Gennady Provalov, 84 of Santa Cruz, passed away on September 14, 2022.

Gennady was born on March 6, 1938 to Yevdokiya Provalova and Vadim Provalov in Moscow. After graduating from school number 4 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy in 1957, he went on to study to become a fighter pilot in Pavlodar Pilot School, then in Borisoglebsky Pilot School in 1959-1960. In 1960 Gennady entered the Moscow Aviation Institute to study aviation engineering for two years. In 1962, he continued his education at the civil aviation pilot school in Kirovograd, completing it in 1963. After graduation, he landed his first job as a pilot for Aeroflot, kicking off a 50 years career in civil aviation. In 1969 he joined the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation as a helicopter test pilot.

In 1954, Gennady met Galina at their middle school, they started dating in 1956 and they wed in 1960, going on to have two children, Maxim and Ivan. After retiring in 1993 from his test pilot job, he continued working in the aviation field specializing in flight safety. In 2014 after retiring completely, he and Galina moved to the USA to join his son’s family in Santa Cruz, California, where he spent time among his grandchildren, enjoying many activities, including occasional helicopter flying, shooting at the local range, playing his favorite card games and chess.

Gennady is survived by his wife Galina, and his sons, Maxim and Ivan.