Aline Rhonie Hofheimer

Aline "Pat" Rhonie Hofheimer Brooks (August 16, 1909 – January 7, 1963) was an American aviator. Rhonie had several firsts as a pilot and was one of the pioneering women aviation pilots in World War II. She became one of the first members of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Rhonie also drove an ambulance in France. Rhonie is also known for her aviation history mural which is now located at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology.

Biography Aline Rhonie was born as Aline Rhonie Hofheimer in York, Pennsylvania, on August 16, 1909. She was born into the notable Hofheimer family of York township. She moved from York to New Jersey at the age of three. Rhonie attended Dalton School in New York.

Rhonie married Richard Bamberger, a member of a wealthy New York family, when she was 17. She became interested in flying after helping two pilots who had crash-landed near her grandfather's golf course. She started flying in a De Havilland Moth with a Gypsy engine. and her English pilot's license in 1936.

Rhonie divorced Bamberger in December 1930 in Reno. After the divorce, she took her middle name, Rhonie, as her last name.

During World War II, she participated in the British war relief effort. Instead, she started driving an ambulance in France. In 1940, she took leave to raise money to build canteens for Allied pilots working at the war's front lines. Rhonie was one of the nine original women who were part of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS).

After the war, Rhonie learned mural painting from the Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Rivera taught her how to paint in the fresco style. When Rhonie found out that the hangar at Roosevelt Field was going to be destroyed in 1960, she obtained the rights to the mural and convinced Italian fresco expert, Leonetto Tintori, to come to the U.S. to help relocate the mural. After the mural was taken down, she helped restore the panels and then added 25 more portraits.

Awards and honors Rhonie won several awards and recognitions, including membership of the French national association of the Croix de Guerre for her service in the French Red Cross, Médaille de la Reconnaissance française, and was made a Companion of the Ordre de la Libération. She was inducted into the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010.