Lt. Col. Jon Vincent Caples

[ironputts]

April 28, 2022

Lt. Col. Jon Vincent Caples
CO-001 COWG HQ
Colorado Wing

Jon Caples will be remembered for his smile, his sense of humor and his love of aviation. Jon passed away April 3, 2022, at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree CO after a lengthy illness. He was 68.

A native of Brunswick, Georgia, Jon called Colorado home since 1985.  His love of learning led to two bachelor's degrees -- Electrical Engineering Technology from Savannah State University in 1976, General Studies from Roosevelt University in 1985, and Master of Science in Computer Systems Management from the University of Southern California in 1987.

As a member of the Naval ROTC at Savannah State, Jon was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1976. He served at posts in Florida, California, Alaska and Hawaii specializing in anti-submarine warfare and intelligence.  After joining the Naval Reserve in Denver, Jon provided critical intelligence analysis to the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Space Command during Operation Desert Storm.  He retired from the Navy in 1998 with the rank of Lt. Commander.

Jon's interest in aviation began in Georgia where he washed planes while in high school to pay for flying lessons.  He also joined the Civil Air Patrol, beginning an affiliation that lasted for much of his life.  He received several national awards as a cadet. As an adult member of the CAP, Jon served as Standards and Evaluation Officer for the Colorado Wing.

Jon worked as a systems and quality engineer at Martin Marietta, now Lockheed Martin Corp., from 1986 to 1991. He joined United Airlines Flight Center in Denver in 1991 as an Academic Instructor for the B-757/767 fleet. He also maintained aircrew training materials for the DC-10 program and revised software for the B-757 initial computer-based training ground school.

In 1997, Jon passed his Airline Transport Pilot rating and was hired as a pilot by Mesa Air Group Inc., He served as First Officer and Captain on the Beechcraft 1900. In 2001, he moved to Air Wisconsin Airlines as pilot of the Dornier 328. He logged more than 5,000 flight hours.

When medical issues curtailed his commercial flying career, Jon returned to engineering as an aircraft performance engineer first at Jeppesen Co., then his own company and finally at Jordan Aviation in Amman, Jordan.

Jon's love of cameras began in the photography studio of his parents, Ben and Ruth Caples in Brunswick, who predeceased him.  He was also a dedicated HAM radio operator and enjoyed sharing his knowledge at Ham Radio Outlet in Denver.

He enjoyed teaching young people about aviation as a flight instructor and was named Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year FAA Northwest Region in 1995. He was a volunteer docent with the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum Exploration of Flight Center at Centennial Airport and with the International Association of Astronomical Studies. He was also a member of numerous professional aviation organizations.

Jon is survived by his wife of 26 years, Jeanie Stokes, and his dog Scooter; three sisters in Georgia, Barbara and Donna Caples, Cynthia Norman (Warren), and nieces and nephews. He has two daughters, Amanda Duffendack (Jeff) of Parker CO and Karyn Smith (Jared) in Cheyenne WY.  He has one grandson, Brett Duffendack, and four granddaughters, Julia Thomas, Camryn Duffendack, Kaitlyn and Kylie Smith.

Colorado Wing Note