Baker City, Oregon
Brian Lee Moody, 34, died in a plane crash Nov. 16, 2000, west of Sturgill Mountain in Idaho. The wreckage of the Cessna 206 was found May 21, 2001.
A memorial service celebrating his life will be at 11 a.m. Friday, June 15, at First Lutheran Church, 1734 Third St. in Baker City.
He was owner and operator of Baker Aircraft Inc., the fixed base operation at the Baker City Municipal Airport. He was a commercial pilot and certified flight instructor. He participated in golf and pool leagues in Baker City. With his great love of the outdoors, his interests included camping, biking, sailing, hiking and skiing.
Mr. Moody was born July 23, 1966, at St. Louis Park, Minn. He grew up in Buffalo Grove, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Graduating from Buffalo Grove High School in 1984, he was involved in orchestra, choir and tennis, and he won a state award in drafting. He was also active in his church.
He graduated in 1988 from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., with a major in geography. While in college he was president of the Chapel Choir, and he also studied in Sweden for a semester. After college he was the boating director at Camp Michigania, and a flight attendant for Midway Airlines. Upon deciding to become a pilot in 1990, he worked in St. Paul, Minn., for Regent Aviation and Business Aviation before purchasing Baker Aircraft in March 1997.
Mr. Moody is survived by his fiance, Lois Gates, and her son, Sam, of Baker City; his parents, Beverly and Richard Moody of Buffalo Grove; his sister, Lora, brother-in-law, Marty, and niece, Anna Victoria Clausen of Lawrenceville, Ga.; his grandmother, Olga V. Moody of St. James, Minn.; his godchild, Lindsay Semler of Lake Forest, Ill.; many friends, aunts, uncles and cousins; and his dog, Samantha.
Mr. Moody was preceded in death by his grandparents, Esther and Emil Wolner, and Aldie Moody.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Brian L. Moody Aviation Scholarship Fund in care of U.S. Bank’s Baker City Branch, P.O. Box 827, Baker City, Ore., 97814.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, June 8, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor