Cleo B. McMahan, veteran Alaskan bush pilot and guide, died peacefully of natural causes at his daughter’s home in Palmer on Saturday July 30, 2005. Family members were by his side.

Born Cleo Bryan McMahan on September 24, 1912 in a sod house on the Kansas prairie, he finished high school and worked odd jobs until age 27. At that time, having saved enough money to leave Kansas, he worked his way to Seattle via Colorado, boarded an Alaska steamship and headed north. In May, 1939 he stepped off the boat in Seward with $37 in his pocket and from that day forward, Alaska was his home. For the next 66 years he would leave only for short visits with family who lived “Outside”.

During his first four years in Alaska, Cleo worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Civil Aviation Association, Alaska Fire Control, and the Alaska Road Commission. He helped construct the BLM airstrip and log cabin at Rohn which now serves as an Iditarod Trail checkpoint. It was in the Anchorage office of the Alaska Fire Control that he first met Daphne Cunningham. After seeing Cleo’s colored slides of some of the places he had worked in Alaska, and hearing him talk of places like Talkeetna, Chitina, and Gakona, she told him that was the kind of life she had come north to find. They married in December of 1943 and lived all of their 57 years together with time mostly divided between the small town of Gakona and their homesite near Meiers Lake on the Richardson Highway.

Cleo learned to fly in Fairbanks shortly after arriving in Alaska and bought his bright yellow J-3 Cub in the spring of 1946. McMahan‘s Flying Service was established shortly thereafter and was to become the well-known and well-respected business which hunters, fishermen, wildlife officials, and geologists often used throughout the following five decades. Many hunters and fishermen from Fairbanks made their way to McMahan's Flying Service for their annual moose, and, more often, for rainbow trout out of the Gulkana River.

Cleo and Daphne had four children. Since Daphne’s death in 2001, Cleo has lived with his daughter, Susan, in Anchorage and with his other daughter, Sally, in Palmer. Both of Cleo’s sons still live with their families in Gakona.

Cleo was a gentle, unassuming man, never drawing attention to himself. He always joked that he was a decrepit old man, but it wasn’t until he reached his late 80s that anybody really believed him. He was happiest in the company of the generations that followed him - his grandchildren and an ever-increasing number of great-grandchildren.

"Cleo died as he had lived, peacefully and quietly. He was a pleasure to care for in his last days. "Please" and "Thank you" were words he used often. He never complained and did not become bitter or critical as his physical abilities declined, but was grateful for everything. He was a quiet believer in God and looked forward to meeting again his Grandma Mac, his mother, Maude and all the other relatives who have gone on before him. We miss his gentle presence more than words could ever say. "

Cleo is survived by his sisters; Vernita Thomas of Sequim, Washington, and Lois Gordon of Waterville, Kansas; daughters Susan Sanders and Sally McMahan Pollen; sons Harley McMahan and Chuck McMahan. Grandchildren Kelly Harden, Tracy Harris-Inman, Lisa Cooper, Jolene Vogelien, Angela Kulp, Shelley Wilcox, April Smith, Benjamin Pollen Summit, Heidi Jacobsen, Gabriel McMahan, Jeremiah Chapeau, Rebecca McMahan, Alex McMahan, Jenny McMahan, Johnny McMahan, Bryan McMahan, and twenty-two great-grandchildren. Cleo was preceded in death by his brother Harley, his father, Aura, and his mother, Maude.

A celebration of Cleo’s life is planned for 3PM August 14, 2005 at his son's home and yard near the Gakona Bridge. (Mile 2 Tok Cut-Off) For further information: 907 822-3441. After an informal time of remembrance and honoring Cleo, everyone is welcome to stay for live music, a picnic, and bonfire. All are encouraged to share experiences they have had with Cleo, special songs, poems, prayers and photos. The nurses with Hospice of Mat-Su became our personal friends and we would like to especially thank them here.