Obituary of Lt. Col. Maynard C. Cusworth

Lt. Col. Maynard C. Cusworth, USAF (Ret.), 101, passed peacefully from his earthly body to his heavenly home in the early hours of October 27, 2022. He enlisted in the Air Force during World War II, trained as a pilot, and flew for 30 years transporting personnel and cargo until his retirement. He remained active as a flight instructor and a member of 463^rd Airlifters Association.  He received his industrial engineering degree from the University of Illinois and was as capable a mechanic as he was a pilot.

 In 2010, he was honored for 60 years of service as a member of Rome-Hathaway Masonic Lodge in Rome, NY.   As a Shriner at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC, he was an organizer of the Flying Fezzes, a group dedicated to flying injured or burned children from the southeast to specialized hospitals across the country in an airplane owned, operated, and specially equipped by Jamil Temple to transport a child, a family member, and medical personnel if needed.   Eventually, he continued this service in his own airplane.

He was inducted into the SC Aviation Hall of Fame. During his retirement years, while helping others become licensed pilots, flying dignitaries such as Senators Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings, and ferrying children with special needs, he also taught two of his own grandchildren to fly.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, SC.

He was predeceased by his wife of over 50 years, Natalie Hawley Cusworth, and his second wife, Beverly G. Mindnich, and one granddaughter. He is survived by four children, their families, and a half-sister and her family.

Arrangements are being made by Thompson Funeral Home for transportation to his interment in Sunset Hill Cemetery, Clinton, NY.  The family requests that memorial donations be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, Florida 33607 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, Illinois 60601.