Obituary

Joseph Georges “Paco” Sulmers, (née August 28th, 1946 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti), 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. Initially enamored with how they were put together, he built numerous model planes. While attending Aviation High School in Queens, NY, he learned from his metallurgy teacher that he could become a pilot without joining the military, and in his trademark decisive fashion, within eight hours, he crafted a plan to obtain his pilot’s license. He earned his private pilot’s license in April 1965. Paco then enrolled at the City Community College in New York City to study mechanical engineering. One year later, he transferred to Miami Dade Junior College to complete flight training and obtained his commercial pilot, instrument, multi-engine, and certified flight instructor pilot licenses. It is a testament to Paco’s grit, his meticulous attention to detail, the high standards he set for himself, and his single-minded focus on achieving whatever he set his mind to, that he arrived in America 9 years earlier not speaking the language and obtained all four licenses in record time.

Once licensed, Paco turned his sights to becoming one of the first Black commercial airline pilots in the U.S.  At the age of twenty-two in September 1968, he was hired as an airline pilot with Northeast Airlines. In July 1970, he was hired as a pilot, second officer at Eastern Airlines, where he remained until March 1989. After Eastern folded, he continued his aviation career at United Airlines, where he retired as a Captain in August 2006. 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.

After retiring at age 60, Paco stayed active with real estate and managed various properties in the Metro Atlanta area. He loved his wife, Gail, and loved spending time with her. He and Gail traveled the world together. As Gail pushed him outside of his comfort zone, Paco came to appreciate her adventurous spirit over African safaris, dog sledding, exploring the Egyptian pyramids, skiing, hiking, and sight-seeing. When he had the occasion, he loved to dance (or as he would say, “do the Watusi”). He also enjoyed going to his beloved Costco, spending time with his family and friends, and driving anything fast with Gail as his co-pilot (his plane, his boat, but particularly his cars). He was both a Founder and the President of the Black Porsche Club of Atlanta, and he gifted himself with a Cherry Red Corvette Stingray for his 75th birthday as he cruised into what he called, his “fourth quarter.” 

He is survived by his wife of thirty-three years, Dr. Gail Gross Sulmers; two sons, Georges Jr. and André; four daughters, Claire, Teri (and her husband, David), Toni, and Diane (“DeeDee”); three grandchildren Samantha, Biden, and Brighton; seven siblings, Carolle, Jean Dalton (“Danny”), Mary Nancy (and her husband, Al), Susie, Peggy, Camille and Christine; and nieces and nephews, William (“W.D.”), Margaret (“Maggie”), Nicole, Dani, Hollis Jr., Zaria, Saidi, Steven, Denise, Keith, Sarah, Jacob, Justin, Ryan, Ahanu, Mabi, Anna Rose, Kendall, Brady, and Lilly.

Paco leaves behind an incredible legacy of breaking down barriers, allowing nothing to block his path to success. He will be remembered as a funny, honest, ambitious, talented, and trailblazing patriarch, who set a standard of excellence that his family and friends will forever uphold.

We praise God for the blessing of his life and are comforted to know that he is now eternally at peace.