Mary Barr was the first female aviator to join the US Forest Service, along with being an accident prevention counselor, mechanic in a variety of fields, and flight instructor throughout her lifetime.

While living in Lorain, Ohio and working in a factory, Barr first learned how to fly aircraft in 1946 as part of a Piper club. She had dropped out of Oberlin College the year before in order to find a job to pay for flying lessons. After completing her training, she obtained a job training others to be commercial pilots.

During the end years of World War II, she decided to help build aircraft for the war, which led to her moving to New York City and joining an aircraft mechanic school. This also involved acting alongside members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots to assist in transporting war goods and planes across the US.

The end of the war resulted in moving to Susanville, California in 1949, and setting about running and improving the Susanville airport. After obtaining her certification in 1957, she was given the position of FAA Pilot Examiner for Lassen County.

She still continued to serve as a fire response pilot in the following years, being a member of the "Air Attack Program" for Susanville in 1959.

In 1964, Barr became one of the first four women to ever be a part of the Reno Air Races. She placed second in the Reno National Championships in the Stock Plane Class using a Piper Cherokee. She was given the position of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accident prevention counselor in 1971 thanks to her past FAA certificates in piloting and instruction.

Beginning a career in the US Forest Service in July 1974, she became the first female pilot to do so, being promoted to official staff after having worked with the Forest Service as a contract pilot for several years. Her job entailed working as a lead plane pilot for the California North Zone Air Unit.

Later in the 1970s, Barr moved to San Francisco to be an Aviation Safety Officer.

Mary Barr’s daughter said that even though her mother flew through glass ceilings, she never mentioned facing any unequal treatment. Her mother’s example, she said, taught her and her sister that they could achieve anything.

Mary Barr still flying high “In Heaven with the Stars.”