After the war, Sammy selected a Stearman for the air show circuit. With its distinctive international orange and white checkerboard wings, “Checkers” and Sammy, along with friends Rex Wells, Ray Goudy and others, formed the Hollywood Hawks and made aerobatic history in the postwar ’40s, incorporating a number of aviation “firsts” into his act, most notably a Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) bottle mounted under the fuselage. Sammy and Checkers were profiled in the April 18, 1949 issue of Life magazine.In 1950, with a growing family, Sammy went to work for Lockheed Aircraft as an engineering test pilot under his close friend, Tony LeVier. During his 27-year career with Lockheed, Sammy again made history: In 1967 he became the first pilot to demonstrate a full complement of aerobatics in a helicopter, performing at the Paris Air Show in the compound version of the Lockheed 286 rigid-rotor helicopter.Sammy retired to Santa Paula Airport where he instructed pilots in aerobatics and increased proficiency, among them actor Steve McQueen, who became a close friend. He earned a degree as a Doctor of Philosophy in Aviation Science and in 1987 he became an Honorary Fellow in the prestigious Society of Experimental Test Pilots. At Santa Paula he continued as an author, inventor, mentor, husband, father, friend, and champion of his faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ. He left us on November 29, 2001 with a legacy of honesty, honor and integrity.He leaves his wife Donna; his brother Bill Mason in Mill Valley, California; sons Mike Tim, David, Jonathan and Pete of Santa Paula; daughters, Lynne Dowling of Santa Paula and Laura Davis of Albuquerque, New Mexico; nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Greeting Sam on his arrival: the mother of his eight children, son Tony, and his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Among the many poems written by Sam is this:No one has thought what only you can think.No one has dreamed your dreams on with the stars your vision linked.Set aside for all mankind are gifts that only you can share.What God has given you, you must share, so that all may share and live.Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, December 5 at 11 a.m. at Ventura Missionary Church, 500 High Point Dr., Ventura. Interment was private.Arrangements under the direction of Skillin-Carroll Mortuary, Santa Paula.
Obituaries
December 07, 2001
Obituaries
Bettye Rockett
Bettye Nell Rockett was born August 28, 1931 in Sentinal, Oklahoma and passed away November 29, 2001 in Ventura after a lengthy illness. She was a devoted wife and a loving mother and grandmother.Bettye (Betsy) grew up on the Limoneira Ranch along with her sister Phyllis. Her parents, O. T. and Peggy Haley, lived on the ranch for more than 50 years.Bettye had seven children, 13 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.After 25 years of living in eastern Texas, she returned to Santa Paula where she met and married her soul mate Dale Rockett. They lived in upper Ojai for the past 15 years.They enjoyed camping at the beach and traveling in their motor home. There wasn’t much of the coastline between Canada and Mexico they hadn’t explored. She loved the ocean and it gave her peace of mind. In their adventures eastward, she couldn’t pass up a night or two in Las Vegas. She almost never passed up the opportunity to play bingo or keno.She loved her family, the outdoors, traveling, and collecting ceramic pigs. She and Dale could put on the best tri-tip barbeque in southern California.Bettye was preceded in death by two of her sons, Keith and Kenny Crockett. She is survived by her husband, Dale; sister Phyllis and husband Merle Crisman; daughter Cathy Lucky of Fairfield; sons, Tom and wife Linda Brookes of Fillmore, Gary Brookes of Texarkana, Arkansas, Van and Frances Brookes of Camarillo, and Von Brookes of Seattle, Washington; stepson Danny and wife Nina Rockett of Simi Valley; and stepdaughter Jina Shalender of Oxnard.Bettye will be dearly missed by her family and her many friends.A memorial service was held Tuesday, December 4 at Skillin-Carroll Mortuary, Santa Paula.Sammy MasonSammy Mason is flying again, lifted aloft on eternal wings.Born Samuel Homer Mason, Jr. in Los Angeles, December 15, 1917, Sammy began what was to become a distinguished flying career at the age of 16. Following his marriage to Wanda Lee Hintz in 1941, he settled in Tulare, California to fly for the Rankin Flying Academy to train pilots in Stearman biplanes for WWII.
