Thair "David" Layne Obituary (2022)

Thair David Layne "put out his hand and touched the face of God" on April 5th, 2022. He was born on April 28th 1931 to Louise Bertha Gessel & Charles Russ Layne and lived an amazing adventure-filled life in which he served for thirty years as an officer and a United States Air Force fighter pilot. During his career he was highly decorated for his leadership and heroism. Dave fought in Viet Nam during 2 separate one-year tours where he was awarded a Bronze Star and 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses. He culminated his service in 1986 by being a commander of airmen throughout Europe and the Middle East rising to the rank of Full Colonel and receiving the Legion of Merit medal. For sixty-seven years and counting he has been married to JoAnne Kapple Layne who in his words, "is the core of his happiness, his choicest companion, most trusted confidant, strongest supporter and dearest sweetheart." During his USAF career they developed a love for adventuresome travels throughout the world. Post retirement they continued exploring and have been to most countries in Europe and the Far East. As recently as November 2021 they traveled to London, England and visited homes they lived in during his first assignment to the south-east coast of the UK. More important to him than anything else in life has been his faith and his family. Dave and Joanne are the progenitors of three children Carrie Riggs (Kay), Julie Layne, & Mitch Layne (Vivian), eight grandchildren, and soon-to-be twelve great-grandchildren. He has been a life-long and active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the age of nineteen Dave served a full-time 2-year mission in the Atlantic States Mission. He regularly stated that skills gained as a missionary not only prepared him for many varied callings and leadership roles in the Church but also prepared him well to serve as an officer in the USAF. He often spoke of his deep faith and love for his Savior, Jesus Christ. Having grown up on a farm in Lewiston, Utah Dave was taught the value of hard work and discipline from an early age. He developed a green thumb, along with skills in all aspects of building and repair. Those competencies led to his post-retirement work as a contractor in building several homes and running landscaping projects. One of his favorite hobbies was cultivating a beautiful lawn, growing vegetables, and brightening everything with flowers. Dave loved flying and often talked about how he felt he should have been paying the Air Force to allow him to fly super-sonic jet aircraft. During his career he was certified to fly eleven different aircraft, became an instructor pilot, and accumulated over 4700 hours of flying time. He had many exhilarating experiences in the air during which he lost complete engine power, experienced loss of radio communications, was shot at and hit by enemy firepower but was always able to successfully return to station and "never put a dent in an airplane." Dave had a great sense of humor and was known for being a captivating storyteller, writer, and orator. All who have interacted with him would speak of his wit and how entertaining it has been to spend time with him. In 2021 he was able to publish his memoir in a book entitled, "From Farm Boy to Fighter Pilot - The Life and Times of Thair David Layne" Please join his family to celebrate his life by attending a viewing on Sunday April 10th from 5:00 - 7:00 PM at Myers Mortuary (845 Washington Blvd. Ogden, UT 84404) and or funeral services on Monday April 11th (11:00 AM) at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1401Country Hills Dr. Ogden, UT 84403) with a viewing prior from 9:30 -10:30 AM. Dave's funeral will be live streamed, to watch go to his obituary page on Myers website www.myers-mortuary.com