Aviation Philanthropist
Founded the Lone Star Flight Museum
Houston, Texas, native Robert Waltrip developed an interest in aviation as a boy during World War II and began flying as a young man. He founded Service Corporation International, which became North America’s largest provider of funeral and cemetery services. He recognized the edge aviation offered his business and flew many of the company’s aircraft. In 1984 he purchased a B-25 Mitchell and began collecting and restoring many of the World War II aircraft he admired as a boy. He formed the Lone Star Flight Museum in 1987 to share what would become one of the finest collections of historic aircraft in the world.