Alan Brian Pilot, Sr.
Sept. 21, 1923 -- Sept. 16, 2016

Alan B. Pilot -- gentle, strong and caring as a husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather -- passed away peacefully in his sleep early in the morning of Sept. 16 at Providence Hospice Place in Waco, just five days short of his 93rd birthday. Alan was a role model of just and kind living for all of his family and was not only loved but greatly admired. He will be greatly missed by all of his family, especially his wife Theo, with whom he shared 72 years in marriage.

Rosary and visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. this evening (Sept. 18) at OakCrest Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Sept. 19) at OakCrest, and burial will immediately follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be his grandchildren.

Alan was born in Baltimore, Md., and spent most of his youth there, except for two years when his family lived in New York City. He graduated from Catonsville (Md.) High School in 1941 and was drafted in 1943 for service in World War II. He served as a combat medic in the 86th Infantry Division from 1943-46, in Europe and in the Philippines.

He married Theo Lorenz in Waco on Feb. 17, 1944. Brian, the first of their three children, was born on June 8, 1945, the day the 86th Infantry returned to the United States from Europe, for redeployment to the Philippines.

Alan received a B.S. degree from the University of Maryland in June 1950, and his young family moved that same month to Waco, where he worked until 1968, providing clients with life and health insurance from the firm American Casualty and Life. He was several times named the company’s top salesman, and he was active in professional and civic organizations. During those years, he and Theo were blessed by the births of their two daughters, Valerie in 1952 and Tami in 1958.

The family moved in 1968 to Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, where Alan worked as a Property Administrator for the U.S. Department of Defense. He retired in 1985, and as empty-nesters, he and Theo at that point moved back to Waco.

When their children were younger, Alan and Theo enjoyed many years of camping with family and friends in Colorado and New Mexico. After retirement, he and Theo enjoyed many wonderful cruises, both as a couple and with family, and he and Theo also took several trips to Europe, including one where he revisited areas where he spent time during World War II.

Alan and Theo’s residences in Waco included a home on Lake Waco and a condo at Lake Air Tower, prior to their moving in 2012 to the Village at Providence Park, where they made many new friends.

Alan is survived by wife Theo, daughter Valerie Brennan and husband Jack and daughter Tami Pilot-Matias and husband Matthew, and eight grandchildren, Britton, Trey, Gretchen, Sarah, Tim, Hannah, Brian, and Meg, as well as eight great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by son Brian (in 1988) and by his older brother, Oliver.

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