Fredrick Bret Churchill (1914 - 2000) was born February 12, 1914, in El Dorado Springs, MO. In 1940 he joined the Ryan School of Aeronautics in Hemet, California, specifically for the Army Air Corps pilot training program as Assistant Maintenance Supervisor. He very briefly modeled for Ryan ads after winning the Ryan "Popularity Contest" in 1942. After WWII he was assigned to flight services duties for Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego and eventually served as the official Federal Aviation Agency representative for the Ryan Navion program. For most of his career, Churchill was an industrial engineer and planner, ultimately working as an administrative accountant for Ryan until he retired in 1967. Two years after his retirement, Ryan Aeronautical became part of Teledyne in 1969. In 1999, Northrop Grumman purchased Teledyne Ryan. Churchill’s wife, Betty, worked at Ryan as a secretary for Earl D. Prudden, Ed Uhl, and William Wagner. Fred passed away February 12, 2000 at the age of 86.