Eddie Chavez, age 87, a native and life-long resident of San Antonio, Texas, passed away August 18, 2004, in his home of a heart complication. Until this recent problem, Eddie was in good health and remained active in the community and the "accordion world" doing what he loved - communicating with his many friends over the telephone and through personal correspondence. Known for his keen knowledge of the accordion and accordionists all over the world, Eddie Chavez was aptly referred to as "Mr. Ambassador." He truly loved to research and answer questions about early accordion history. Because of his phenomenal recollection of facts and his personal acquaintance with key accordion artists, he worked for several years co-authoring a book, The Golden Age of the Accordion, with two of his accordion friends, Ronald Flynn and Edwin Davison.

Eddie Chavez fell in love with the accordion at age 12 after he heard Charles Magnante play over the radio. This early experience created an intense love for the magic sound of the accordion that endured throughout his entire life. His parents purchased him a 12-bass Hohner accordion that he learned to play by ear. His friends were always amazed that he could play even the most complicated arrangements by ear.

He enlisted in the military in 1941 and served in the U.S. Air Corps until 1945. During World War II he flew many missions over enemy territory and performed many dangerous assignments, including duties as a tail gunner. He then transferred to the U.S. Army where he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant. During the Korean War, he worked in the Counter-Intelligence Division (CID) and fabricated models of aircraft that were used as visual aids for pilots and soldiers in the identification of enemy aircraft. His interest in flying and airplanes can be traced back to the early age of 10 or 11 when he would make models of all the airplanes that were stationed at Kelly Field, and he would ask his parents to take him to the base where he sold the models to make extra money.

Eddie was discharged from the military in 1952, with the rank of Captain, after a distinguished military career. His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Metal, American Defense Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal with 5 Bronze Service Stars, American Theater Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, and United Nations Medal. Upon discharge from the service, Eddie then joined the U.S. Postal Service where he worked until he retired at the age of 55 to devote himself to the avocations of model making and the accordion.

Patience was always one of his greatest traits - a trait that served him well in his music and model-making. Because of the skills he developed in the service in making models, he gained national recognition for his handmade models that were on display at the famous Nut Tree Restaurant and Airfield in Vacaville, California until its closing in 1996, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and in several private collections across the United States, including a replica of the historic X-1 experimental jet aircraft that was made exclusively for General Chuck Yeager.

The great majority of the model aircraft Eddie created for the Nut Tree Restaurant and Airfield in Vacaville, California were acquired by the San Francisco Airport Museums in 1997. Mr. Chavez's relationship with the Nut Tree began in 1961 when Edwin I. Power, Jr., an owner of the Nut Tree, had his art director, Don Birrell, contact Mr. Chavez after seeing his model work at the Smithsonian. From 1961 to 1988, some twenty-seven Chavez models were commissioned by the Nut Tree, and for much of that period he modelled exclusively for Mr. Power. A few of the models were made with the assistance of Mr. Chavez's friend, Robert Fogg.

Eighteeen of these Chavez models were added to the San Francisco Airport Museums Aviation Collection in 1997. They became an important asset of the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, which opened as part of the San Francisco Airport Museums in 2000 upon completion of the new International Terminal at SFO. This is the largest collection of Chavez models.

Thirteen of the models are now on view in the aviation museum in the exhibition, "Masters of the Sky: Model Aircraft by Edward Chavez," which continues through January 2005. Directions and viewing hours for the Chavez exhibition, can be found at www.sfoArts.org/maps/directions.html or by calling (650) 821- 9900.

Below are four examples of his work which are currently on display in San Francisco. Many thanks to John H. Hill, the Curator in Charge of Aviation at the San Francisco Airport Museum and the San Francisco Airport Commission for providing these beautiful pictures of Eddie's work for use with this memorial. All photographs are copyright © San Francisco Airport Commission.
 

 
In addition to these aircraft models, Eddie was also extremely proud of the exact replicas of Charles Magnante's and Pietro Deiro's accordions that he made for them.

Eddie was a charter member of the Texas Accordion Association, the San Antonio Accordion Club, and an active member of other national accordion organizations. He was recently inducted as an Honorary Lifetime member of the Texas Accordion Association for his untiring devotion and personal commitment in the promotion of the accordion. Eddie loved to attend accordion conventions where he could meet with his long-time friends and hear performances by accordion artists from all over the world.

Eddie was preceded in death by his wife, the former Kathryn Moser, who also loved the accordion and participation in accordion events. He is survived by one sister, Mrs. Ernestine Stockert and her husband, Herman, and one brother, Dr. Edmund Chavez.

Throughout his life, Eddie was known as a caring and giving person, and was always trying to help anyone who had a problem. Likewise, so that he could continue to help others through research, he made the decision several years ago to donate his body to The University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School in San Antonio, Texas. This wish was honored, and the medical school accepted his donation to science, a gift that will indeed benefit future mankind.

Condolences may be sent to Mrs. Ernestine Stockert, 9031 Hetherington, San Antonio, TX 78240. In keeping with Eddie's wishes, a simple memorial service will be held on August 28, 2004 at 2 PM in Eddie's home at 9019 Hetherington, San Antonio, TX where friends can pay their last respects. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to support the many accordion organizations across the country that Eddie loved and supported.