hmtl5 Gary Wayne Pitcher b. 16 May 1954 Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon d. 21 Aug 1973 Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon: McKeown Genealogy

Gary Wayne Pitcher

Male 1954 - 1973  (19 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Gary Wayne Pitcher 
    Born 16 May 1954  Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Gender Male 
    Died 21 Aug 1973  Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Buried Fir Grove Cemetery, Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I1090  McKeown
    Last Modified 7 Aug 2023 

    Father Alpha Ottis Pitcher,   b. 28 May 1915, Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Feb 2001, Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 85 years) 
    Mother Ada Fern Chestnut,   b. 15 Jan 1918, Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 12 Sep 1993, Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 75 years) 
    Married 28 Jul 1940  [4
    Family ID F422  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 16 May 1954 - Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 21 Aug 1973 - Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Fir Grove Cemetery, Cottage Grove, Lane County, Oregon Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Notes 
    • LKH note:
      Thomas and Gary both died in a single-engine plane crash.
      [5]
    • Cottage Grove – Federal Aviation Administration investigators have not yet determined the cause of a plane crash that claimed the lives of two brothers here Tuesday.
      Thomas William Pitcher, 31, of Rte.1, Box 11, Cottage Grove, formerly of Pacific, Wash, and his younger brother, Gary Wayne Pitcher, 19, of 414 Thornton Lane, Cottage Grove, died when their single-engine Luscombe plane crashed and burned in a pasture about a mile south of the Saginaw interchange on Interstate 5.
      The two were sons of Cottage Grove State Airport Manager Alpha O. Pitcher. The younger brother had been living at his parents’ home at the airport on Thornton Lane, according to state police.
      The two men had taken off from the small airport apparently just minutes before they crashed at 12:15 p.m. in the pasture just north of the runway, witnesses said.
      The pasture is part of the George Molitor farm on Rte.1 Box 644, Cottage Grove.
      Molitor’s 13-year-old daughter, Sally, told police she was wending a fence when she saw the plane crash. She said it had been flying north about 60 feet off the ground when it suddenly looped on its back, went into a tailspin and dropped almost straight down near a herd of cattle.
      She said she ran and got her father who was the first person at the crash site. Molitor pulled the two men from the burning plane, but they were already dead, she said.
      The plane broke apart and burned on impact. The plane’s nose and cabin were smashed into a shapeless mass, and one wing split off, landing several yards away from the wreckage. Only the wings and tail remained somewhat intact.
      The plane had been purchased recently by Thomas Pitcher, according to state police.
      FAA officials were still investigating the cause of the crash Wednesday, police said. State police added they had not determined the pair’s destination.
      The bodies were taken to Smith-Lund Funeral Chapel in Cottage Grove.
      [newspaper clipping on Find a Grave, no publication information available]
      [3]

  • Sources 
    1. [S8] Find a Grave.

    2. [S40] Oregon death index.

    3. [S57] Newspaper article.

    4. [S3] Obituary.

    5. [S50] LKH note.