Honorees

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Year Honored
1999
Honoree
Merton M Tiffany
Agency
Sioux Valley Hospital Intensive Air
Agency City
Sioux Falls
Agency State
SD
Last Call
8/20/98
Cause of Death
Medical Aviation Accident
Biography
Merton was a devoted husband and father who has left behind a powerful impression. "He loved saving people, especially children. That was his soft spot. He would share those experiences with me and the children. He was just a very adventurous person, very conservative, he liked challenges. He was good at whatever he did," said his wife, Nancy.<br /> <br /> Merton M. Tiffany, 50, has a list of accomplishments. In high school "Tiff" received the Distinguished Honor Graduate of his class. He served as special services medic in Vietnam, and was recalled for Desert Storm. Among his many medals and decorations are the Purple Heart and the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars. While he was at Sioux Valley Hospital, Mr. Tiffany was a recipient of an Intensive Air Flight Team of the Year Award and an Intensive Air Safety Award. He had recently received the Rocky Mountain Helicopters Safety Award.<br /> <br /> After retiring from the U.S. Army, Mr. Tiffany started working for Sioux Valley Hospital Intensive Air. He had logged in 10 years of his 25-year flying career with them. His job was piloting Trauma 1, the hospital's helicopter. On the night of August 20, 1998, Tiffany was piloting the helicopter to pick up a patient in Spencer, Iowa, when it crashed into a nearby soybean field. Tiffany and two others lost their lives.<br /> <br /> Merton Tiffany is survived by his wife, Nancy, son, Justin, two daughters, Megan and Heather, one grandson, Carlos, and his mother, Hilda Frances Tiffany.<br /> <br /> Honored 1999