GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) — For nearly 33 years, Thomas Feller has been the calm in the chaos, performing emergency care thousands of feet above ground. As a veteran flight nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, his job has taken him from Salt Lake City to Denver, stabilizing critically ill or injured patients midair—with little room, limited gear, and no time to waste.

But Feller’s legacy doesn’t just live in the lives he’s saved. It’s also alive in the corridors of St. Mary’s, where his daughter now walks the same halls he once inspired her to enter.

“To be in his profession and follow in his footsteps and to say I’m his daughter is the thing I’m most proud of,” said Chelsey Brown, an ER nurse at St. Mary’s—and Thomas’s daughter.

A Lifesaving Career Born of Skill—and Heart

Flight nurses are often the unsung heroes of trauma care. Working in cramped helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, they juggle ventilators, IVs, and human lives—all while strapped in at 10,000 feet. For Feller, that high-stakes intensity became second nature decades ago. He has logged countless missions across Colorado and Utah, weathering everything from mountain storms to split-second medical decisions.

Still, it’s not the adrenaline that keeps him in the sky. It’s the people.

“It’s pretty cool when I fly in with a patient and I see a couple of smiling faces that I’m pretty familiar with,” said Feller, recalling the moments he encounters his own children at work.

His voice softens when he talks about those encounters—ordinary workdays for him, extraordinary for any parent.

“For their entire lives I’ve done this job, and it’s pretty neat to share what I do and then also see them in their roles. I think my passion for my job has poured over to them—and it’s pretty cool.”

A Family Grounded in Care—and Elevating It

For Chelsey Brown, watching her father in action growing up planted something deep—something she couldn’t shake even when considering other careers.

Now an ER nurse in the very hospital where her father lands, Brown says the professional overlap is more than just logistical—it’s emotional.

“It’s extra special and extra nice to have somebody at work that I know will always have my back,” she said. “He is loved by everyone who meets him.”

Feller, by all accounts, is a quiet giant in the local healthcare world. Humble, fast-working, and deeply dedicated, his reputation has become something of legend within St. Mary’s Hospital. For his daughter, carrying that name into her own medical career feels more like an honor than a weight.

A Legacy in Flight

It’s rare in emergency medicine to find longevity—rarer still to find legacy. But in Thomas Feller’s case, both are clear. His 33-year flight career has made him a fixture in Colorado’s emergency response system. But what sets him apart is how seamlessly his story blends the professional with the personal.

Every time the rotor blades whirl and his helicopter lifts off, Feller brings with him not just training—but a heart forged by family and service.

And when he lands, sometimes it’s his daughter who meets him at the helipad.