Ed E. Callaway

Edward (Ed) Ebbert Callaway of Davis, CA, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the age of 85, following a period of declining health and surrounded by love and care from family and friends, both in person and remotely.

Ed was born on November 26, 1940, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, the son of Jack and Florence Callaway. He was raised in New Jersey, but his family moved to Southern California when he was a teenager. He attended South Pasadena High School and played the trombone in the school band. Outside of school, he organized a polka band, “The Firehouse Five Minus Two,” that played at parties and business openings. He was also a Boy Scout and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated in 1958 and then attended Stanford University.

Soon after his college graduation in 1962, he joined the United States Navy. He served as a “tactical coordinator” officer aboard a seaplane similar to the PBY Catalina in the South China Sea during the early stages of the Vietnam War. The aircraft boasted a range of roughly 2,500 to 3,000 miles. Ed said, “Flying in the seaplane was hours of boredom and seconds of sheer terror.” After completing his Navy tour, he was accepted into a PhD program in molecular physiology at UC Davis. He quickly discovered that an academic career was not for him. As he told his family, “I’d rather repair color TVs.” Ed left his graduate classes and worked as an electron microscope technician at the university. Over time, his interest in flying, which began in the Navy, returned as he noticed small airplanes taking off and landing at Davis University Airport.

During the years Ed worked at UCD, he met Joan Snodgrass, who was instrumental in his transition from the indoor world of electron microscopy to the skies above. Ed married Joan on July 4, 1976, overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Laguna Beach, CA. He quickly became an integral member of the “Callagrass” family. Ed and Joan frequently attended Smuin Ballet, San Francisco Opera, Berkeley Rep, and the Ashland Shakespeare Festival with family and friends. All of Ed and Joan’s children and grandchildren have amazing memories of Ashland’s plays, 4th of July parades, bandstand music and Lithia Park adventures with their “Papa.” Ed loved to tell jokes and stories. After animated retellings of the “Wide Mouthed Frog” tale, he received many, many frog-themed gifts. He shared on more than one occasion that “I should have told them about King Midas!”

Within a short time, Ed and Joan were both busy entrepreneurs, as Ed turned his energies towards flying, becoming a pilot and flight instructor and in 1980, he started a flying club and flight school, “Executive Flyers, Inc,” in Sacramento. Executive Flyers quickly became a beloved aviation epicenter for hundreds of pilots. Ed’s philosophy about flying, which he shared with his instructors and students, was always to be safe and conservative. His expertise and natural ability to convey flying skills were only matched by his seemingly limitless bank of limericks that he would occasionally drop during flight lessons to the amusement of his students. With his flight school, Ed had found his calling. In doing so, he shaped the lives of students and instructors who were lucky enough to train with Ed during his 34-year tenure. When his name is mentioned, pilots across the world who knew Ed always smile and share their favorite stories about their experiences with him. According to his nephew Ryan, who he taught to fly, “Ed is an absolute legend in the aviation community.”

Ed retired in 2014 and proceeded to enjoy his time as an “old fart”, sharing his love of music and his technology expertise with the University Retirement Community at Davis. He managed the Great Courses and movie broadcasts for the community and worked with Joan on the URC newsletter until her death in 2019, after 45 years of marriage.

During the 2020-2021 COVID lockdown, a former flying student and retired music teacher reached out to Ed, igniting his long-standing interest in the tuba. Ed’s neighbors can attest to his efforts to learn this new instrument as he and Sue Forster, his companion in his last years, shared their love of music, bird-watching, and travel.

Ed is survived by his children, many much-loved grandchildren and great-grandchildren, two brothers, a sister, and nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends, all of whom are invited to a celebration of life at the University Retirement Community (URC) in Davis, California, on August 15th, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Parking onsite is limited; consider carpooling and/or parking on side streets.