Aristocrats of the air -- The boy who wanted to fly -- Your life in your hands: aviation in the 1920's -- The girl who kept the books -- A marriage of opposites -- A pheasant in his teeth --War -- A death in the family -- A new hierarchy of power -- The bank with malice -- A disastrous interview -- Encounters with Lear -- "They'll have to carry me out" -- Eagle and raven: the end of an era -- A merger goes bad -- Final decade -- Two lives, lived in full -- Appendix A: Aviation trophies won by Walter H. Beech -- Appendix B: Awards and honors granted to Walter H. Beech -- Appendix C: Awards and honors granted to Olive Ann Beech -- Appendix D: List of persons interviewed by the author and/or submitting written recollections -- Beechcraft genealogy.