Air Line Executive Resigned in 1947, and Recently Accepted a West Coast Position With a Soft Drink Company.
Kansas City Times
Paul E. Richter Jr., a co-founder of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., died at 5 o'clock yesterday morning at the Alta Bates Hospital, Berkeley, Calif. The former Kansas Citian suffered a cerebral hemorrhage Friday night at home in Berkeley.
TO BERKELEY THIS MONTH
Mr. Richter moved to Berkeley May 1, when he became manager of the East Bay area plant at Oakland of the Coca Cola company. He was to become the west coast production manger, friends said.
Mr. Richter was a top executive here of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., now known as Trans World Airline. He was active in aviation and civic affairs.
In World War II he was a captain of the naval air transport service from 1943 to 1945. Stationed in Washington, he took a large part in directing the activities of the service throughout the world. He had been a Lieutenant Commander in the reserve when he was called to Washington to take over the important war duties.
Mr. Richter resigned as vice-president and director of T.W.A. in 1947 as a result of difficulties between the management and the principle stockholder, Howard Hughes.
HEADED ANOTHER AIRLINE
In April 1947, Mr. Richter became president and chairman of the board of the T.A.C.A. air line, which operates in Central America and maintains headquarters in Mobile, Ala. He left that position last month to accept the Coca Cola position.
The latter part of the month he and his wife, on the way to the west coast, were here to visit their daughter, Ruth Alice Richter, 15, a student at Sunset Hill School, who has been living with Mr. and Mrs. Ansel Mitchell, 5527 Mission Drive. A son, Paul E. Richter Jr., 18, is a student at Dartmouth University.
Mr. and Mrs. Richter still maintain their legal residence at 425 Westover Road, their former home. Mr. Richter and his wife, the former Miss Daisy Cooke, were married June 23, 1926.
Born in Denver, January 21, 1896, a son of Paul E. and Margaret Richter, Mr. Richter attended the Colorado Agricultural College for one year. He had been an office boy in his father's advertising agency, but advertising and sales did not interest him.
OFFICER IN WORLD WAR I
After managing for a short period a Colorado ranch owned by his father, he joined the Army in 1918, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. He attempted unsuccessfully to transferred to the Air Corps. He was about to be sent overseas when the war ended.
Returning to the ranch long enough to obtain a stake, Mr. Richter, 28 years old, leased the ranch, and went out to California to learn to fly.
After canvassing nearly every flying school in California, he later told friends he found a 1-plane flying school at Los Angeles, operated by two young men, Jack Frye and Burdette Fuller.
"Jack taught me how to fly," Mr. Richter said, "on my first solo I took Bon MacDougall, a daredevil race driver and stunt man, with me. The crazy guy got out of the cockpit and out on the wing. I was worried, but just kept flying. When we landed he offered me a job stunt flying for the movies."
STUNT MAN FOR MOVIES
Mr. Richter became an instructor for the school and later one of the Thirteen Black Cats, the name given a group of hair-raising stunt men of the early movie days. He climbed out on the wing, hung by his feet, played cards on the top wing and performed similar feats.
Finally Mr. Richter, Frye and Walter Hamilton bought out Fuller and formed the Aero Corporation of California. Lindbergh had flown the Atlantic-- the school's business was rushing. The corporation obtained a sales agency for planes, and started crop dusting by plane. The three men decided to enter the transport business, organizing Standard Air Lines, which operated a plane three times a week between Los Angeles and Phoenix, and later El Paso. Business kept growing.
In 1929, the Standard company was merged with Western Air Express, with Frye in charge of operations, and Richter the west coast superintendent, and Hamilton maintenance superintendent. The line operated from Kansas City to Los Angeles, San Francisco to Los Angeles and to other points.
MERGER FORMED TWA IN 1930
In 1930 Western Air Express merged with Transcontinental Air Transport and the new company became Transcontinental &Western Air, Inc.
Mr. Richter moved here in 1931 as superintendent of the western region of the new company. He remained in this position until 1934, when he became vice-president in charge of operations, in which capacity he served until he was elected Executive Vice-President and a Director in 1938.
Mr. Richter served as vice president of the Aviation Department of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce several terms. He was a member of the Kansas City Club, the Saddle and Sirloin Club. and the Kansas City Country Club.
The daughter left last night for Chicago, where she will meet her brother. They will go to Berkeley together.