Coston Edward "Skip" Powell Obituary (1937

Coston Edward “Skip” Powell passed away on January 27, 2025 in his country home of the past 25+ years on the hilltop in Spalding County, Georgia. He was born February 10, 1937 in Marion County Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania in the country home of his late parents Warren Harrison and Ellen Frances (Newell) Powell as their eldest son. He is survived by his children, grandchildren and special friend Kiki. He attended Nye, Zellenople and Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Schools, and in 1959, graduated from the Airline Technical Institute. Following early teenage employments on the Goehring, Pflugh, and Powell dairy and chicken farms, at age 16 he began his “non-farm” employment at C.D. McDonald’s, a Bell Telephone contractor, in Rochester, PA. He enlisted in 1955 as a US Army Private completing three years of duty as a combat engineer as a Sargent with the 24th Engineers, 4th Armored Division at Foot Hood, TX. Then followed 42+ years in the US Army Reserves as an Engineer, Personnel Officer, and Computer Technician in Michigan and Minnesota retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer in 1995. At Watertown, South Dakota in 1959, he became a North Central Airlines Station Agent and was then promoted to their Minnesota Headquarters to a become a Programmer in 1968. He became instrumental in the development of pioneering computer airline reservation and flight operation systems into which Southern Airways and Hughes Air West were merged forming Republic Airlines before retiring in 1984. Then following additional managerial positions at Walgreens’s, Western Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Worldspan, he retired again in 1995 to live in Georgia. He was married for 55+ years, to a blue-eyed blonde beautiful stewardess, Ellen Elaine Kreutner of Duel County, South Dakota. They became parents of four children, Kevin Warren (wife Gana Otgonbayar), Scott Edward (wife Heidi Patz), Todd Frederick (wife Jennifer Stohl), and Michelle Ellen. He is survived by 12 grandchildren, Aaron Coston, Samuel Kristian, Victoria Elaine, Merrill Lianne, Nichole Maria, Alexander Eric, Coston Hunter, Zachary Bennett, Brandon Scott, Emily Michelle, Aiden David, and Elinor Ellen. His is also survived by two great grandchildren, Adaline and Amelia. His siblings, Blanche (RIP 7/12/21) and husband Tom Strathmann (RIP 12/11/09), Reverend Warren Francis “Bud” and wife Loretta Faust (RIP 4/27/23), Sally Joann and husband Master Sargent Russell “Bud” Neyman (RIP 5/27/14), David Newell and wife Virginia “Ginny”, and Patricia Ellen and husband Reverend Robert Jones, and Army Sargent First Class Robert “Bobby” James and wife Michelle Schaefer. In 1936, a home accident claimed three year ago Patricia Ann. “No flowers” and “definitely no long winded send-offs or commentaries”…Skip’s requests. Funeral services will be conducted graveside and his remains will be interned at the Powell Family grounds at the Burns Cemetery, Unionville, PA in June. Skip’s final request — “As a last favor for me, do something nice for someone.” Haisten McCullough Funeral Home, 1155 Everee Inn Road, Griffin, Ga. 30224 in charge of arrangements.