Paula Longo

Paula Longo, age 88, of Springfield, Ohio, passed away on July 11, 2024. She was born in Los Angeles, California, on February 9, 1936 to the late Max and Zelda Firetag.

In addition to her parents, Paula was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, whom she married in July of 1983. She was also receded in death by her beloved chihuahua, Waldo. Paula is survived by her sister, Roberta Firetag, in Cool, California.

After completing the 9th grade, Paula took the entrance test and was accepted into the Northrup Aeronautical Institute in Inglewood, California. She worked her way through school as an employee of Lear, Siegler, and Douglas aircraft companies. After graduating from Northrup, Paula enrolled in Pacific State University's School of Electronic Engineering. She moved to, and worked in, Alaska repairing small planes used in the exploration of oil. After five years, Paula returned to California and was offered a job as a supervisor for the United States Government with the Israeli Aviation Department in Israel.

When she returned to the Unites States eight months later, she became a deep-sea diver. She subsequently took a certification course and went into business for herself, diving for abalone off the coast of California. A few years later, Paula got the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and repair crop dusters. While there, she obtained her aircraft engine engineering license and started building small planes. In 1980, Paula moved to the Dayton area to work for IASCO, a sheet metal shop in Vandalia that subcontracted for Emery Air Freight. She also worked at the Springfield Municipal Airport, where she repaired and sold air tools. In the later part of her career, she bought and sold airplane parts, repaired air tools, and did annual inspections for general aviation aircraft.

At the request of Paula, no services will be held at this time. To share a memory, or leave a special message, please see the guestbook below.