JIM MCGHEE PILOT DEN Jim McGhee was a FAL Captain then retired as Captain with CO then he flew 5 years as a second officer on the DC-10 and got to see all of Europe on CO's dime. He had to retire when DC-10's went away. Jim goes to all the pilot luncheons here in DEN and some of the out of town reunions. -Bonnie Dahl (7/29/05) Jim was on the FL/ALPA MEC and Negotiating Committee in 1978 -Jake Lamkins (1/17/06) Jim was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital emergency Monday Jan. 23 and they found colon cancer. The entire colon had to be removed and it has spread to his liver. He is in intensive care, no visitors or phone calls. He should be in his own room sometime in the next few days. I know both he and Bonnie could use all your good thoughts and love. I don't know about the rest of you, but from my point of view McGhee was always the first to step up and help with whatever needed doing. Bonnie and he may need some physical support down the road, but our thoughts and prayers will surely be appreciated now. -Connie Capps (1/25/06) Connie...shocked to hear about Jim....i'm half way around the world and not sked. back in states untill 6 march....Jim and I go back to 1957 and Ross Aviation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.....will you, Bonnie or Diane Hall please keep me advised. please contact me at.... capthootjeg@earthlink.net....I shudder to think about a world without Jim McGhee....lets all pray our fannies off for him! -Jack Gibson (1/25/06) It was with great sorrow that I read of Jim McGhee's illness. He and I were roommates in EWR for quite a few years and he was always a bright spot in a rather dismal setting. His sense of humor, love of flying and uncommon commonsense were always one of the highlights of a trip to EWR. Press on Jim and Godspeed. -Jim Burman (1/26/06) I am not sure if anyone should not be getting this e-mail, I am sending it to everyone in his address book. Jim is at St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver. He was admitted with stomach pains and bleeding on Sunday. On Monday we were informed that he had cancer of the colon and it had spread to the liver and possibly the lungs. He had nearly his entire colon removed on Tuesday, a procedure they said would take 2 hours, but took nearly 4. He was taken out of ICU on Wednesday afternoon, but was returned on Thursday morning, after possibly suffering a stroke. It is about 1:00 here now, Bonnie and I are to meet with doctors at 3:30 for the latest prognosis. I will follow up with another e-mail when I know more. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you, -Tim McGhee ...this is probably a repeat but I want to 'cover all the bases'...Janet and I went to St Joseph Hospital about noonish.... met with Bonnie and we went up to see Jim. Upon him seeing us, he had a big smile!! Then we had to leave the room. Bonnie has been there for many hours...please pray for Jim as he will need us at this time. -Ace & Janet Avakian (1/26/06) Hello all, By the way, this is Jim's son sending e-mails. I have been asked by the staff in ICU to ask people not to call or come to visit my dad at the hospital. He is really not up to visitors at the time, and the staff obviously has a lot to do at the moment. An update on his condition as of 2:00pm on Friday. He did in fact suffer a mild stroke yesterday, as well as a minor heart attack (they called it a stinger). He does not have any movement in his left arm, but was showing some signs of that improving last night. His condition today is pretty much unchanged, however, Bonnie said that he was speaking a little better earlier. Thank you to everyone, -Tim McGhee (1/28/06) Some of you may be receiving this twice as I am trying to respond to all that have sent e-mails to me, and all that were on the original e-mails. Sorry for any duplications. I am so appreciative to all of you, as your phone calls, e-mails, and especially prayers have meant so much to the family. My dads condition has worsened since my last communication with you. On Sunday a ventilator was put into his mouth/throat to assist him with his breathing. That night, several of us very close to him had a discussion on how to proceed from there. Those discussions have led me to send this information on to you as to where things are now. Today, Tuesday, we had discussions with several doctors and family members on my dads future. After much input from all involved, Anne, my sister, Jim's daughter, and myself, his son, decided that he would not want to be kept alive on a ventilator, or any other mechanical device, and hence, will let nature begin to take its course