Robert Lee Reagan

Colonel Robert Lee Reagan, USAF, Retired passed away Tuesday, the 23rd of April, in Grapevine, Texas after a lengthy decline in health, but not spirit. He was born January 15, 1927 to Glenn Harris Reagan and Ruth Brown Reagan of Dallas, Texas.
Robert is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jane Falconer Reagan, originally from Royal Oak, Michigan. His son Robert Reagan and wife Diana Reagan of Dallas, TX; daughter Tracy Reagan Kiele and husband William Kiele of Ruidoso, New Mexico; and daughter Elizabeth Reagan Madden and husband Robert Madden of Keller, TX. His family includes eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Lt. Glenn Reagan and Dr. Pat Reagan. His older brother Glenn was a Navy pilot killed over the Pacific in the final year of WWII.
He was also preceded in death by a son Charles who died shortly after birth in 1953.
Robert had a long and decorated military career. He served with the Navy in WWII, then became a pilot with the Air Force in 1950, completing 305 combat missions in the Korean and Vietnam wars. In Vietnam, he served as a F-4 Squadron Commander in Korat, Thailand. Following Vietnam, he worked in several positions that helped in the development of new weapons research including the first laser guided missiles.
In his own words, “The A.F. gave me several educational opportunities: BS, Mechanical Engineering at Oklahoma State University, MS at AFIT in Dayton, Ohio, and graduated from the Test Pilot School at Edwards [AFB]. At various times I served as a combat pilot, Fighter gunnery instructor, test pilot, engineer, F-4 Squadron Commander and R&D manager. Had the pleasure and privilege of checking out in 25 different types of aircraft. Also had a total of 305 combat missions in F-84, A1E, and F-4 aircraft. I was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base from 1961 – 64 and 70 – 74. At different times I was assigned to the Test Ops, 1st CAG, Armament Lab and Systems Division. After the Air Force, I worked for Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, AL for 14 years and with Booz Allen for two years in Isfahan, Iran. Janey and I returned to the Emerald Coast in 1989 to be among our old Air Force and civilian friends.
“Looking back, the most fortunate and luckiest day of my life was when I married Janey Falconer in 1951. She solidly supported me in every way and she raised our three wonderful children. She could brighten up a gloomy room by just walking in – what a gal!!
Humble as always, a life so well-lived, he summed it up in a couple of paragraphs.
In lieu of flowers, a donation in his name to either the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America ( https://ALZfdn.org ) or the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation ( https://ALZinfo.org ) : both top-rated (four stars of four) organizations by charitynavigator.org.
We hope you will add your own remembrance of Robert on the following pages.