Gwen Dewey, pictured above, was surprised at her son’s hanger, one that is featured in the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula, with a gala surprise 90th birthday celebration where family and friends crowded around the diminutive Gwen.

Gwen Dewey: 90th birthday of noted aviator, painter & activist celebrated

October 10, 2003
Santa Paula News
By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula TimesAlthough at least one major celebrity was among those who attended the Santa Paula Airport First Sunday of the Month display, which included its Annual Classic Car Show, the real star of the show was Gwen Dewey.Gwen was surprised at her son’s hanger, one that is featured in the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula, with a gala surprise 90th birthday celebration where family and friends crowded around the diminutive Gwen.Although small in stature Gwen is enormous when it comes to accomplishments as a noted aviator, respected artist and active community member.Gwen was everywhere at the party, demonstrating her spirit and determination not to let anything slow her down, including blindness.The International 99s recently honored Gwen with a plaque dedicated at the Forest of Friendship in Atchison, Kansas, the birthplace of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who with 98 other women pilots - there were 117 in all - formed The 99s. Earhart was the group’s first president.Gwen received her pilot’s license in 1936 and was a founder of the Santa Paula 99s, now the Ventura County 99s, in 1973.A photo of Gwen on the day of her first solo flight - she flew a 1929 DeHavilland Gypsy Moth out of Alhambra Airport - was blown up to poster size and featured at her birthday celebration. Her late husband Jim, a noted aviator, is featured in many of the photos as well as son Mike Dewey and daughter Susie Dewey Harding with aircraft the constant backdrop.Another photo showed Gwen Mayne in 1927 sitting on a swing in a bathing suit, a glamorous 14-year-old at Lake Michigan probably already crafting her life’s adventures.George Caldwell said he has known Gwen since 1953 and his admiration for her only grows: “She teamed up with me to stay with the homeless in Ventura,” a project at the First Presbyterian Church, and “she’s a wonderful painter. . .she’s a real exception character, still does everything.”
Clay Phelps, owner of CP Aviation and Gwen’s nephew, said he flew with her “when I was a kid. . .and now, still, nothing holds her back” from taking her daily swim or working the phones to remind people of upcoming Aviation Museum of Santa Paula meetings.“We had a small, tiny party for her on Oct. 2,” Gwen’s actual birth date, said her son Mike, leading up to the big surprise celebration. “She’s a pip. . .”“A woman full with accomplishment,” said family-friend Roy Sharp, who flew in from Texas for the party. “She’s very adventurous. . .”As siblings with a wide age difference they were never close, said Gwen’s sister Sally Phelps, but “I admired her, always looked up to her. Gwen learned how to fly instead of dreaming about it. She’s a neat gal and a tremendous inspiration to people who have handicaps. Gwen was always super popular and still is. . .I love her dearly. She’s one to be admired and I always looked up to her.”“Definitely a mom first,” although she pursued all her adventures, said daughter Susie. “I thought it was normal as a child to have a mom that was an air racer. . .our mom and dad were great parents.”Gwen has lived a life of varied interests from voracious reading to the environment, animals to sports.“Mom jogged six miles a day until she was 76; she was an excellent, aggressive athlete,” excelling in numerous sports, said Susie. “She has an incredible sense of balance, that’s what helped her along,” even through her blindness.Overall, noted Susie, “maybe Mom’s diversified interests kept her going all these years.”



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