By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mr. Strauchen

Edmund R. Strauchen Jr., an Indian Hill native and retired pilot, died Jan. 16 when the plane he was flying - a 1983 Russian YAK 52 - crashed near the Heber Valley Airport in Heber, Utah.

Mr. Strauchen, 62, gained a bit of fame when he flew his 1942 Boeing Stearman under the Roebling Suspension Bridge for a commercial for Southern Ohio Bank in 1982.

His derring-do was featured on a PM Magazine TV show on the making of the ad.

A Navy veteran, Mr. Strauchen attended Navy flight school and flew the F-4B Phantom fighter jet for seven years. After leaving the Navy in 1969, he joined American Airlines. Before his retirement, he was a Boeing 767 captain.

Flying commercial planes was not "exactly like flying a Phantom, but it helps to satisfy my need to be up there," he used to say.

Mr. Strauchen and his wife of 39 years, Myra, made their home in Weston, Conn., when he stumbled across the Boeing Stearman biplane, which was in serious need of restoration, according to his brother, Steve Strauchen of Hyde Park.

Mr. Strauchen rebuilt the plane and the radial engine. He dubbed the plane "Mr. Stearman." Thereafter he delighted in putting it through its paces, "most of the time with the green above him and the blue below," his brother said.

In 1989, Mr. Strauchen and his wife moved to Park City, Utah - minutes from the Heber Valley Airport. He acquired a collection of planes. And after his retirement in 2000, he decided to share his passion with others by turning his hangar into the Heber Valley Air Museum.

"It has taken off to the point that other hangars are now serving as annexes to the museum," his brother said. "People from all over the world are contributing to Ed's dream, which he insisted be free to the public.

"There's no question this was a man truly at peace with the wind beneath his wings."

Mr. Strauchen was the son of the late Edmund R. and Nancy Cramer Strauchen. He grew up in Indian Hill, where he graduated from Indian Hill High School. He was a graduate of Ohio State University and was a lieutenant with the Navy.

When Mr. Strauchen's plane went down last month, he was flying with a longtime friend, ex-fighter pilot Bob Koch of Maryland.

A memorial service was held in Utah. The Missing Man Formation flyby was performed above the museum in honor of the two men.

In addition to his brother, Steve, Mr. Strauchen's survivors include: his wife, Myra Heilman Strauchen; a daughter, E. Bradley Strauchen Scherer of London; and a sister, Nancy Bradley Strauchen of Blue Ash.

Memorials: Heber Valley Air Museum, P.O. Box 2256, Park City, UT 84060.

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com