Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Obituary

Air traffic controller had passion for the skies

JAMES D. SEALE: 1917-2005. His love of aviation began when he took a job for a crop dusting company after high school.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published April 29, 2005

GUERNSEY ESTATES - If you landed safely at Tampa International Airport in the 1960s or 1970s, you have James D. Seale to thank.

From 1959 until his retirement in 1980, Mr. Seale was chief of the airport's air traffic control tower. He previously worked at towers in Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Charleston, S.C., and El Paso, Texas. He died Saturday (April 16, 2005) of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 88.

Mr. Seale never really set out to become an air traffic controller, his brother Bill Seale said. He took a job with a crop dusting company after high school and worked his way into the control tower.

His professional success came as no surprise to people who knew him.

"He was an incredible guy," his brother said. "He was the kind of guy I always aspired to be, but never could."

Growing up in the small town of Anniston, Ala., James Seale, known as J.D., was something of a hero. He was the captain and star player for the Anniston High School football and basketball teams.

After high school, Mr. Seale took a job with Southern Airways, a crop dusting company that later became an airline. Before that, his brother doesn't recall him ever showing a passion for flying.

"That was the tail end of the Depression," Bill Seale said. "You just took whatever job you could get to make money."

But Mr. Seale learned to fly while he worked for Southern Airways and developed a true love for aviation. He later joined the Army Air Corps. After a few years in the service, he started working at the control tower in Birmingham.

Control towers and air traffic control were much simpler in those days. Birmingham was a fairly busy and sophisticated airport but still primitive by today's standards.

"They didn't have radios," said Bill Seale, who is a pilot himself. "They had lights. If the light was green you could land. If it was red, you'd better go around."

While in Birmingham, Mr. Seale met a woman named Peggy who would become his wife.

"She was a model in Birmingham," Bill Seale said. "She was a very beautiful girl."

The couple remained together until Peggy Seale died about 20 years ago. They had two children, son James Jr. and daughter Bridget.

He was as devoted to his family as he was to his career, his brother said. James Jr. was diagnosed with hemophilia when he was a young child, and Mr. Seale became an expert on the condition.

The family traveled with a case of whole blood, and Bill Seale recalled an incident when they were visiting Anniston and James Jr. injured himself. Local doctors didn't know how to treat hemophilia so Mr. Seale guided them through the procedure and helped them save his son's life.

"He had a 35-year specialized education in hemophilia," Bill Seale said.

James Seale Jr. died at age 35 in the 1990s.

The Seale family moved around the South and finally came to Tampa for good in 1959 when Mr. Seale accepted a position as tower chief of the old Tampa Airport. They lived in the Guernsey Estates neighborhood.

He retired in 1980, but a few years later the FAA called him back to work. The nation's air traffic controllers had gone on strike, and President Reagan had vowed to fire the ones who did not return to work. Mr. Seale was enlisted to help oversee the process of firing and replacing many controllers and assist the nation's airlines in continuing to run smoothly and safely.

Although he had traveled and flown his entire life, Mr. Seale hardly left Florida after he retired. He was an avid golfer but preferred courses close to home.

Mr. Seale is survived by his daughter, his brother, a sister and a grandson.

[Last modified April 28, 2005, 08:33:09]