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Jose Rizal Elfalan 1926 - 1997

Jose Rizal Elfalan of Jefferson County, Kentucky United States was born on July 2, 1926 in Beatrice, Monroe County, AL, and died at age 71 years old on July 9, 1997. Jose Elfalan was buried at Tahoma National Cemetery Section I Row A Site 60 Se 240th St, in Kent, Wa.

Jose Rizal Elfalan
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Jefferson County, Kentucky United States
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July 2, 1926
Beatrice, Monroe County, Alabama, 36425, United States
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July 9, 1997
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Updated: September 9, 2019
Biography ID: 151938785 What's this
Jose Rizal Elfalan Jose Elfalan (1926 - 1997)
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Jose Rizal Elfalan's History: 1926 - 1997

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  • 07/2
    1926

    Birthday

    July 2, 1926
    Birthdate
    Beatrice, Monroe County, Alabama 36425, United States
    Birthplace
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  • Ethnicity & Family History

    Negro, Citizen

  • Early Life & Education

    4 Years Of High School

  • Military Service

    Military serial#: 15364384 Enlisted: August 22, 1944 in Ft Benjamin Harrison Indiana Military branch: Air Corps Rank: Private, Reserves - Exclusive Of Regular Army Reserve And Officers Of The Officers Reserve Corps On Active Duty Under The Thomason Act (officers And Enlisted Men -- O.r.c. And E.r.c., And Nurses-reserve Status) Terms of enlistment: Enlistment For The Duration Of The War Or Other Emergency, Plus Six Months, Subject To The Discretion Of The President Or Otherwise According To Law

  • Professional Career

    Aerospace Engineer, Boeing Corporation
  • 07/9
    1997

    Death

    July 9, 1997
    Death date
    Unknown
    Cause of death
    Unknown
    Death location
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  • Gravesite & Burial

    mm/dd/yyyy
    Funeral date
    Tahoma National Cemetery Section I Row A Site 60 Se 240th St, in Kent, Wa 98042
    Burial location

  • Obituary

    Jose Elfalan, Airman And Boeing Engineer By Charles E. Brown Seattle Times Staff Reporter Jose Rizal Elfalan missed out on combat in World War II, even though he was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces. But he was certified as a B-25 bomber pilot, an accomplishment uncommon for blacks during that war. The war ended just two weeks before Mr. Elfalan was to be sent to the Pacific Theater for duty. But his training became the seed that gave rise to his long career in aeronautical engineering and his lasting association with the famed Tuskegee Airmen. Mr. Elfalan, one of the first African-American engineers hired by Boeing to work here, died last Wednesday (July 9) after suffering a heart attack at his family's Leschi-area home. His death came two weeks after his 71st birthday and less than a week before he and his wife, Bertha, had hoped to celebrate 47 years of marriage. At Boeing, Mr. Elfalan distinguished himself as a designer, stress analyst and standards engineer. He had a hand in the aerospace giant's fighter- and commercial-aircraft programs, and in missile, lunar orbiter, spacecraft and hydrofoil projects before his retirement as an engineering manager in 1989. He might have become a commercial airline pilot had he not encountered discrimination, said his son, Derrick Elfalan of Honolulu. He obtained his commercial civilian-pilot's license after the war, his son said. "But his attempts to be a commercial pilot were in vain because of the bigotry of that time period. He was unable to get a job." Mr. Elfalan was born in the small town of Beatrice in southern Alabama but spent most of his youth in Louisville, Ky. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces soon after graduation from Louisville's Central Colored High School in 1943, according to his son. Mr. Elfalan received his flight training at Tuskegee Army Air Forces Base in Tuskegee, Ala., and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. After completing his military service, he returned to Louisville, where he attended Louisville Municipal College for one year, then enrolled in the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering in 1950. It was in Colorado that he met and married Bertha, a college classmate. That same year, he was recruited by Boeing to work in Seattle. "Being an engineer, he was very organized and very punctual," said his son, also an engineer. "He was very much a take-charge kind of guy." Three years ago, he was lauded for his 39-year Boeing career and honored as a Black Pioneer in Engineering by the Black Heritage Society of Washington State. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, who honored him last year, and was active in the organization's local Sam Bruce Chapter, which he headed for two years in the late 1980s. "He loved camping and fishing, and the outdoors," his son said. "He also enjoyed gourmet cooking. That was a passion of his." For 47 years, he had been an active parishioner at St. Therese Catholic Church, 3416 E. Marion St., where a wake is set for 7 tonight, and a memorial service at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Besides his wife and his oldest son, Mr. Elfalan also is survived by a daughter, Karen Elfalan of San Diego, and two other sons, David of Seattle, and Donald of Issaquah. Also surviving are eight grandchildren, and a sister, Maria Calloway of Louisville. The family suggests that remembrances may be made to the Tuskegee Airmen National Scholarship Fund, in care of Perry S. Thomas, 417 33rd Ave., Seattle, 98122.
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Did you know?
In 1926, in the year that Jose Rizal Elfalan was born, on November 15th, NBC was founded. It was the U.S.'s first major broadcast network. Ownership of the network was split between RCA (a majority partner at 50%), its founding corporate parent General Electric (which owned 30%), and Westinghouse (which owned the remaining 20%).
Did you know?
In 1932, at the age of merely 6 years old, Jose was alive when on February 27th, actress Elizabeth Taylor was born in London. Her parents were Americans living in London and when she was 7, the family moved to Los Angeles. Her first small part in a movie was in There's One Born Every Minute in 1942 but her first starring role was in National Velvet in 1944. She became as famous for her 8 marriages (to 7 people) as she was for her beauty and films.
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Other Biographies

Other Elfalan Family Biographies

Elfalan, Valeriano (Oct 28, 1930 - Oct 1983) Elfalan, Valeriano (Dec 24, 1947 - Aug 18, 2002)
Elfalan, Feliciano (Oct 20, 1909 - Aug 21, 2002)
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