As crew chief for Air Force One, South Side native Walter Ousley was responsible for maintaining and servicing the aircraft during the administration of former President Richard M. Nixon."He was first African American to serve in that role," said his son, Peter Ousley."He always said that despite ho w Nixon was perceived after his presidency, he was someone who treated the crew and people around him with respect, and it was an honor for him to shake his hand and serve the president," Peter Ousley said.After graduating from Tilden High School in 1964, Mr. Ousley joined the Air Force and learned the mechanical and electrical systems of aircraft.While serving in Vietnam, he once used chewing gum to improvise a fix to a leaky engine — while the aircraft was briefly on the ground in hostile territory. When he was tapped for duty on Air Force One, family members, including his grandmother, were called during routine security screenings, since the position required top-secret clearance."His grandma received a call and then quickly reached out to Mr. Ousley with concern: 'What did you do? There's all these people asking all these questions about you,'" Peter Ousley said.After being discharged from the military, Mr. Ousley earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a graduate degree from Roosevelt University.In 1973, he began working for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, finishing his 35-year career there in 2008 as chief operating officer. Walter Ousley during his time as chief operating officer of Catholic CharitiesProvided "He was someone, when you walked into the room, you straightened up a little and wanted to do your best," said longtime Catholic Charities employee Ann Grelecki Anderson, who counted Mr. Ousley as a mentor.As the charitable arm of the Catholic Church in Chicago, the organization provides wraparound services ranging from housing to substance abuse treatment.Mr. Ousley was not one to a brag about his accomplishments, but he always liked to tout that for every dollar donated to Catholic Charities, more than 97 cents of it was going directly to help clients in need, his family said.One of his biggest achievements was guiding construction of the St. Leo’s Residence for veterans in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood to completion during the last years of his career.It also pained him deeply when he was forced to close or consolidate operations due to budgetary constraints, his family.Mr. Ousley was known for his attention to detail and always wearing a freshly pressed Brooks Brothers suit to work.He once sent his staff reeling when they saw him wearing jeans to a staff outing."But, of course, they were pressed and had a crease," Grelecki Anderson said with a laugh."He really was just the perfect combination of professionalism and heart, and he didn't take himself too seriously.""He made a difference," said his wife, Joyce Craven-Ousley. "He had an emotional core. He understood people who had problems. You could talk to him. He knew what he could do and what he couldn't do and who to get involved in order to move a project forward."Mr. Ousley, who lived in Park Ridge, was a tennis enthusiast, though in recent years, he turned to golf when his body no longer held up on the court."I have journals that he kept on his golf game filled with little details like 'move your right hand 6 inches' this way or that, and it just shows how driven he was, the kind of guy he was," his wife said.Mr. Ousley is survived by his wife and son, as well as three grandchildren. Services have been held. ...read more read less