Former United States Air Force (USAF) Captain Nila McCreary, dies at age 94.  She passed away peacefully in the morning of May 8, in Vero Beach, FL with her daughters, Dadre and Tracy at her bedside.

Nila was the third child born by Cecelia and Joseph Roy, into what would become a family of 7 brothers and sisters in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Nila graduated from high school in 1948, a time when gender roles were firmly entrenched into the collective vision of the American Dream.  She longed to break free of the molds of conformity and compliance with society's expectations, so she enrolled in St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing in pursuit of a higher education, that would afford her autonomy.  She graduated in 1954, with a Bachelors of Nursing.

Nila still longed for excitement and adventure. She accepted a commission with the USAF Nurse Corps.  She was later accepted into the prestigious USAF Flight Nursing School where she earned her wings after graduation and became a flight nurse. Flight nurses deploy behind enemy lines to perform combat medicine, prepare the wounded for "medivac", and then airlift them to safety for treatment and recovery.  While airborne on specially equipped C9's, call sign, "Nightingale", flight nurses were "Steady and Ready" to stabilize US soldiers' injuries in flight to military hospitals.

In 1961, Nila's mettle and resolve were tested. During her assignment to McDill AFB, her unit was deployed on an troop carrier in Tampa, FL, in preparation to travel the short distance to Cuba, in support of the US backed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, until the stand down order was issued by John F.  Kennedy.  In her own words, "That was a close one".

Nila traveled the globe, and ended up in Anchorage, Alaska, where she met a dashing USAF fighter pilot, with movie star good looks, widower, Major Richard McCreary.  After a whirlwind romance, the two were married in 1965.

Nila discharged from the USAF and busied herself raising her 2 step children, Tracy and Steven, until 1967 when she became pregnant with a baby of her own.  Richard, Nila and family moved to South Carolina and later to Florida's Space Coast. Nila was active in many volunteer opportunities, namely Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, where she was a parishioner, and the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, to name a few.

Nila, a brave midwestern girl turned veteran of the cold war, was foremost, a patriot, and a believer in American exceptionalism. She loved living in Florida, cooking and poolside entertaining her large extended family.  She also adored her little Italian Greyhounds, Lollipop and Gracie and a myriad of tropical birds over the years.

Nila is survived by her daughter Dadre McCreary and her step children Tracy and Steven McCreary.

A memorial service will be held Friday, May 17, 2024 at 10:30am, at the Cox Gifford Seawinds 1950 20th St., Vero Beach, FL 32960, interment will follow at 2:00 at Florida Memorial Gardens, in Rockledge, FL.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Macular Degeneration research, BrightFocus Foundation, 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871.