Johnson, Evelyn Bryan, 1908-2012

Evelyn Bryan Johnson, nicknamed (Mama Bird,) was born in Corbin, Kentucky on November 4, 1908.

Evelyn graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan College in 1929 and took a job teaching sixth grade at North Etowah Grammar School. Evelyn married her first husband, Wyatt Jennings Bryan (W.J.), on March 21, 1931. Evelyn and her husband opened a dry cleaning business, College Cleaners, in 1933. W.J. enlisted in the military in 1941. It was during World War II that Evelyn took up flying as a hobby.

On November 8, 1944, Evelyn made her first solo flight, and, in June of 1945, she earned her private pilot license and later earned a commercial license. What started as a hobby quickly grew into a promising business.

In 1947, Evelyn received her flight instructors rating, and, on July 4, 1947, she soloed her first student. In 1949, she bought shares of the Morristown Flying Service, where she flew commercially for sightseeing tours and served as a flight instructor. In 1953, Evelyn was appointed to operate the Morristown Municipal Airport (Moore-Murrell Airport). Evelyn was a writer for the Southeastern Airport News and the Morristown Sun, where her columns featured news and information about pilots and student pilots in East Tennessee.

After W.J. death on November 11, 1963, she married Morgan Johnson in 1965.

Evelyn Johnson has had a long career as a pilot and has been honored with a number of recognitions and achievements. She holds the record for the most flying hours for a woman (57,156) and reiceved numours honors including induction into the Women in Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame (1994) and the Aviation Museum of Kentucky (2000).