1942 – Oct. 7, 2009
James Alexander “Jim” Granere Jr., 67, of Hendersonville, made his final flight Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009, from the Elizabeth House after a lengthy struggle following double lung transplant surgery. An avid aviator, he was the son of the late Mary Frickhoeffer Granere and James Alexander Granere Sr., who founded the tiny airstrip in Florida which evolved into Miami International Airport.
For the past 20 years, he was deeply involved with the Western North Carolina Air Museum, serving as founder, president, secretary, treasurer, newsletter editor and gift shop manager. To many Air Museum members and visitors, he was always the one who made them feel most welcome. He was proud to have been appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy but regretted declining the appointment. As a member of the EAA, he was honored for giving literally hundreds of Young Eagle flights to youngsters to introduce them to the thrill of aviation. A member of the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association), he generously donated his time to Angel Flight, volunteering to transport seriously ill patients to treatment centers.
Remembering Jim Granere By Linda Harney
When Garland asked me to write my recollections of Jim Granere, I put off doing it for several days . . . not be- cause I don’t have a whole flood of happy memories to share, but because it’s just so very difficult to say farewell to this dear friend I’ve known nearly half my life.
Lee and I go W-A-A-A-Y back with Jim and Sally.. pre-WNCAM. Sally’s son Mike and our son Brian became instant friends when they met as teen-agers, and Brian spent endless hours in their home. Sally always called Jim “James,” so Brian did, also. Suddenly Lee and I were hearing “James has the best sense of humor!” and “James is so creative!” and “James is such a great guy!” and “Mike and I went out to lunch with James and we had so much fun!” Soon Lee and I got to meet this charming man named James, and then we understood why he’d cap- tured our son’s heart. Jim Granere was a rare and special individual who was a “Best Friend” to MANY people!
Jim and Sally were a truly remarkable couple, but definitely not your “ordinary” couple. Sally had lost her first husband in a plane crash. Miraculously these two people met and learned to trust and share and laugh and love together. Jim had worked extremely hard in his early years—his nose was always “to the grindstone.” He always told us that meeting Sally was the best thing that ever happened to him. She’s the one who encouraged him to take time to smell the roses; she’s the one who filled his heart and home with hugs and happiness. They were united in marriage by Cliff Carr, whom “old- timers” remember from the earliest days of the Air Museum, and they honeymooned on Ocracoke, on the Outer Banks, a magical place to which they returned many times. Jim and Sally LOVED to travel. Whether it was to Florida or Alaska or Australia, they always had fun and always cherished each moment together. Family was most important to Jim, he adored his daughters Suzanne and Jeanine, and Sally’s children Mike and Kelsey. When the grandchildren began arriving, “Grampa James” couldn’t have been more proud! Chloe, Alex, Kyle, Abby, Claire, Ryan, Susannah and “Little Mike” – Jim considered each one a beloved treasure, and the deep affection was mutual.
But he had another love, the one to which he devoted the last third of his life. As a Charter Member of the WNC Air Museum Jim Granere worked longer and harder than most people could ever imagine! He lived and breathed “Air Museum.” He held every office, at one time or another, and did every job there was to do, from hauling rides to procuring planes and donations to run- ning the Gift Shop to managing Air Fairs and Apple Fes- tivals. He did it all, and he did it WELL! Without Jim’s magnetic personality, his amazing imagination and his tireless efforts, the Western North Carolina Air Museum would be only a shadow of what it is today. If any one person ever deserved the title “Mr. Air Museum,” it was Jim Granere.
Jim’s love of aviation extended well beyond the WNC Air Museum, however. Flying “Young Eagle” flights in conjunction with the EAA, Jim personally intro- duced over 200 children to the thrill of flying! He was always thinking of others, and he enjoyed doing special, thoughtful things to help people. Some of his most rewarding flying was done for “Angel Flight,” when he volunteered his time to transport seriously ill patients to medical facilities.
Jim didn’t want a traditional funeral. He told Sally he just wanted all his Air Museum buddies to get together at the hangar for a big party, with a scattering of his ashes over Johnson Field.
– and so it was on Sunday, November 15, 2009 with his family and many close freinds in attendance.