Eagle-eyed flight trackers spotted a special Cayman Airways name on radar Monday night as local pilot William McTaggart changed his flight call sign to “UnclBill” in honor of his grand- father William “Uncle Bill” McTaggart.
“It was a heartfelt tribute,” said William McTaggart, who is named after his grandfather. Cayman Compass Tuesday as he talked about renaming his call sign.
The elder McTaggart, a well-known businessman and father of opposition leader Roy McTaggart, died on Sunday evening at the age of 87.
He owned Uncle Bill’s home improvement center on Eastern Avenue and was also a member of the Rotary Club.
As news of his grandfather’s passing spread, many in the community paid tribute to the local businessman, so McTaggart said he wanted to do something his way.
He said while on his last flight of the day that he decided to change the call sign of the flight to honor his grandfather in his own way.
Senior McTaggart, he said, had a deep love for aviation and inspired him to become a pilot.
“Aviation was strong in our family. My father is a pilot [as well as] two uncles,” McTaggart said.
In fact, he remembered the stories his grandfather would share of times he would deliver passengers to Grand Cayman when PBY Catalina planes landed in the North Sound in the 1950s.
“He would take his small boat to meet the passengers of the plane and transport them to the shore. He always had that love of aviation,” McTaggart said.
He fondly remembered taking his grandfather on trips to his Little Cayman condo as captain of the Cayman Airways Twin Otter flights there.
“I miss him,” McTaggart said of his namesake.
Meanwhile, Board and staff of the Chamber of Commerce have expressed their condolences to the McTaggart family on the passing of the business icon, who was the Leader of the Opposition and former Speaker of the House, Roy McTaggart’s father.
“McTaggart, better known as Uncle Bill, was the founder of Uncle Bill’s Home Improvement Center, a family business he started in 1964. From humble beginnings, he has used his savings to buy 20 gallons of paint, 10 windows and became the distributor for Phillip Morris Products, Uncle Bill persevered in the early years, becoming a distributor for several international brands in the hardware and consumer products fields. as the business grew, Mr. McTaggart’s passion for serving the community grew,” the Chamber told the Compass mentioned.
McTaggart, the House said, was a life member and past president of the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman, “contributing both his time and resources to support community projects and initiatives.”
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