I was born in Wilkes-Barre and grew up in Wyoming Valley just across the river from Wilkes-Barre in northeastern PA. My father's family was originally from Plains, PA (the Devlins) and Pringle, PA (the Simonitis's). The Devlins had immigrated from Ireland in the 1870's and the Simonitis's from Lithuania in 1892 according to records from Ellis Island. My mother, a Kennedy, came to the U.S. from England in 1954. She was born near Kilkenny, Ireland in Tubrid.
I got my first plane ride at age 7 at the Forty-Fort Airport, now called Wilkes-Barre/Wyoming Valley Airport (WBW) in 1967 and can remember it vividly. I have many fond memories of watching pilots take off and land at that airport always knowing that some day, I too, would be a pilot. I began taking flying lessons at the New Garden Airport in southeastern PA when I was living in Lancaster County and working for HP in Avondale, PA. I also took some lessons while visiting relatives in Wilkes-Barre and so I was able to solo at the airport where my interest in flying was first sparked, fulfilling a life-long dream.
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