James Reinhart Langhofer

He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Dorothy, daughter Pam and grandson Troy. He is survived by his children, James Langhofer Jr, Linda Jury, and Nancy (Gary) Ruckman, 8 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren. He was an accomplished pilot and served in the U S Navy during the Berlin Airlift 1948-1949 where he earned the Air Medal. He also piloted aircraft for the original Frontier Airlines from 1950 -1984. He was an avid fisherman, loved the outdoors and traveled throughout the contiguous US. There will be an intimate graveside gathering at Chapel Hill Cemetery for only his immediate family due to the current virus restrictions. It will be held on May 14th. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. The service will be streamed so other family and friends will be able to see and hear the service.

On February 8, 1926, James Reinhart Langhofer was born to Jacob R. and Adaleen M. (Proctor) Langhofer in Denver, Colorado. When he was quite young, his parents divorced and Addie returned to her parents’ home in the Denver area. His mother married Harry Bennett when Jim was about 12 years old. He has a half-brother, William Sterling Bennett. Jim spent much of his early years in the Denver and Leadville/Climax areas. In 1944, WWII was still being fought so he enlisted in the Navy and soon was being trained to be a pilot. He was stationed in Guam late 1948 when he was called up to go to Germany with his VR-6 squadron to fly aid into Berlin during the Berlin Airlift (Operation Vittles). He was decorated with the Air Medal and flew 141 missions into Berlin at Templehoff, none of which were aborted and all successfully completed. He returned stateside in May 1949. In 1950, Jim started flying for the original Frontier Airlines and continued with them until 1984. He had a few scary moments while flying, one of which was when he lost an engine on his airplane and was unable to return to the airport in Pueblo. He had to fly the plane inches below a power line and land in a field. The airplane was damaged, but Jim was able to get the crew and all passengers off the plane safely with only a few minor injuries. He has always been a modest man who never thought his contributions were anything but “doing his job”.

In 1946, Jim married Dorothy L. Smith (he called her Dot) in Denver, CO. They settled in Aurora, CO and had four children, James Robert, Linda Diane, Nancy Jo and Pamela Anne. The family enjoyed going camping and fishing mostly in the Colorado high country. He had many fond memories of driving up to see the aspens turning gold, looking for kinnikinnick and just enjoying the out of doors. In 2006, Jim and Dot celebrated 60 years of marriage and in November of that year, Dot passed away. His daughter, Pam passed away a few years later.

The early signs of Alzheimer’s started being noticeable soon after Dot passed away and increased substantially more recently. His son, James was able to put his life on pause and be the hands on caregiver with help provided by Denver Hospice. Due to circumstances out of the family’s control, Jim had to spend two months in a care facility during which time the Corona virus caused the facility to have to lockdown. Jim’s health started to deteriorate as a result of not being able to see family. He was able to return to his home at the end of March where he passed peacefully and went to be with Dot on May 7, 2020.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to donate to Alzheimer research or another charity of your choice.