Legacy of California Wing’s Soley Lives On Through CAP Donation

By Loretta Fulton

John Soley was just a kid in a Pennsylvania coal mining town mired in the Great Depression when he suddenly learned who he was.

John, second oldest of seven children, hitched a ride one day on a coal truck that was passing in front of the family home in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. He slipped off the truck and was run over. A body cast, traction, and several years of hospitalizations followed.

“He had a hard start,” his younger brother, Ted Soley, 90, said. “He was a very determined person.”

That determination eventually led John Soley, who walked with a limp the rest of his life, to far flung places, eventually settling in California where he died in 2020 at age 92. Soley used his determination and inquisitive mind to go places a Depression-era kid from a coal mining town might not dream of. One of those places was the sky.

“He always loved flying,” Ted said.

That love led to his discovery of Civil Air Patrol, which he served as a pilot for years in California, while working at his real estate career. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

When Soley died, his estate plan included donations to two of his main loves—CAP and UCLA, his alma mater.

His years of service to CAP and his generous donation to help ensure CAP’s future are both appreciated, said Col. Raj Kothari, chair of the Civil Air Patrol Foundation.

“Lt. Col. Soley's contributions to Civil Air Patrol will continue beyond his many years of service. We are grateful he included CAP in his estate plans and will ensure his legacy will continue to help Civil Air Patrol,” Kothari said. “Annual distributions from his legacy funding will be used where most needed to fulfill our organizational mission of saving lives and shaping futures. Just what Lt. Col. Soley wanted.”

Flying the skies over southern California in search of wildfires or missing people was just one of the adventures that marked the life of Lt. Col. John A. Soley. His young life took a sharp turn the day he fell underneath a massive coal truck. Rather than letting that accident rule his life, young John set his eye on the future. At age 18, he joined the The Civilian Conservation Corps, which was established by Congress on March 31, 1933, to provide jobs for young, unemployed men during the Great Depression. That service sparked something in John.

“That’s where he started his journey,” his brother, Ted, said.

Even while far from his parents and six siblings, John kept in touch. He wrote letters to the family and occasionally called his mother. Today, Ted and a sister, Rose Marie Thivert, who is in her mid-90s, are the sole survivors.

John’s journey, fueled by determination and wanderlust, took him to Alaska, Guam, and finally to California, where he chose to stay and become a real estate agent. Ever determined, John worked his way through UCLA while selling real estate.

“He was a real go-getter,” Ted said.

On the side, John joined Civil Air Patrol and became a pilot. That experience led to a lifelong love of flying and appreciation of CAP. When John died in 2020, a niece, Christy Keeling, sent all his memorabilia, including CAP uniforms, to his brother. The Soley house in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, is a fitting resting place for the memorabilia.

The 170-year-old house has been torn down and replaced by a newer one. But the garage is built on the original foundation. Ted, a retired teacher and skilled carpenter, had a hand in creating the home where he now lives.

“I live right on the spot where we grew up,” he said.

Flying for Civil Air Patrol was just one of the things Lt. Col. John A. Solely accomplished in his improbable journey through life. But it was one of his favorites.

“It was something he always loved to do,” Ted said. “When he set his sights out to do something, he did it.”

Loretta Fulton is a freelance writer in Abilene, Texas.