on Wednesday afternoon. We do not know how long he will continue to go on without the ventilator, but knowing him, he will fight for a long time, and probably want to go fishing before too long. Should he not want to go fishing with me, and go instead with the Big Guy upstairs, or his Son, I will forward that information on to all of you. Thank you again for all of your prayers, thoughts, and wishes, I appreciate them, as does the family, and of course, my Dad. -Tim McGhee (2/1/06) Thank you to all of you for all of your prayers, wishes, and concerns over the last several days. As I discussed in last nights e-mail, Monday, February 1, 2006 was the day that Jim McGhee has flown to his next destination. At about 1:35 this afternoon the jetway was pulled back, and within 15 very peaceful minutes he began his roll down the runway, pulled back on the stick, and took off into the sky for what was surely a very smooth flight into the heavens. I wanted to give all of you as much notice as possible for the arrangements, so here is what we are planning at the moment. Please understand that this could change as I have not confirmed dates and times with the funeral home and the church. I would like to have the viewing on Saturday from 2:00 to 4:00 at the Horan McConaty Funeral home at Parker Rd. and Dartmouth Ave. in Aurora. The funeral will be on Monday at 11:00 at All Saints Lutheran Church, 15625 E. Illiff Ave., also in Aurora. It is a block east of Chambers Rd. The burial will be at the Horn Cemetery in Bailey, CO., late in the afternoon. I will update all of you with any additional information or changes to the above schedule. Again, please feel free to forward this e-mail on to anyone you think may want to know. Thank you again to all of you for all of your thoughts and prayers. God Bless, -Tim McGhee (2/1/06) Bless you both and the rest of Jim's family. We are so very sorry for your/our loss. However, we will always be grateful for having known Jim McGhee. We know he will enjoy smooth air, warm-soft tailwinds, and a bright star to steer by on his Flight West! -Billy & Cheryl Walker (2/1/06) JM McGhee Seniority date of 5/10/1963 FL/ALPA seniority list dated 9/1/1981 -Jake Lamkins (2/1/06) Subject: Jim McGhee cleared VFR, westbound A good pilot, a good man and a dear friend for almost 50 years. Jim and I go back to 1958, Ross Aviation, Tulsa, Oklahoma....He was truly an one of a kind, unique individual and will never be forgotten. The fact that I am 13 time zones away from Denver is the only reason I won't be at All Saints monday. My heart and prayers go out to Tim, Annie and the rest of Jim's family as well as Bonnie.....Jim, have a good flight, stand by to file a flight plan for the rest of us when the time comes.....Be on the ramp to grade our landings and when all the chocks are in place, we'll all go to the Cattlemans and swap flying stories and other various lies..... your buddy.... -Jack Gibson (2/2/06) A good pilot .. a good man .. and a good friend .. will be missed .. -Phil Stallings (2/2/06) I was saddened by the news of the passing of Jim McGee, I 'm so glad that Jim and I talked for a good hour last December. -Herb Schmidt (2/2/06) For the information and guidance of all concerned re the Jim McGhee services, the following is posted; Viewing will be Saturday, Feb. 4th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the; Horan McConaty Fuberal Home located at Parker Road and Dartmouth Ave. in Aurora CO. Funeral Services will be on Monday, Feb. 6th at 11:00 AM at the All Saints Lutheran Church located at 15625 E. Iliff Ave in Aurora CO. (This is one block East of Chambers Road) Burial will be at the Horn Cemetery in Bailey CO late in the afternoon. -Ace Avakian (2/2/06) I'm saddened to hear of Jim's passing. He was one of the "good guys", and I always enjoyed having him around. A very pleasant guy, and always willing to go the extra mile. I remember him helping unload the old "Gooney Bird" with me in GDV many times. He will be sorely missed by his family and many friends. -Darrell Robson (2/2/06) Hello to all of you again, First of all, the support via e-mails and telephone calls that I have received has been overwhelming. I knew that my dad was liked and respected by a lot of people, but this has really touched my heart more than you can know. I believe that most of you have the dates and times for the viewing and funeral, but I just wanted to let you all know where we stand. The viewing will be on Saturday, February 4th, from 2:00 - 4:00 at the Horan McConaty Funeral Home located at 3201 S. Parker Rd. in Aurora. It is about 1/2 mile north of I-225 at the intersection