PEACHTREE CITY, USA – March is Women’s History Month in the United States, and Aventure honor’s the life and legacy of Jane Skiles O’Dea.
She was born on April 11, 1950, in Ames, Iowa. Her father was an architect that served as a naval aviator in World War II, and her mother was a naval supply officer.
O’Dea joined the Navy in 1972, and two years later was selected as one of the first eight women to enter military pilot training. She completed Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, before heading to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training. In April 1974, she was among the first six women to receive her wings as a Navy pilot.
She was the first woman qualified to pilot the C-130 Hercules, a mission-critical transport aircraft that Aventure has supplied parts for since 2010. She logged over 3,000 hours in the C-130 and other aircraft, eventually achieving the rank of Captain.
Retiring from the Navy in 1997, O’Dea worked as a government contractor until 2014. She lived in Norfolk, Virginia, and St. Louis, Missouri, before passing away in 2022.
