James "Jim" M. Age - 57 Spach

James “Jim” M. Spach was initially cleared for take-off on May 13, 1954 and welcomed into a coal mining community by his father and mother, Charles M. and F. Evelyn Spach in Knoxville, TN. His final departure came too soon on September 16, 2011 surrounded by his family as he soared into the presence of the Lord. The adventure between was quite a terrific tale… Young James joined his parents and younger sister, Renate, on their U.S. Army deployment to Germany where he acquired a wooden sled that provided endless hours of excitement when they returned to the United States, making their home in Seattle, WA. Jim shared his absolute delight by teaching his three children to FLY down the snowy hill on the same sled behind his childhood home and experience the exhilarating thrill of sledding with wild abandon.Jim followed his father’s interest in aviation, aeronautics, piloting aircraft and all things related to the workings and capabilities of airplanes by earning his first pilot’s license at the age of 13.After flexing his skills as a draftsman, Jim enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving during the Vietnam Era as a Small Arms Instructor while on active duty at Rickenbacker AFB and Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio. Following a brief stint as a police officer in Morrison, CO, Jim joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves where he trained as an Aircraft Maintenance Specialist and worked on C130 ground and maintenance crews. This allowed him to continue developing skills and following the lifelong passion of flying. He was stationed at Peterson AFB, CO and participated in operations at Cheyenne Mountain’s Strategic Air Command as well as taking him on tours of duty around the world.Jim attended Metropolitan State College in the Denver area and received his Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management while waiting for his lovely wife’s appearance. His life’s flight path would coincide with the path of Susan J. Houlton and their combined flight plan would be filed formally on August 25, 1984 in a ceremony performed by Susan’s father. They shared 27 years together.Jim worked for a variety of air transports in Denver including AirToday, Inc., Intensive Air Care and Mayo Aviation air ambulance. He was an accomplished loadmaster and could make everything fit in whatever container he had available, a valuable skill he used for family trips.After moving his family to Los Alamos he could be found at Los Alamos Airport as either dispatcher for Pan Am World Services or being dispatched for flight himself. He was often called upon for his talents as a private pilot for a variety of endeavors and to share the pure enjoyment of being in flight. His talents were used by the Civil Air Patrol in search efforts on occasion. His effort as a multi-rated Flight Instructor capitalized on Jim’s desire to share knowledge as he spent many hours preparing others to be as competent in the air as he was although it’s unlikely anyone ever experienced the pleasure he achieved in each of his many planes. His favorite plane was the 1940 American Eaglecraft Eaglet passed down from his own father, which he subsequently donated to the manufacturer’s museum in an attempt to preserve its place in history.In 1997, Jim hired on with Los Alamos National Laboratory N-2 Division further expanding on his abilities and making valuable use of his attention to detail working with DOE, DOT, and OSHA requirements. He worked on several special projects while at TA-18 including the NEST team. He advanced his education by earning his MBA in order to add to his skill set. He moved to TA-55 as the TA-18 site closed and carried his worked ethic with him. He never hesitated to accept the challenge of learning something new or taking on something that needed done. He could be counted on to apply his technical skills and attention to detail to the tasks at hand; it’s been said that ‘if you gave the job to Jim it would get done right.’ He valued the wisdom of others, such as his father-in-law, Jerry Houlton, as he struggled through the many issues of work, family, cars and home repair. When it came to applying his aviation expertise and adapting to a myriad of situations that one might encounter in a cockpit or at an airport, he always had the next step in mind – Plan B, then Plan C, and so on – relying on years of training.He taught his children to never give up; never give up your dreams, your goals, and especially never give up on yourself. His passion for history and teaching has passed on to his son Michael. He would proudly tell you that his son Jamie will be following in his jet stream as he pursues his own interest in flying just as Jim followed in his father’s jet stream. And the world is a better place because his daughter Claire inherited his dry wit, keen observation and retention of trivia. His family lost a good father, the world lost a good man.We mourn his death, rejoice in his peace, celebrate having known him and will honor his memory with a memorial service on Thursday, September 22nd at 4pm at The White Rock Baptist Church (State Road 4). Jim was predeceased by his father Charles Spach. Survived by his wife, Susan J. Spach, sons Michael J. Spach and James L. Spach, daughter Claire J. Spach; mother Florence E. Spach; sister Renate A. Grimmer (Rick); brother-in-law Tom Houlton (Donna); sisters-in-law Brenda Kelley (Ed); and Lauri Houlton (Ross VanLyssel); nieces and nephews Jana Spach, Melissa Grimmer, Melissa, Melaney, and Shannon Schmidt; Jessica, Austin, Andrew, Brittney, and Cassie Houlton; Cody, Holly, and Cayla Aikin and his four-legged friend, Cessna.\r\n

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