Although from a prominent General Aviation family, Muriel was not a pilot. She grew up (quite literally) on the Bloomsburg PA airport, spending part of her childhood living in an apartment above the Columbia Aviation maintenance hangar. Her uncle, Fred Vedic, operated Columbia and served as airport manager. Her father, Robert Hykes, was chief pilot. Her mother, Joyce Kramer Hykes, and aunt, Janet Kramer Vedic, were the airport secretaries. Her cousins did all the maintenance, and her grandmother, Leerah Kramer, did the rib stitching on the company’s Piper Cubs. Yet, despite this rich pedigree, Muriel was the only member of her family never to pursue an aviation career. Rather, she became a biochemist, with degrees in biology and psychology, as well as teaching credentials and a strong research interest in neuropharmacology.
A med school dropout, Muriel was forced by illness to leave the LSU Medical Center in New Orleans in the middle of her studies. Despite this, thanks to the advent of the Internet, she managed to establish herself as an independent science consultant, educational and special needs advocate, and practitioner of the alternative healing arts. She often said that if she had been healthier, she would probably have ended up “just another asshole MD-PhD researcher working for Big Pharma.”
When I retired from a lengthy academic career in 2007, I combined my lifetime of flying with a longtime commitment to education, and founded AvSport LLC, the sport aviation training center on the Piper Memorial Airport in Lock Haven PA. Although she considered General Aviation primarily a convenient means of transportation between distant points, Muriel spent a good deal of time on the airport, making students and visitors feel comfortable and welcome. She also generously offered our guest room and a warm meal to any itinerant pilot stranded here by inclement weather or mechanical difficulties.
In December of 2021, Muriel was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She had always been immunocompromised, ever since she had to drop out of med school. But she always toughed it out, always pushed forward, always found a way. This time, her medical needs exceeded her resilience. She spent months in a succession of hospitals and nursing homes, dying just blocks from the airport, at UPMC Lock Haven hospital, at 5:18 AM on 28 July 2023. I was sitting by her side, holding her hand, when Muriel breathed her last breaths.
I am grateful for the support I have received from my fellow pilots during this difficult time, including cards, emails, and social media posts from several of you, as well as a lovely arrangement of flowers that arrived for her memorial service, signed by the Flying Musicians Association.
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