Mr. Magee left Hartford for a three-year enlistment in the United States Marine Corps. Later, he enrolled at the University of Connecticut and there received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management. Combined with his lifelong interest in aviation, his degree was helpful in securing a position as a technical representative with Pratt and Whitney Aircraft.

Mr. Magee also served as executive secretary for the Bradley Air Museum in Connecticut and was involved in the acquisition of interesting historical aircraft. In 1960, he located the last remaining Gee-Bee airplane in the world. The Gee-Bees were airplanes that had risen to fame as superb racers in the early 1930’s. Jimmy Doolittle won the 1932 Thompson Trophy, one of the most coveted trophies of the time, in a racing Gee-Bee. Mr. Magee went to Claremore, Oklahoma to get the plane, intent on flying it back to the Museum. He ended up making a forced landing when the engine failed over Ohio. The aircraft was dismantled and transported by truck to Connecticut.

When Mr. Magee was made the director of trade show exhibits for Pratt and Whitney, he hired an intelligent and very pretty secretary, Mary Ann Kaspar. The two were married in May of 1970, and she has been at his side ever since.

He felt that he could make it on his own in the art world by 1971 and resigned from Pratt and Whitney. Of course, there were areas in which his talent needed improvement, but he was keenly aware of them. He enrolled in several courses at the West Hartford Art League and began to iron out rough spots under the direction of Estelle Coniff. He couldn’t have found a more unusually talented woman or a better teacher. She seemed to have sure answers for all of his questions. In 1972, he decided to try the medium, scratchboard, which he had read about in an old art book. He was fascinated by this technique and has used no other medium since.

He almost missed the deadline for the Duck Stamp contest three years later. He made it to the post office with his entry with just twenty minutes to spare. What followed was a chain of events that firmly established this pilot-turned-artist in the art world.