KENCRANE
30cc
father don wrote this and I thought I would pass it on. wasn't up to it until today:upset::upset::upset:
Hello All:
Our good friend and brother Carl has passed after his long battle with cancer. He was as brave and courageous as I've ever seen throughout his monumental fight. He smiled and joked right to the end. As the club's treasurer for the last several years he has contributed his wisdom and ideas as a true leader. We have all looked for his advice when it came to anything related to our club and he always had a way of simplifying things. His many contributions and steady hand will be greatly missed.
Beyond our club he was also the AMA District 1 AVP. Carl dedicated his entire life to aviation, first as an eager young kid that just wanted to learn to fly. He was mentored at a very early age by an excellent pilot, I believe a friend of his father, and quickly became a pilot himself. Carl was so determined, he figured out a way to acquire an airplane of his own. Early in his flying adventures, he overshot a landing with that first plane and crashed right through the trees! The plane was totaled but he survived unscratched only to get back on the horse to eventually become a commercial pilot for US Air, a stunt pilot flying a Pitts, and finished his career with Island Air; only retiring a few years ago. As I walked through his house on one of my visits, the pictures of him as a young confident pilot posing in the cockpit of a huge jet leapt off the walls from their frames, showing a past life that few knew about. Of course there were also some pictures of the young studly pilot posing with some snappy flight attendants too, but we won't get into that. Let's just say that being a captain had its rewards. One of those beautiful young flight attendants became his wife, thus closing the book on his playboy days
With all of his involvement in RC and his true dedication to local clubs; sitting on the board of SSRCC for many years, Carl was still a very private man, spending a lot of time with his wife, fixing up their home in Plymouth. With the passing of his wife, Cheryl, and his life-partner as he called her, he was left with no family in the area, alone, while he faced the greatest challenge of his life. With that I will say that I know that Ken Crane was blessed when he decided to step up and spend mostly every day with Carl over the last several months, because he got to know and love the man as did I. Ken took Carl to his hospital appointments, staying with him through thick and thin while he endured chemo and radiation. But most importantly, he was just there for him and kept him smiling and laughing every day; giving him pep talks when he needed them, and consoling him when he needed that. Ken Cosman and others stepped up and helped as well. I've never seen anything like this in my life; it's a spiritual thing that can't be explained but it's changed me so I wanted to tell the story, I needed to tell the story. This hobby has brought a brotherhood together beyond just enjoying flying our planes, and to say Carl was left alone with no family in the area has proven to be false.
Godspeed brother Carl. You will be greatly missed and thank you for touching our lives.
Don
P.S. Check out this article: http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/home2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16899
6714=2646-478240_125311170960631_574464039_o.jpg
Hello All:
Our good friend and brother Carl has passed after his long battle with cancer. He was as brave and courageous as I've ever seen throughout his monumental fight. He smiled and joked right to the end. As the club's treasurer for the last several years he has contributed his wisdom and ideas as a true leader. We have all looked for his advice when it came to anything related to our club and he always had a way of simplifying things. His many contributions and steady hand will be greatly missed.
Beyond our club he was also the AMA District 1 AVP. Carl dedicated his entire life to aviation, first as an eager young kid that just wanted to learn to fly. He was mentored at a very early age by an excellent pilot, I believe a friend of his father, and quickly became a pilot himself. Carl was so determined, he figured out a way to acquire an airplane of his own. Early in his flying adventures, he overshot a landing with that first plane and crashed right through the trees! The plane was totaled but he survived unscratched only to get back on the horse to eventually become a commercial pilot for US Air, a stunt pilot flying a Pitts, and finished his career with Island Air; only retiring a few years ago. As I walked through his house on one of my visits, the pictures of him as a young confident pilot posing in the cockpit of a huge jet leapt off the walls from their frames, showing a past life that few knew about. Of course there were also some pictures of the young studly pilot posing with some snappy flight attendants too, but we won't get into that. Let's just say that being a captain had its rewards. One of those beautiful young flight attendants became his wife, thus closing the book on his playboy days
With all of his involvement in RC and his true dedication to local clubs; sitting on the board of SSRCC for many years, Carl was still a very private man, spending a lot of time with his wife, fixing up their home in Plymouth. With the passing of his wife, Cheryl, and his life-partner as he called her, he was left with no family in the area, alone, while he faced the greatest challenge of his life. With that I will say that I know that Ken Crane was blessed when he decided to step up and spend mostly every day with Carl over the last several months, because he got to know and love the man as did I. Ken took Carl to his hospital appointments, staying with him through thick and thin while he endured chemo and radiation. But most importantly, he was just there for him and kept him smiling and laughing every day; giving him pep talks when he needed them, and consoling him when he needed that. Ken Cosman and others stepped up and helped as well. I've never seen anything like this in my life; it's a spiritual thing that can't be explained but it's changed me so I wanted to tell the story, I needed to tell the story. This hobby has brought a brotherhood together beyond just enjoying flying our planes, and to say Carl was left alone with no family in the area has proven to be false.
Godspeed brother Carl. You will be greatly missed and thank you for touching our lives.
Don
P.S. Check out this article: http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/home2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16899
6714=2646-478240_125311170960631_574464039_o.jpg
