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Chas Mudie RIP

Chas Mudie

Chas Mudie

Chas Mudie, whom many of us remember as the USAF exchange pilot on the Sqn from 1979 to 1980, passed away in July. His second wife, Beth, writes:

Dear Friends,
I thought you would like to read the full obituary which was published in the Fallbrook, California local newspaper.
Chas was a very special guy who loved and lived to fly and do things fast – the epitome of a fighter pilot.  He was buried in Arden, North Carolina in July, and there was another memorial service for him in Fallbrook in August.
I know there was some confusion about his wife Beth when I sent the first notice of his death back in July.  In the RAF we knew Chas and “Beth I” and their two daughters April and Dawn. Here is a lovely clarification from wife Beth II, who obviously has a good sense of humour.
I am Chas’ second Beth!  (He loved to tell people he never made a ‘mistake’ calling out the wrong name!!). So I’m not the same one you knew, and we were married for 32 years. Sorry I missed the RAF tour with him but I was a military wife before Chas. He and my ex flew together, and when my ex and the other Beth “exited” the respective marriages, Chas and I reconnected after our divorces through a Christmas card in 1982 and the rest is history. Chas and I reared my daughter, Tonda, in our home as she was 9 1/2 when we married, and she was thrilled to have April (then 10 1/2) and Dawn (then 7) as sisters when they came to be with us on their breaks from school until Tonda’s death (from a brain tumor in 2000 when she was weeks short of her 26th birthday).  April has 2 boys, Hunter age 13 and Jakob age 6, and she and her husband, Chris, own a moving business.  Dawn is an emergency doctor and her husband, also a Chris (in line with keeping the ‘same name’ in our family!) is an internal medicine doctor and their daughter Morgan is 5.
Chas and I moved to the north part of San Diego, CA 20 years ago where we loved living as the weather is amazing here.  Should you ever vacation here, my telephone number is (760) 723-0510.  I’ve heard so many stories over the years about his exchange with the RAF.  Our property actually borders the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, so I finally got to see a Harrier flying there one day.  The exchange tour was Chas’ favorite in the military and again, I so wish we had been married then so we could have experienced it together.  Thank you for your thoughtful notes that I read to him.  At present, the pain seems to be controlled and he is very much at peace for which we are most grateful.   We have wonderful support from our family and church family.  God blessed us with these years together but we’d certainly wanted more. My FaceBook page, Beth Trantham Mudie, has a picture of us last year when we were in Montana with April and her family.  Thank you again very much for being in touch with us….much appreciated.  Beth (#2…..both of us have a good sense of humor!)
Chas’s obituary reads:
Charles “Chas” Richard Mudie, LtCol, USAF (ret) Chas transitioned from this life to eternal life with his Maker on July 20, 2016 at his home in Fallbrook, California after an extended battle with cancer. He was born in Pennsylvania on October 28, 1945. He is survived by his wife Beth (Trantham) Mudie; daughters April Mudie Masters of Manor, Texas, and Dr. Dawn Mudie Moreland of New Braunfels, Texas; grandchildren Hunter and Jakob Masters and Morgan Moreland; two brothers, Sam Mudie of Los Angeles and Bob Mudie of Quinlan, Texas; sister-in-law Patty Creasman of Arden, North Carolina; many nephews and nieces, and a special aunt, Jean Jones of Pennsylvania, and Uncle Charles Mudie, also of Pennsylvania. He was predeceased by his parents Ann and Sam Mudie, stepdaughter Tonda Haynes, and granddaughter Ashley Moreland. He was extremely active in many sports in high school, where he was inducted into the Bensalem High School Hall of Fame. At Rutgers University, he attended on academic and football scholarships. He also played lacrosse there and was an All American in his junior and senior years. Chas served as a fighter pilot in the Air Force and did two tours in Vietnam flying F-100 and A-7 aircraft. He was selected to fly with the Royal Air Force as an exchange officer flying the Harrier, assigned to 4 Squadron at RAF Gütersloh from 1979-1980. He served 20 years in the Air Force and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. He had a second career flying commercially and retired from American Airlines who provided a water cannon salute as his family escorted his body for burial in Arden, North Carolina. After retirement, along with his college roommate Frank Rotunda, he helped with the lacrosse program in Fallbrook. He was an avid cyclist, riding in eight “century” rides and one 200-mile ride. He also volunteered with the Live Oak Park Coalition, which is dedicated to preserving outdoor recreational areas. He completed all the courses that Bible Study Fellowship offered and was a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church. A Celebration of Life service was held at the church on August 27. An Air Force color guard provided a solemn military tribute. At his request, memorials may be made to the Texas Tech Foundation, designated for the “Tonda S. Haynes Memorial Scholarship” at Texas Tech University, PO Box 45022, Lubbock TX 79409-5025, or please donate a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child during the 2016 collection in November.

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