At the age of 3, Claire sold all of her dolls with a dream of buying a plane. By 17, she learned to fly. In the 40’s she began her childhood dream of instructing, making her one of only 100 women instructors at the time.

She won her first Power Puff Derby air race in 1951 and was married to her student pilot, Mike Walters, in the same year. She opened a flight school at the Santa Monica airport (Claire’s Flight Academy) in the 1950’s which ran for 27 years, and was the instructor or FAA examiner of many local pilots. In 1969, she founded the annual Palms to Pines Air Race from Santa Monica to Bend, Oregon, which continued for 40 years. She attended the last one in 2009, cheerfully handing out gifts to racers.

In 1996, with the help of former student, CJ Strawn, Claire was a main fundraiser for the 99s Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City, preserving historic memorabilia from the first woman aviators.

She died on New Year’s Day 2010, at 85 years old. She is survived by her two children, Michael and Susie.

LA Times Obituary (Jan 2010)

99s News Magazine Article (written by CJ Strawn)