Cyril Louis Touchette

Cyril Louis (Bud) Touchette was born on January 22, 1921, to Albert and Wilhelmina Touchette in Centerville Station, Illinois. Dad was one of 12 children. He left home at the age of 14 and joined the CCC’s doing roadwork in Florida. He didn’t much care for that work, so he joined the Navy in the late 1930’s. He was serving in Hawaii when he took the naval pilot exam and went into flight training became an enlisted pilot, later receiving a commission. That’s how he became a Navy pilot. What that doesn’t tell you is that he became one of the most extraordinarily skilled pilots there ever was. Dad was the pilot other instructors would point out and say to their students, “Watch him and see how it’s done.” I never saw him get rattled. No matter what the problem was, he would calmly work it through. If he was teaching you to fly he would never let you leave until he was sure you knew what you were doing. But more importantly you would know you could do whatever was required of you. It seems that everyone knew my dad. Everywhere we went someone was yelling “Hey Bud!” My dad was always a hard worker. He put everything he had into a job. It didn’t matter if it was flying, cutting wood, or teaching you to hunt; he always did his best and wanted you to do the same. I never understood how much a part of him this drive was until just before he died. My wife and I would watch him and say why doesn’t he just let go? I know now that he was just living his best for as long as he could. When God’s LSO brings Dad in for that last tap, he will snag the third wire, shut that engine down, and when he goes into the ready room a whole lot of his friends will be smiling when they see him. Happy landing, Pop. Dad died on May 28, 2012, and is survived by his wife Mary Rose Roberts (married April 1946). They have five children: Michael (Pamela) Touchette of Adelaide, Australia; Pat (Katy) Touchette of Twin Falls; Danny (Kathy) Touchette of Idaho Falls; Mary Beth (Rick) Schiermeier of McCall; and Paul (Crystal) Touchette of Fayetteville, N.C. They also have 15 grandchildren and a growing number of great-grandchildren. Dad was preceded in death by his parents, 10 brothers and sisters, and his son Danny. Dad was a long time-time member of St. Edward’s Catholic Church, where a funeral mass will be held Tuesday, June 19, at 11:00 a.m. Services and arrangements are under the direction of Rosenau funeral Home. Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill. By: Robert Louis Stevenson