James Kenneth Fling

James Kenneth (Ken) Fling, age 103, of Gun Barrel City, Texas, passed away on Friday, October 10, 2025. He was born on September 7, 1922, in Blue Ridge, Texas, to Joe Allen Fling and Rosa Lee Walker Fling. He was a man of Faith, a Deacon in the Baptist Church and was known as a consummate gentleman and a dapper dresser.

Ken grew up in Royse City, Texas where he graduated from high school in 1939. His first job was in the defense industry fabricating gun turrets for airplanes. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942 and served until honorably discharged in February 1946. He was an Aviation Metalsmith, 2nd Class and served in the Fleet Air Wing, Asiatic Pacific Theater at Kaneohe, Hawaii where he actually repaired some of the airplane gun turrets that he himself had fabricated before the war.

After the war, Ken settled in Dallas and had a distinctive 35-year career at Western Electric, retiring in 1983. Ken and his wife Nancy built a new home on Cedar Creek Lake in Gun Barrell City in 1972. Ken was blessed to reside there until 2022 when he moved to the Cedar Creek Lodge Boutique.

During his forty years of retirement, Ken was able to enjoy his many hobbies and interests, first and foremost being World War II aviation. He loved attending air shows and photographing the airplanes. Other interests included boating, travelling, photography and model building. Ken was a superb model builder, building a model of each airplane that he worked on during the war. He also built many models of World War II Navy ships. Ken’s entire model collection may be viewed at the museum at the Kerens Veterans Memorial in Kerens, Texas.

Ken was so proud of his service in World War II, always wearing a WW II vet cap. He was a Life Member of the VFW and a member of the Commemorative Air Force. He was an active member of the Coyote Squadron, CAF, in Corsicana where he participated in manning the Veterans Tent at each airshow.

Ken was preceded in death by his first wife Nancy, his second wife Zonnie, his brothers Joe Allen Fling, Jr., and Curtis Ray Fling, and his sister Florene Fling Nash. He is survived by his nephews Weldon Nash (Mary), Ron Nash (Joyce), Gary Fling (Vicki), Mike Fling (Leslie) and niece Kim Fling Wilson (Al). He has numerous grand nephews and nieces. Ken was very blessed to have had Ms. Terri Byrd as a loving caretaker for the past four years.

Visitation will be held from 12 noon until service time on Monday, October 27, 2025 at Eubank Cedar Creek Funeral Home, 601 S. 3rd Street, Mabank, TX 75147. Funeral services will begin at 1:00pm, in the Chapel of Eubank. Officiating will be Brother Mike Adalian. Interment will follow the services at Oaklawn Cemtery, Mabank, Texas.

Memorial donations may be made to the Coyote Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force, Corsicana, Texas. The family wishes to express their deep appreciation to the staff at the Cedar Creek Lodge Boutique in Gun Barrel City and to the Hospice Plus Care of Athens for their loving attention to Ken.