Stinson, Katherine, 1891-1977

Katherine Stinson was born 1891 in Fort Payne, Alabama [corrected date and place]. She was introduced to aviation in 1911, when she participated in a balloon ascension. This started her life-long interest in aviation and made Katherine Stinson one of the first female pilots in the United States and the world. She attended the Lillie Aviation Company in Chicago where she was taught flying by a reluctant Max Lillie. In the same year she received FAI certification #148. Her carrier covered many "firsts" (in aviation per se as well as for women) such as first night flights, long-distance records, air-mail services, and skywriting. In 1915 the Stinson family opened a flight school and Katherine attended aviation exhibition shows, in which she reportedly got paid up to $2000 per flight. A major event in Kathrine Stinson's aviation career was an exhibition tour to the Orient. In 1917, tens of thousands of spectators in Japan and China admired her and fellow aviators' skills with the airplanes.

After the war broke out in Europe, Katherine Stinson tried to sign up for combat missions on the continent but was denied. She had to settle for ambulance services. Her health deteriorated under the strenuous conditions in France and she was hospitalized. She stayed there for over a year, suffering from tuberculosis. She did not recover from the disease, until the New Mexico air in Santa Fe brought back her strength. After that she stayed away from active aviation, but turned her interest to architecture and preservation of the unique Pueblo style of the Southwest.

It was during her time at Sunmount Sanatorium that she met Miguel Otero, also a flyer, and son of former Governor Miguel Otero, Sr. Miguel Otero's career was deeply rooted in New Mexico. Born and raised during the territorial period and growing to maturity during early statehood, Miguel Otero was intimately familiar with New Mexico politics. Close friend of Bronson Cutting, he helped shape New Mexico's politics in the 1920s. His political career stretched from New Mexico treasurer, to attorney general and District Judge for Santa Fe. When World War II broke out, Miguel Otero volunteered and was assigned to the Judge Advocate General Department at Camp Luna, NM and later Matherfield, CA. After the war he returned to Santa Fe and attended to his law practice. Although often asked to run for national office, Otero strongly believed that his place of influence was Santa Fe and New Mexico. Never publicly interested in the governorship, he held close ties with Republican party officials and was often asked for advice.

Kathrine Stinson and Miguel Otero raised four adopted children, Barbara, Jerry, Jackie, and Edward Stinson (Kathrine's brother Jack's children). Kathrine Stinson Otero, who left a definite impact on the history of aviation, died in 1977 in Santa Fe after a long illness. Miguel Otero, descendant of a family deeply rooted in New Mexico, left an equally important lasting impact on New Mexico's political, judicial, and social history.