, Jr. and Jason Amantea and grandchildren Christopher, Sophie, Samantha and Michael. He is also survived by two siblings, Richard (Lisa) Amantea and Angela Ferrando and many nieces and nephews. Burial with military honors will be at Miramar National Cemetery on Monday, Dec. 16 at 1:30 PM. |
VAWVRC Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.