Jean Ross Howard was born on September 5, 1916, to a prominent family in Washington, D.C. where her grandfather, John W. Ross, was also commissioner of the District. She was raised in the D.C. area and attended the Sidwell Friends School and Western High School. After transferring from Connecticut College, Jean graduated from George Washington University in 1939 with a bachelor's degree in history. The summer months of her college years were spent touring Europe with her mother.

After her graduation, Jean declined a salaried government job to enter the Civilian Pilot Training Program. She earned her pilot's license in 1941 and worked briefly as a reservationist at Eastern Air Lines and as a pilot-secretary for Taylorcraft demonstrating lightweight planes to the military. After hearing Jacqueline Cochran give a recruitment speech for the Women Airforce Service Pilots, Jean signed up in 1943; however, she did not complete the training. From 1943 to 1945, Jean worked as a program director on the Italian island of Capri for the American Red Cross.

In 1945, Jean began her long career at Aircraft Industries Association (later the Aerospace Industries Association, or AIA). Hired as a staff assistant to the public relations director, she retired in 1986 as director of helicopter activities. Jean also continued her private aviation endeavors, competing in the 1951 and 1952 Transcontinental Air Races and becoming actively involved in the Personal Aircraft Council. In 1955, Jean completed her master's degree in Transportation at American University with her thesis "Selected Economic Problems in the Operation of Common Carrier Helicopters." She was also the first woman chair of the American Helicopter Society's Annual Forum, hosting forums in both 1958 and 1959, and served as chair of the 1962 Wright Day Memorial Dinner. In 1963, Jean was presented with the Washington Air Derby Association Trophy for her contributions to the Washington, D.C. aviation community. She was also elected president of the American Women's News Club from 1966 to 1968 and was awarded the prestigious Lady Drummond Hay Trophy, granted by the Women's International Association of Aeronautics in 1969.

In 1954, while working as an assistant in the helicopter division at AIA, Jean persuaded her supervisor to allow her to complete training at the Bell Helicopter School in Fort Worth, Texas. Jean became the eighth American woman, and the thirteenth woman in the world, to receive her helicopter pilot rating. In 1955, Jean helped establish the Whirly-Girls, an organization for female helicopter pilots. Initially composed of thirteen women from the United States, France, and Germany, the group grew to over 1,200 members in 41 countries by 2004. Jean was also an important advocate for establishing heliports for emergency medical services and traveled around the country promoting the Whirly-Girls and the helicopter industry. For these efforts, she was presented with the first Whirly-Girls Livingston Award in 1988. Jean was an honorary fellow of the American Helicopter Society and a member of the Ninety-Nines, the Federal Aviation Agency's Women Advisory Council, and the Helicopter Association of America (HAA). In 2003, Jean was named as one of the "100 Women Who Made A Difference" by Women in Aviation, International in honor of the centennial anniversary of flight.

In June 1986, she married James Phelan, a World War II pilot who was involved in the first helicopter combat rescue mission while serving in the Pacific. James later served as president of the Whirly-Girls Men's Auxiliary. On January 29, 2004, Jean passed away in Washington, D.C., at age 87.

References

Jean Ross Howard Phelan Papers, MSS 825, Texas Woman's University.

Whirly-Girls Collection, MSS 664, Texas Woman's University.

Sullivan, Patricia. "Jean Ross Howard Phelan Dies at 87; One of First Female Helicopter Pilots." Washington Post, 5 February 2004, page B06.