James E. Carner

James Carner of Rozetta, born April 3, 1929, left on his final flight February 22, 2011. He is survived by his wife, Eunice and sons John (Linda) and Paul (Nancy) Carner, granddaughters Beth and Susan Carner and brother Robert Carner. He was predeceased by his parents Edward and Grace Carner and two brothers, Lawrence and Donald. Jim married Eunice Green August 27th, 1955 in Monmouth, Illinois. He was the youngest of 4 boys and spent his early years working on farms with his father, Ed, and brothers Lawrence, Bob and Donald. Lawrence learned to fly in the CPT program at Clugston Airport in Macomb in 1943 and was lost over Paris, France flying B-17's, Donald was reported missing a year later flying B-25's in Italy. Jim acquired his love of flying from Lawrence and Donald, pursuing his pilots license in 1945 at age 16. He graduated from Abingdon High School the same year. Bob and Jim bought various airplanes and built flying experience hunting from their Piper Cub. Jim's first flying job was in 1948 crop dusting in a Piper Cub in Pecatonica, Illinois. Jim served in the U.S. Army as a medic after WW2 with the 7th Evacuation Hospital MASH unit in Baumholder, Germany from 1952-1953. Jim was hired at Anderson Air Activities and based in Moultrie, Georgia and Malden Missouri from 1953-1955 as a civilian instructor for the U.S. Air Force in the North American T-6 and T-28. Hired at American Airlines in April 1956 he was based at Chicago (Midway Airport), Boston, Massachusetts and finally Chicago O'Hare until his retirement in 1988. His flying career spanned landing a Piper Cub in a farm field to the 360 passenger DC-10 landing in Frankfurt, Germany and Honolulu, Hawaii. Jim and Eunice had cattle on the farm in Rozetta, operated Rozetta Crop Service from 1969-1976 and were partners with Art Wolford and Gene Woolley in the operation of the Monmouth Airport from 1972-1974. After "retirement" Jim earned his commercial helicopter license at age 63. Eunice and Jim moved seasonally from Illinois to Fairbanks, Alaska from 1986 - 2004 where Jim flew floatplanes, mined for gold and built his own turbine powered 300 mph airplane. Jim's life and aviation career saw the progression from horse drawn transportation to man walking on the moon, and he relished every minute of it. Services:A funeral service will be on Saturday at 10:00 am at Turnbull Funeral Home in Monmouth, with interment in Rozetta Cemetery. His family plans to receive friends from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Friday evening also at the funeral home. Memorial funds have been established for either the Rozetta Baptist Church or the Henderson County Hospice.