Dessie Smith Prescott (August 4, 1906 – April 19, 2002) was Florida’s first professional woman guide and the first female licensed pilot in the state.
Her parents died in the 1918 flu pandemic, and she went to live with an aunt, and later with her brother (in Baltimore).
With extra money she earned, she would travel back to Florida and hunt game for a month every year.
[3] Prescott later moved to Philadelphia, where she lived with her brother and learned how to fly on retired planes.
In World War II, she was a member of the Women's Army Corps and later began flying.