Adele R. Stahley

Published in the Morning Call on 8/31/2008

Adele R. Rusty Stahley, 80, of Stevens, Lancaster County, formerly of Schnecksville, died Wednesday, August 27, 2008 in Denver Nursing Home.

Born in North Whitehall Township on June 10, 1928, Adele was the daughter of the late Wilmer F. and Esther R. (Ritter) Stahley.

After graduating from the former South Whitehall High School in 1946, she joined the American Association of Girls Professional Baseball League and signed with the Fort Wayne Daisies team.

In 1949, she honorably served in the Navy Waves until 1954, when she began working for the former Lehigh Aircraft Company at the former Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Airport, where she learned to fly various types of airplanes.

By the late 1960s, she was an accomplished commercial pilot, flying charters routes to the mid-west.

During the 1970s, she began training to become an air traffic controller and after intensive training with the F.A.A., she was assigned as the first female air traffic controller at the Philadelphia International Airport.

She later was transferred to the North Philadelphia Airport, where she taught other air traffic controllers how to guide lost aircraft to safe harbor. She retired from the F.A.A. position in 1988.

Survivors: Brother, Glenn E. Stahley of Schnecksville; nephews, Ronald E. Stahley, Keith P. Stahley and Randall S. Stahley, all of Schnecksville.

Services: Memorial services will be held 11 a.m. Friday, September 5, 2008 in the Heintzelman Funeral Home Inc., 4906 Route 309, Schnecksville, with the Rev. Thomas N. Thomas officiating.

Visitation period 10-11 a.m. Friday in the funeral home.

Contributions: Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of Lancaster County, 685 Good Drive, P.O. Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604-4125.