Lt. Col. David Joseph Long, 86, Kansas City, Missouri, passed away Thursday, May 28, 2020 in Edgerton, Kansas. Mass of Christian Burial 11:00 a.m. Thursday, June 4, 2020 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 11822 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri. Private family visitation will be held before the funeral service. Inurnment with Military Honors at Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas 12:30 pm, Friday, September 24, 2021 . Memorials may be made to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Heart of America Chapter, 2405 Grand Blvd 520, Kansas City, Missouri 64108. Condolences may be left at www.brucefuneralhome.com. Arrangements: Bruce Funeral Home, 106 S. Center, Gardner, Kansas 66030 (913) 856-7111. Born in New York City on Mother’s Day 1934 to an Irish-Catholic family, David grew up in Queens, Long Island, living with his parents, David Sr. and Catherine Shea, sister, Eileen, and disabled aunt, Loretta. The good nuns and Jesuits hustled him through his education at St. Pascal Baylon Elementary in Queens and St. Francis Xavier High School in the Bronx. He graduated from Fordham University, where he earned a B.A. in Math. After college, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he served his country for 25 years. As a USAF navigator, some of his most memorable moments included a U-2 search for Francis Gary Powers and Air Rescue coverage for both the Apollo flights and the Belgian Congo Evacuation, where he contracted malaria. He flew near the Victoria Falls, supplied Viet Nam with its basic airfield equipment, and served in Libya, Turkey and Taiwan (Formosa). He logged over 7,000 flight hours, then made a career change to the Comptroller field at both the Base and Command level and served on-staff as Financial Advisor to the Taiwan Embassy Staff. He always had a knack for numbers especially if they were tied to money. David had his best day ever on February 15, 1958, when he married Katherine Shane at the Norton AFB Chapel in San Bernardino CA. They began a 22+-year adventure with Uncle Sam, living at 10 different bases and moving the household 26 times. Along the way, they raised six children, three born overseas, and each smarter than the average bear: Laura, Mary, Dennis, Anne, Tom, and Maureen. The kids attended countless different schools (Laura went to three different schools in her first grade), schools in converted Quonset Huts, and schools with open classrooms. Being in the Air Force required many, many separations, which led to missed birthdays and Christmases and missing the wonder of watching the family grow and learn, but David was an engaged father, coaching baseball, baking cakes and building pine derby cars for Boy Scout competitions, serving as president of the swim club, and driving three of the kids all over to swim meets. After leaving the USAF, David worked in two manufacturing plants for more than 15 years, including Carlon in Clinton, Iowa and Thrall Car Manufacturing Company in Clinton, Illinois. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1995. A committed volunteer, he taught English as a Second Language, gave his time to CLAIM and the United Way. He volunteered for 14 years at St. Joseph’s Medical Center and devoted more than 20 years to Tax-Aide, providing tax services to community members through AARP, and serving as a regional trainer of other volunteers. He was active in several professional and social organizations, including the Military Officers Association of America. He was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus and was a charter member of the chapter at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Kansas City, where he and Katherine were parishioners for more than 25 years. They were active members of the More Friends group at the church, and David served as treasurer of the group for many years. He had a keen interest in Native American history and he and Katherine attended 28 Road Scholar programs, many of which focused on the subject. He generously supported two Native American schools as well as other organizations about which he was passionate, including Catholic Charities, Wounded Warriors, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Children’s Organ Transplant Association. David will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Katherine, and their children Laura (Daniel) Deibler of Yorktown VA, Mary Hart of Edgerton KS, Dennis (Cindi) Long of Lawrence KS, Anne (Matthew) Barrett of St. Paul MN, Tom (Mary) Long of The Woodlands TX, and Maureen Long of St. Paul MN, as well as his grandchildren Lisa (Terry) Storms, Erin (Tim) Roe, Sarah (Ben) Crowder, and Daniel (Radinka) Deibler, Nick Long, Carter Long, Ethan Long, and Jack Barrett, and great-grandchildren Logan Storms, Kaylen Storms, Bryce Roe, Owen Storms, Spencer Roe, Morgen Deibler, Arthur Roe, Zane Crowder, and Ruby Crowder. David is also survived by his sister, Eileen Moseman of Clifton Park NY. He is preceded in death by his father, David, mother, Catherine, and beloved granddaughter, Judy Hart. David loved a sense of humor, especially his own. He said that he would die not rich, but comfortable, and reminded us all that you can’t take it with you.