Although she was an international first-class skier, who skied for Britain in many competitions that would later become World Cup events, Lois Butler’s 15th place finish for Canada in the women’s combined event at the 1936 Winter Olympics was a footnote to her life as an aviator. Her husband, Alan Samuel Butler, whom she married in 1925, was the chairman of the De Havilland Aircraft Company, which gave her access to many resources that would have otherwise been unavailable to women seeking to fly in her era. In 1928 the duo (with Lois as a passenger) set a world speed record for two-seater light airplanes and, a year later, Lois obtained her own private pilot’s license. She began competing in air races in the 1930, including the king’s cup air race and the Europa Rundflug, a 7000 mile race around Europe. By 1939 she had logged over 300 flight hours and was invited to be one of the first eight women to join the Air Transport Auxiliary, a British civilian organization that, during World War II, ferried military aircraft where they were needed. By the conflict’s end she had logged more than 1,000 flight hours and flown 36 different types of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force aircraft. Following the war the family moved to Rhodesia, although Lois continued to ski for leisure in Europe. She died of a heart attack in 1970 while on vacation to the Greek islands.
Canada