of Parker and Dartmouth. Their phone number is 303-745-4418. The funeral will be at All Saints Lutheran Church, located at 15625 E. Iliff Ave, in Aurora. It is about 1 1/2 miles east of I-225, at the next light after Chambers Road. Their phone number is 303-752-4083. The previous e-mail said that there would be a burial in Bailey on Monday afternoon. I learned this morning that dad's wishes were to be cremated and have his ashes dropped from an airplane over the Atlantic Ocean. (Finally he gave me a break on all of this planning, for this week anyway!) If anyone can help me out with the planning of that request, please let me know. For those of you out of town, the obituary that is to be placed in the local newspapers on Friday is printed below: McGhee, James M. - 69, of Bailey. Departed on Feb. 1. He is survived by his son, Tim, his wife Mary, their daughter Jessica, daughter Anne, sister Margaret, brother Joe, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and long time companion Bonnie Dahl. Celebration of Jim's life to be held at a viewing Feb. 4, 2-4 pm at Horan-McConaty in Aurora, and funeral at All Saints Lutheran Church, Feb. 6, 11 am, 15625 E. Iliff Ave., Aurora. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For those of you that can attend either or both the wake and funeral, I look forward to seeing and thanking you in person. For those who cannot, please know that I thank you for all that you have done. All of your e-mails and phone calls are giving me the strength to get through this. -Tim McGhee (2/3/06) Thank you and God Bless, Tim The email "chain" worked very well and I got everything Thanks for your great job in getting info out to Jim's many friends. Fortunately, I saw Jim at a reunion in 2004 I'll be building a memorial webpage for Jim at the FL website. If you have a good head shot type photo of Jim, I can feature it there. And/or anything else you would like posted. He wrote a poem about Frontier's demise that I have been unable to find. Do you happen to have a copy - I can post it too. All my sympathy, -Jake Lamkins (2/6/06) James M. McGhee Retired Frontier Airlines and Continental Airlines Captain. 38 years as a professional aviator. Funeral Service, 11:00 A.M. Monday, February 6th at All Saints Lutheran Church, Aurora. Published in the Denver Newspaper Agency from 2/5/2006 - 2/6/2006. -Jim Baumann (2/6/06) Posted at the FL Club: Jim McGhee's obituary It's posted at http://www.legacy.com/Denver/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=16584245 and you can post a note in his funerary guestbook. -Jake Lamkins (2/6/06) Jim McGee sent me a copy of the pilot's newsletter and I sure enjoyed receiving it. We lost a really great person. -Herb Schmidt (2/6/06) To all of you that were able to attend the service yesterday, thank you so much for being there. For those that were not there, thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers throughout all of this, we felt your presence. I cannot begin to express how much it has meant to me and my family to receive so many e-mails and telephone calls over the last couple of weeks. I have tried to respond to many of you individually, but it has been overwhelming. I am not sure how personal a group thank you e-mail is, but please understand if I missed any of you. Obviously Dad meant a lot to a lot of people, and I think what I have learned from this, and what we can all take from this, is that it is not that hard to open our hearts to those around us. He was always there to lend an ear or a shoulder to anyone in need, and it only took a couple of minutes to do so. A couple minutes after that, he had people feeling much better about themselves or their situations. We can do that as well with anyone around us, just as he did. So lets continue to make this celebration a learning experience that we can pass on to others. Ok, I've rambled on long enough for what was supposed to be a simple thank you, All of you take care. Thank You and God Bless, -Tim McGhee Hello Jake, Thank you very much for the e-mail, and even more for your desire to build a memorial on the website for my dad. I will attach my sisters favorite picture of him, and the poem that he wrote. I just heard it for the first time on Friday. I will also try to get a picture from Bonnie of him in his Continental uniform. Please let me know if you need any additional information from me. Thank you, -Tim McGhee (2/7/06) Thanks for all the help and the poem. I had been looking for it. I got a copy of Jim in his Continental uniform from the newspaper obituary. I'll send you the URL when I get his website ready. -Jake Lamkins (2/7/06)