Jimmy Eugene Bennett

Jimmy likely inherited his curiosity about what makes machines work from his father, an auto mechanic who tinkered with engines of all sizes in his spare time. Jimmy earned a degree in electrical engineering and spent a lifetime building from scratch an impressive array of items including an electric guitar, a satellite TV system, and a wooden ultralight glider. He also restored several classic cars, rode motorcycles, drove Corvettes, and could be counted on to repair any appliance, from a hair dryer to a home air conditioner.

Those technical talents served him well during a four-decade career in the aerospace industry. Jimmy worked for many of the country’s top aviation companies, including Philco-Ford, Boeing, and Lockheed. He was an electronics designer for the early U.S. space program in Huntsville, AL, helped get the first Tomahawk cruise missiles flying in Southern California, worked as part of the storied Lockheed “Skunk Works,” and helped test a top-secret radar system for the U.S. Air Force in Germany.

He was at his happiest behind the controls of an airplane, but his first foray into private aviation nearly killed him. After spending months building a gas-powered ultralight glider in his garage, Jimmy crashed his balsa-wood creation on its maiden voyage in 1978. But a few broken ribs couldn’t erase his love of flying, so he took lessons and he recorded his first solo flight in a small airplane on Feb. 10, 1980. He maintained an active pilot’s license until a few years before his death.

He purchased his own plane, a Van’s Aircraft RV-6A in 2000, and loved every minute of flying his “magic carpet” around the country. Jimmy also relished the many hours he spent working on the plane and bonding with his fellow pilots at the Spicewood (Texas) Airport, but his greatest joy was giving friends and family a ride in the hopes of spreading the “RV grin” to others.

Jimmy married twice. In 1956, he married high-school sweetheart Marion Janell Hudspeth in Clayton, N.M. He and Janell had three children: Becky in 1958; Connie in 1961; and James in 1971. The couple divorced in 1974. Five years later, Jimmy married Janice Smith Lauhon. Janice had a daughter, Stacy Lauhon, who Jimmy helped raise during the couple’s 26-year marriage. He and Janice divorced in 2005.

A strong proponent of college, Jimmy earned two degrees: A Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Wichita State University in 1966 and a Masters of Business Administration from Austin’s St. Edwards University in 1986. He was also a proud 1956 graduate of Garden City High School.

Jimmy was born on Nov. 25, 1938 in Granada, Colo. He was the second of three children born to Harrison Clayton Bennett and Thelma Louise (Cherry) Bennett. He died of complications stemming from a 2010 automobile accident, after which he constantly worried about loved ones driving in bad weather and cautioned everyone to “drive safe!”

Survivors include his brother, Stephen Bennett of Wichita, Kan.; sister, Irene Hapes of Howe, Texas; 2 daughters, Becky Dell of Corrales, N.M. and Connie Schroeder of Bastrop, Texas; a son, James Bennett of Rockville, Md.; a step-daughter, Stacy George of Martindale, Texas; a daughter-in-law and two sons-in law; 11 grandchildren; 3 great grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other extended family.

Jimmy’s ashes will be taken aloft by plane and scattered during an informal celebration of his life starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 28 at the Spicewood Airport (120 Bonanza Circle, Spicewood, Texas 78669).

In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation in Jimmy’s memory to your favorite charity or to one of these three:

• Angel Flight, a group of volunteer pilots who provide free transportation to needy medical patients and to others during emergencies. (http://www.angelflight.com)

• American Spinal Injury Association, committed to enhancing the lives of people with spinal cord injury. (http://www.asia-spinalinjury.org/partners/donations.php)

• The Brain Injury Association of America, dedicated to advancing brain injury prevention, research, treatment, and education. (http://www.biausa.org/donate-support.htm)