In Memoriam

March 3, 1949 - May 10, 2022

The following was received from Jon's brothers, Oscar and David.

I’m sorry to say my brother Jon made his westbound departure on May 10. He had pancreatic cancer and as we know, seldom has a good outcome. To his credit Jon saw everything through a half full lens when he looked at a glass of water and his terminal diagnosis was no exception. Fortunately he had enough time to visit with friends and family nearby and at far-flung places throughout our country.

A very good friend of ours let us use her Citation to travel around the country spending time with tigers, former tigers, and other family. I’ve enclosed a picture of the three of us, Oscar David and Jon, in front of the Citation on that particular day. We flew down to Atlantic City from OXC in Connecticut, where  my son decked out in a Atlantic City regalia picked us up in a stretch limo to take us to Tony’s Baltimore Grill where Jon had spent many enjoyable times over the years making a few short term investments ( of course I always heard how much he made, not how much he lost).  He kept telling me, you gotta try Tony’s as it has the best pizza ever. He was right. It is a nice local bar/restaurant where naturally a Tiger pilot would feel right at home. So although he didn’t have a lot of time left he made the most of it.

Jon was actually the first of the three of us, to start into his aviation career by becoming a flight instructor at the age of 18, as he was finishing up high school. I was so proud of him and it motivated me to get off my ass and get going getting my ratings to start my professional Flying career.

As time went by we both wound up flight instructing at the same flight school in New York State, where Cal Holderman would come by and Hangar fly with us and regale us with Flying Tiger wild ass stories. Of course years later, we found out Cal was not exaggerating.  Jon eventually got on flying a Gulfstream 1, which he was very proud of accomplishing.

Fortunately all three of us got on with Tigers and Jon wound up having a wonderful adventure with Tigers and later on Fedex. He flew S/O on the DC-8  and 747, F/O on the DC-8 and 747, and captain on the 727 at both Tigers and Fedex. He would always say what a great career he had and we spent many hours reliving the various Tiger Tales that most who haven’t traveled the freight dog path, would never believe.

(Above, Jon and David in the Citation)

So obviously David and I will miss him along with many Tiger friends, family and others, but he had a good life, always had a great sense of humor and a positive attitude. To sum it up, he was a real Tiger.

                                      Oscar Szigeti
                                      David Szigeti

PS.
when Jon made his westbound departure, as he was known to make a few wagers at the track and the craps table, his wheels up time was 7:11.

Anyone wishing to contribute to this page with archived pictures or testimonials is encouraged to contact us at email@flyingtigerline.org