Aviation Pioneer. He began his career in aviation by building a glider of his own design at age 14. By 1932 he co-founded Beech Aircraft Company with his wife, Olive Ann. His early Beechcrafts set many distance and speed records. During World War II, Beech turned the entire production of his company to defense, producing more than 7,400 military aircraft. In the postwar years, he applied his design genius to producing a new line of light aircraft, the most famous of which was the “V” tailed Bonanza. The farm boy from Tennessee has become a legend in his own time. Walter was enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1977. He and his wife, Olive Ann are buried at Old Mission mausoleum in Wichita Kansas, they both helped put Wichita on the map as: “Air Capital of the World.” (bio by: David G. Stuart)  Family links:  Parents:  Cornelius   Beech (1862 – 1941)  Tommie Ann Hay Beech (1865 – 1949)  Spouse:  Olive Ann Mellor Beech (1903 – 1993)*  Siblings:  James William Beech (1889 – 1901)*  Walter Herschel Beech (1891 – 1950)  Harriet Maud Beech (1894 – 1972)* *Calculated relationship