IAC Chapter 12 is deeply saddened by the passing of long time member, pilot and friend, Lloyd Stoops.  He passed away recently after a courageous battle with cancer.  Here is the announcement from his family.  Our sincere condolences to Mary, Scott and the rest of his family.

OBITUARY

LLOYD DEAN STOOPS

Lloyd Dean Stoops was born October 1, 1948, the last of three sons, to Lloyd Wayne and Dorothy Agnes Stoops in Liberal Kansas.  Lloyd’s family moved to Tyrone, Oklahoma shortly thereafter.  Lloyd was active in athletics, and although he was a bit shy, was smitten with his future wife, Mary Ellen Lunceford whom he dated throughout High School. After his graduation he not only married his love, Mary, but with her help he earned his A&P Mechanics license and completed his degree in Aeronautics. 

Degree in hand, Lloyd applied for and was accepted into USAF pilot training. Lloyd graduated 1^st in his class of some 50 students in 1973, allowing him to choose his assignment. With a newborn son, Scott, at home he chose the C-9 Nightingale which allowed him to spend more time with his growing family. That assignment flew government dignitaries, military patients and their families and children all over the county. While at Scott AFB, his second son, Ryan, was born, making their family complete.

Post Air Force, Lloyd began his airline career with Frontier Airlines. After multiple furloughs and extended airline struggles including a time at Continental, Lloyd was hired at United Airlines. Lloyd’s career at United was defined by his time as a Boeing 737 and Airbus Captain. Lloyd was a “pilot’s pilot”, who loved managing the risks of flying commercially.  He was proud to say he never had a scratch or ding on any plane at any time, and was highly respected by his peers.  He retired in 2013 as an Airbus Captain. 

Aviation in all forms were near and dear to Lloyd’s heart and he was most at home flying an airplane. As a young man, he built a Pitts S1 (N99LS) from plans, and in retirement built an RV-8 (N390LS). In the middle he flew competition aerobatics in a Yak-55M (N555LL) and Sukhoi 26mx (N25SU) while also volunteering for IAC contests as a judge. He and Mary were fixtures at local Colorado contests for many years.  

Lloyd is survived by wife Mary, son Scott and his wife Michelle, son Ryan, grandchildren Andrew, Alex, Abigail, and Kamryn, brother Roger, many in-laws, nieces and nephews, and many good friends he enjoyed spending life with.  As a family, our goal will be to live our lives in a way that would make him proud.  That will be a lofty goal, as his standards for a life well lived were quite high, especially for himself. He will be missed but never forgotten.  

The Stoops family is planning a celebration of Lloyd’s life later this spring at the KLMO airport when the weather warms. we will pass that information along as it becomes available.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in his honor to the Humane Society of Boulder County, TRU Hospice, or a charity of your choice.