Rhyne, Plato
RHYNE, Jr., Plato Shields
On November 26, 2021 Plato Shields Rhyne Jr., 84, passed away peacefully at his home.
Plato was born to the late Plato Shields Rhyne Sr. and Miriam Rhyne. He graduated from College Park High School in 1955. He attended Emory University in Atlanta and graduated in 1959. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Upon graduating from Emory University, Plato completed Aviation Officer Candidates School at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy in 1959. Following Naval Flight Training, he moved west and joined VP-22 "Blue Geese" at NAS Barbers Point Hawaii. Plato flew the P-2 Neptune in the Pacific Theater with the mission of tracking Russian submarines during the height of the Cold War. Following his time at Barbers Point, Lieutenant Rhyne moved back east and joined the VT-28 "Rangers" at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. He received orders to fly the T-28 Trojan as an Instructor Pilot and he loved his new job of training flight students over the Gulf of Mexico. In 1964 and following the completion of his orders at NAS Corpus Christi, Plato received an honorable discharge from the Navy. In 1965 he was thrilled to be moving east again and back home to Atlanta to start his career at Delta Air Lines. He flew the Convair 440, the DC 6 and 7, DC 9, DC 10, the Boeing 727, 757 and 767 and the Lockheed 1011. He was an assistant Chief Pilot and the Chief Pilot for the Atlanta base. He was Lead Line Check Airman B767 for the Flight Standards Department. He retired in 1997 after more than 31 years. After retirement, he went back to Delta as a full-time consultant in charge of hiring pilots. Of all his jobs, that one was his favorite.
Plato was a member of St. Luke's Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody where he sang for many years as a member of the choir.
He is survived by his wife, Judy Huskisson Rhyne, his son Plato Shields Rhyne lll (Margaret) as well as his three daughters, Amy Rhyne Reilly (Jack) Laura Rhyne Brown (Adam) and Natalie Rhyne Standard (Ben) his brother and sister-in-law, Bruce Rhyne (Pam) and his sister-in-law, Susan Huskisson. He has thirteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was a treasured husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and was deeply loved by his family and all those fortunate enough to know him.
A Memorial Service will be held on April 9th at 1 PM at St. Lukes Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody. Donations can be made to pancan.org.
