Joseph Georges “Paco” Sulmers.

Sunrise August 28, 1946

Sunset January 2, 2022

View Reception Photos Here.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to:

Stacey Abrams, Fair Fight

Nicholas House

United Negro College Fund

Joseph Georges “Paco” Sulmers, was the first of six children born to the late Dalton Sulmers and Odette Rigaud Sulmers. In December 1957, the Sulmers family immigrated to America, arriving in New York City. 


Since being invited to the cockpit of his first flight from Haiti to New York, Paco loved airplanes: the mechanics, the physics, and watching them up in the sky. He earned his private pilot’s license in April 1965.

Throughout his 38 year commercial pilot career, he flew nearly all of the major airliners, including the DC-9, L-1011, B-727,-737,-747, -777, Airbus 300 and 320. He was one of the founders of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (“OBAP”) and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2016. He was also the founder of the Atlanta Flying Mentors, which provides guidance to underprivileged youth in the field of aviation.

Read more here.