Lt. Col. Douglas S. Rowley

[ironputts]

May 5, 2025

Lt. Col. Douglas S. Rowley
Crazy Horse Composite Squadron
South Dakota Wing

Douglas S. Rowley of Keystone, SD, dedicated husband to Linda, father to Emily and Elizabeth, Papa to 7 grandchildren, and leader to many, took his final flight, arriving in Heaven on April 23, 2025, after a courageous war against pancreatic cancer.

Doug was 72 years old and left this life peacefully at home surrounded by friends and family in his last days. The last words he spoke were to Linda on the phone, telling her "I Love You."

Doug was born July 20, 1952, to Jean Uecker and Lloyd Rowley in Mitchell, SD. Doug moved to the farm in Spencer when he was 8 years old, along with his brothers, Denny and Don, when Jean and Darrell Lehrman married. Joining their two families brought Doug additional siblings: Ellen, Earl, and Cindy, and an outstanding father in Darrell. Milking cows and mending fences developed a work ethic in Doug that would reverberate for decades among those he led.

Doug married Linda Huber, his high school sweetheart, in 1972.

Doug graduated from Emery High School and received his bachelor's from SDSU while also in ROTC and his Master's degree in Aviation/Airway Management and Operations from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

When Uncle Ray visited the farm with his aircraft when Doug was a child, a deep passion for aviation was sprung that would last his lifetime.

Doug entered the Air Force in 1972, attending pilot training in Georgia and Texas, flying T-37 and T-38s. Doug began sharing his love for aviation with students as an Instructor Pilot at the Air Force Academy. The next assignment included piloting the flying gas station, the KC-135A and R, refueling fighters and bombers midair. Together, Doug and Linda journeyed across the country to duty stations in California, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, accumulating lifelong friends. Doug and Linda have two daughters: Emily, who was born at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and Elizabeth, who was born at Ellsworth Air Force Base. His service took him to England, Germany, Belgium, and Spain. During Operation Desert Shield, Doug kept fighter jets and bombers in the air 24x7 while stationed in Saudi Arabia. Doug arranged humanitarian supplies missions to Florida after Hurricane Andrew.

Doug infamously shared with his new charges that he believed in working half days. Pleased initially, his teams then learned Doug meant 12 hours! His best friend said Doug had the best set of hands when it came to flying. Doug was the cook when the crew pulled alert together during the Cold War. He and his crew mates were always on deck to keep America's nuclear arsenal in the air.

Deeply respected as a man and aviator, Doug touched many lives. Doug mentored many and provided an example of integrity; a leader first, not a careerist, putting him at odds with the system a few times. In 1997, Doug retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, having served America for 23 years. Friends who attended Doug's retirement ceremony had firsthand experience with a South Dakota blizzard that stranded his guests in a hotel for several days of unplanned bonding. Always the friendly host, Doug provided hours of camaraderie and entertainment to his trapped well-wishers.

Doug kept his dream job alive, transferring his broad skill set from military service to commercial airlines. As a United Airlines pilot, Doug transitioned to the Airbus and Boeing 737 aircraft, safely transporting thousands of passengers. Doug was promoted from Executive Officer based out of Denver to Captain based out of San Francisco in 2015, retiring in 2017 after 19.5 years, with celebratory water cannons arches over the plane in Maui, Hawaii.

Doug joined the Crazy Horse Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol in February of 2021. He mentored cadets in Character Development, Leadership, Physical Fitness Training, Drug Demand Reduction, Emergency Services Training, and Aerospace Education.

During his service with Civil Air Patrol, Lt. Col. Rowley earned the Mission Pilot rating, so he was qualified to fly on USAF-funded search and rescue missions. He earned his remote aircraft pilot's license and 3D printed specialized model rocket launchers for the cadets. Doug received several significant nationwide awards while leading in Civil Air Patrol. Last year, he was selected as the South Dakota Wing Aircrewman of the Year. His favorite part of CAP was giving orientation flights to new cadets.

Doug fulfilled many critical positions in the Crazy Horse Squadron, all at the same time, including Aerospace Education, Cyber Education, Logistics, Operations, and Standardizations and Evaluation.

Still not satisfied with his in-the-sky workload, Doug volunteered his time to instruct and mentor new pilot candidates in the US Air Force Rated Preparatory Program. He is forever the first name in many aviators' logbooks, always able to keep cool as young men and women learned to safely pilot an aircraft. Doug achieved almost 20,000 hours of flight time, a testament to his dedication to and love of aviation.

Doug built his dream home, the Country Castle, near Keystone with Linda in 2014, acting as his own general contractor and doing the majority of the work himself and with buddies from his decades of helping others. He enjoyed researching all things and was a prolific list-maker and made hundreds of sketches. He designed his home to be handicap accessible, geothermally heated, and sustainably constructed, always forward-thinking and strategic.

Doug authored several children's books about his real life construction equipment that he nicknamed. His backhoe (Digger), tractor (Fergus), skid steer (Scoop), and dump truck (Bubba) had many adventures home building and cleaning up for Earth Day. https://dougrowleybooks.com. Doug loved teaching grandkids how to use tools, drive the side-by-side, and most recently playing dice. Doug single-handedly taught all 7 kids how to tell time. Liars Dice and other games involving throwing cards were not easily won against Doug. Doug and Linda taught many people how to play Pinochle and Sputnik.

Doug enjoyed pheasant hunting with his large extended family in a gathering 'bigger than Christmas'. His love of Star Trek extended from Kirk and the Enterprise on the original series to Picard in the Next Generation. His favorite saying was "Make it So" and his pastime was attending movies at the theater with Elizabeth. Doug cared for his property in Keystone, doing everything BUT mending fences and milking cows. Doug learned the equipment for many crafts alongside Linda. His last planned projects were coordinating the planting of an orchard with Emily and live-edge wood shelving with Elizabeth. There are many pictures of Doug cuddling his children, foster grandchildren, and his own grandchildren.

Doug was preceded in death by his parents: Lloyd Rowley, Darrell Lehrman, and Jean Dykstra, and his sister Cindy Dorale Jones.

Doug is survived by Linda, his wife and partner of 52 years, two daughters, Emily (Mike) and Elizabeth, and grandchildren John, Tehya, Emily, Shyanne, Lavaya, Serena, and Mariah, sister Ellen (of Waterloo, IA), brothers Earl (of Mitchell), Denny and Don (both of Spencer) SD.