Hubert J. Witt

Hubert "Bud" Witt, 88, a 34 year resident of Amherst, NH, died Saturday, February 13th in Libertyville, IL, surrounded by his loving family after having lived a wonderful life. Bud was born on December 18th, 1921 in New Ulm, MN. After attending Eau Claire Teacher's College in Eau Claire, WI, he joined the US Navy. During WWII, he earned his wings as a naval aviator and was assigned as a Primary Flight Instructor at the Naval Air Station, Olathe KS. There he taught young pilots the barrel roll and like acrobatics in a Stearman PT-17 biplane. While stationed at Olathe, Bud met his beloved wife of 55 years, Edith "Elaine" Brown of Atwood, KS. As other men and women came home from WWII, Bud remained in the Navy, becoming a member of the Weather Recon Squadron: VPW-1, nicknamed the "Typhoon Chasers". After intense training, in 1946, he and his crew of 11 were assigned to duty in the Central Pacific. In June of that year, flying a PBY4-2 "Privateer" (B-24), they flew into a category 3 typhoon, becoming one of the first such crews ever to do so. Shortly thereafter, Bud was decommissioned from the Navy. He and Elaine moved to Denver, CO, started their family, and he joined the Kendall Co. for whom he worked his entire career in sales. As his career progressed, Bud moved his family from coast to coast, finally ending in 1976 in Amherst where he commuted to Boston until his retirement as a National Sales Manager for the Kendall Co. in the early 1980s. In his retirement, Bud loved fishing, photography, cabinetry, taking care of his home and gardening. His red and yellow tuberous begonias, in the summer, were a neighborhood favorite. Also, he and his beloved Elaine traveled the world: they cruised to many exotic and wonderful places. He was predeceased by his wife, Elaine and two sisters, Betty and Anne. Family members include two daughters, Karen and Molly; two sons, Ed and Joe; four grandchildren, Maryanne, Ashley, Lauren and Jeremy; and his brother, Bill. There are no visiting hours. A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Friday, February 19th at 10:00 am in Saint Patrick's Church, 34 Amherst Street, Milford. Burial with military honors will be held in Meadowview Cemetery, Amherst, in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bud�s memory may be made to www.honorflights.org