David Walter Schirmer, age 87, died May 26 at Island Health and Rehabilitation.

He was born Feb. 7, 1918, in El Dorado, Kan., to Herman Schirmer and Mary Brown.

During his teen years he lived in Eastern Washington and Priest River, Idaho, and he graduated from Priest River High School.

He was fascinated by aviation from an early age, and enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

He served in the European theater of operations and was based in England in 1943. He piloted a B-17 bomber “Stormy Weather,” and returned home in May 1944.

After the war, he came to Seattle and enrolled at the University of Washington, and later hired on with Pacific Northern Airlines based in Anchorage, Alaska.

He had a distinguished career flying DC-3s, DC-4s, Lockheed Constellations and Boeing 720Bs. He retired in 1978 as a DC-10 captain for Western Airlines.

Early in his career he was based in Anchorage, and there he met his wife, Shirley Jones, an accomplished pianist. They were married on May 13, 1951.

When PNA opened a base in Seattle, the family moved to Normandy Park and later to Mercer Island. He settled on Bainbridge Island during his retirement years in a home he built with his sons.

Throughout his life, Capt. Schirmer, as he was known to many, involved himself in numerous activities with his wife and four children.

Memorable times included swim meets, leading Cub Scout activities, family camping trips, Fourth of July parties with fireworks, vacationing in Hawaii and Mexico, attending Husky football games by boat, working in the yard, and repairing any and everything around the house.

Boating was also a passion in his life, and he spent many years cruising the San Juans and Canadian Gulf Islands with family and friends.

He and his wife loved to travel, and ventured to many different countries around the world, as well as enjoying time at two vacation homes at Thetis Island, British Columbia, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley, of Bainbridge Island; his daughter, Carol Schirmer, of Juneau, Alaska; sons David of Port Orchard, Michael (and wife Lisa and grandsons Andrew, Nathan, Daniel and Nicholas) of Seattle and Richard (and wife Julie and grandsons Alex and Jonathan) of Juneau, Alaska; and brothers John (Lois), Bill (Ellen), and Donald (Harriet).

Memorial services will be held at 3 p.m. June 7 at Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church, where Schirmer was an elder for many years.

Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home.