WASP Emma Coulter Ware, 43-3 May 29, 2011

Emma Coulter Ware

Emma Coulter Ware, 96, died May 29, 2011 in her St. Louis home of 63 years. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Boyd Ware and is survived by her six children and four grandchildren.

She was born in Greensburg, PA on May 17, 1915 as the only child of Richard Coulter and Matilda Bowman Coulter. *"Both her father and grandfather were generals when generals rode horses instead of jeeps."

She first attended Miss Voegle's School in Greensburg. She graduated from Miss Porter's School in Connecticut and completed her education in New York City at Barnard College. While there she became an avid Gilbert and Sullivan devotee. Her interests were zoology and art history.

World War II was imminent and she joined the civil air patrol after earning her pilot's license. She then graduated in the third class of Woman Air Service Pilots (WASP) in 1943. She served as a ferry pilot of war planes, flew as part of the Tow Target Squadron, and helped test drone airplanes. Emma met her husband while at Biggs Air Force Base in Texas. They married on the last day the WASPs were in service, December 19, 1944. They settled in St. Louis, her husband's hometown.

Emma Coulter and Widget at Biggs Field, 1944

As the result of working with the Frontier Nursing Service in Hayden, Kentucky, she was interested in nursing and natural childbirth and had her third child at home. She gave birth to triplets with the fourth pregnancy. She had lifelong interests in horses, the arts, enviornmental issues, endangered species and travel. Over the years in St. Louis, she raised her family with a menagerie of rescued animals. Besides horses, cats and dogs, she nurtured birds, bats, flying squirrels, wolves, a bear and an albino dingo. She traveled the world for adventure, history, and art as well as in support of her causes to save arctic seals, whales and wolves.

Emma spent time in Buffalo, Wyoming and Aspen, Colorado where she would take her children skiing, hiking, riding and to the music festival. She supported environmental causes such as the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) and she provided housing for teachers, students and opera singers who attended the music festival.
Her volunteer efforts and generous support extended to many associations including The Humane Society, the United States Pony Club, The Wolf Sanctuary in Eureka, The Sheldon Concert Hall and The Opera Theater of St. Louis. She was a member of the Ethical Society.

Emma is survived by her daughters, Nina and Judy Ware of St. Louis, her sons' Richard and James Ware of Maine, daughters Anne Ware of Aspen, Colorado and Wendy Ware-Gleason of Portland, Oregon. Her grandchildren are Judy's children Justin and Margaret Smith and Wendy's children, Christopher and Emily Gleason.

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Respectfully reposted by Nancy Parrishwith the addition of quotes, links and photo.
*p. 546 "Sisters in the Sky" by Adela Riek Scharr
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