Carol Ann Rymer Davis (November 28, 1944 – c. September 29, 2010) was an American

balloonist In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat that ...

, and

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiatio ...

. In 2004, she was the first woman to win the Gordon Bennet Cup for ballooning with fellow crewman

Richard Abruzzo Richard Abruzzo (May 19, 1963 – c. September 29, 2010) was a champion American balloonist who with Carol Rymer Davis won the 2003 America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race and the 2004 Gordon Bennett Cup. Background Abruzzo was born on May 19, ...

. For this historic win, they were awarded the 2005

Harmon Trophy The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible). A fourth trophy, the "National Trophy," was awarded from 1926 through 1938 to t ...

. She was lost at sea on September 29, 2010, over the Adriatic Sea. Her body, along with that of Abruzzo, was found off the coast of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

on December 6, 2010.Bodies Of Missing Balloonists Found In Sea
–

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

Early life and education

Rymer Davis was born in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

on November 28, 1944, the daughter of Drs. Charles and Marion Rymer. She graduated from

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

with a bachelor's degree, and from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

Health Sciences Center with a medical degree. She completed her residency in Albuquerque at the Lovelace Medicine Center.

Career

She served 22 years in the United States Army Reserve as a flight surgeon and retired as a colonel in 2001. She received a

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

and was an Honor Graduate of the Expert Field Medical Badge School at

Fort Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs i ...

. She worked in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, New Mexico and then was a radiologist, specializing in reading breast mammograms, in Denver, Colorado at the time of her death. She was a partner at Diversified Radiology.

Ballooning

Davis became interested in

hot air ballooning Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of ballooning include the exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing), the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-eye view. Since the b ...

in 1972 with her husband. She was licensed to fly hot-air balloons in 1973 and two years later was licensed to fly gas balloons. She was awarded the 1981 Diploma Montgolfier. She was an instructor at the Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association Ground School, from 1982 to 1986. She participated in five Gordon Bennet Cup races.

Marie Goldschmidt Marie Goldschmidt aka Mme. (Gustave) Goldschmidt born Marie Kann (1890–1917) was a French aeronaut who co-piloted a balloon world distance record in 1913 of over 2,400 km. She was the first woman to enter an Fédération Aéronautique Intern ...

had been the first woman to enter the competition in 1913, but it was not until 2004, that Rymer Davis became the first woman to win a Gordon Bennett race. With Richard Abruzzo she received the

in 2005. On September 25, 2010, Abruzzo and Rymer Davis lifted off from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England during the Gordon Bennett race. They traveled for when contact was lost with the tracker device on their balloon on September 29, 2010. Abruzzo, who had been communicating with weather people, lost contact with them. The

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

air traffic control in Italy also lost contact with them. Radar showed that the balloon descended towards the sea at 50 miles an hour. The balloon had survival equipment and multiple forms of communication devices. Boats and aircraft engaged in a search and rescue operation in and over the Adriatic Sea, where there had been thunderstorms at the time that they went missing. Rescue efforts by the Croatian coastal aircraft crews, U.S. Navy aircraft, and Italian coast guard continued for five days. In December, their bodies were found by fishermen off the coast near

Vieste Vieste (; nap, label= Viestano, Vìst) is a town, ''comune'' and former Catholic bishopric in the province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. A marine resort in Gargano, Vieste has received Blue Flags for the purity of its wat ...

on December 6.

Personal life

She married John C. Davis IV in 1968; they raised two daughters. Her husband is a balloonist. She climbed all

fourteener In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...

s in

by her 18th birthday. She was also an avid skier and won several races.

References

External links