James E. Lessler

Birth:  10/8/1946

Death:  5/30/2017    

Jim was born on October 8, 1946 in Long Beach, California.  He was raised in San Diego and graduated from Helix High School in 1965.   He worked at Gillespie Field for his flying lessons and, when he turned 16, he earned his private pilot’s license.

He attended Grossmont College until he enlisted in the U.S. Army on February 20, 1967, and completed training as a paratrooper, followed by the Special Forces Qualification Course.   He deployed to Southeast Asia with the 46th Special Forces Company in Thailand and provided communication support for MACVSOG.

On August 13, 1970, when his enlistment was up, Jim returned to San Diego and completed his Associate of Arts degree and returned to his first passion, which was flying.   He acquired his commercial flying certificate and started building up his flight time by towing gliders and flying skydivers.  Jim got a job with Cook Inlet Aviation in April of 1974 and moved to Homer, Alaska. He was a charter and air taxi pilot and fish spotted. He moved to Anchorage in March 1978 and kept moving up to larger planes.

He met Elaine in 1979 and they were married in 1980.

Jim flew for Markair, 737s from 1984 to 1995, and was based at Sea-Tac, Washington the last two years. He flew for Atlas Air, 747s from 1996 to his retirement in 2006.  He loved traveling to the Hawaiian Islands and taking his dogs to sheep herding lessons at Ewetopia in Roy, Washington.

He was a member of the Skyway VFW Post 9430, a member of 46^th Special Forces Company (ABN) Association, and a very active member of Chapter 16 Special Forces Association.

Jim passed away on May 30, 2017, and is survived by his wife, Elaine; his mother, Amy Lessler; his uncle, Arthur Lange (Judy); brother, Rhett (Beth); brother, Ron (Janet); and nieces, nephews and many dear friends.

Service Information:

A memorial service will be on June 19, 2017, 11:00 a.m. at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent,

Washington.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your local Humane Society.