Jesse Dilks died on October 6, 2022, in Wenatchee, Washington. He was born on January 7, 1924, in Lower Alloways Creek, New Jersey to Loren and Ethel (Smick) Dilks. Growing up, everyone called him by his middle name, Alvin. Legend has it that his dad and a family friend chose his first and middle name, without input from his mother. When asked what she planned to call him, his mom replied, “I was just going to call him “boy”. Despite how that might sound, his mom loved him dearly and they remained close until she died at the age of 102. For many years, up until his death, dad and I called each other “boy”.
Dad was a bright student and graduated from Salem, New Jersey High School in 1940, a year ahead of schedule. He was a member of The Greatest Generation and was very proud of his military service during World War Two. He was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and served as an aircraft mechanic in the 494th Bombardment Group, also known as Kelley’s Kobras. He was in the 867th squadron and his B-24 bomber was named “Armed Venus”. Dad served in the Pacific theatre on Saipan, the Palau Islands, and finally on Okinawa, where they prepared for the bombing of the Japanese mainland before the war ended. He was discharged in 1946. Like many World War Two veterans, his service was very meaningful to him, and his memories remained clear.
Dad graduated from the New York Academy of Aeronautics, now named Vaughn University, in 1948. He was recalled to military service in 1950 and served in the Air Force until 1951. While stationed at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, he married Marie Scherer in 1950. Their son Michael Loren was born in 1954. Both Marie and Michael were killed in a traffic collision in 1957.
Dad married my mother Betty Horton in 1959 in Freehold, New Jersey and adopted her two children Mike and Denise. Son Jeff was born in 1960. Dad began a long career as a flight engineer, which is now, for the most part, an obsolete profession. A flight engineer sat between the captain and first officer and was responsible for monitoring and operating an aircraft’s mechanical systems. He was widely regarded as a very capable and conscientious engineer. Dad flew primarily for air cargo operations and traveled all around the globe. He flew transports into Vietnam during the war, flew food and supplies into Ethiopia during the famine, and into the diamond mines in Angola during some turbulent times there. He also flew “racehorse charters”, and I have a photo of him standing next to the great racehorse Secretariat. Even in the last week of his life, I found him going over his old flight logbooks, no doubt remembering the places he’d flown to and the fine folks he’d flown with.
Mom and dad retired to Lady Lake, Florida in 1988 and lived in what was then a small retirement community called Orange Blossom Gardens. That community indeed blossomed, and grew into one of the largest retirement communities in the country, now called The Villages. They enjoyed their life there, but it wasn’t until mom died in 2003 that dad himself, “blossomed”. He became a volunteer for the Cornerstone Hospice facility in the Villages, and later, with Villages Honor Flight. Honor Flight honors veterans by providing them with an escorted trip to visit the War Memorials in Washington, D.C. in the company of fellow veterans. Dad and I had previously visited the War Memorials together, but I believe his 2014 Honor Flight in the company of other veterans was much more meaningful to him. He was a dedicated Honor Flight volunteer, and his service there meant the world to him. He regarded the Villages Honor Flight group as family and sorely missed them after leaving Florida.
Dad lived independently in Florida up until the age of 93. He went to the gym several times a week, walked almost every day, helped neighbors with chores, and of course he volunteered. He described the last ten years of his life in Florida as the most content he’d ever been. Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke in 2017 and was no longer to live independently. He moved to Wenatchee, Washington in order to be close to son Jeff and daughter-in-law Kelli.
Dad was my buddy, in addition to being my dad. Prior to his stroke, we enjoyed many road trips and adventures together. We visited Chicago, went to a Cubs game, and rode the train from Chicago back to Wenatchee. We attended a Kelley’s Kobras reunion in Michigan, and two airline reunions in the bay area of California. We went to the aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida, the Louis Armstrong Museum in Queens, New York, Kelly Air Force base and the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, toured Vermont and Maine, and canoed and kayaked in Florida. We even went zip lining when he was in his mid-eighties.
Jesse is survived by his son Jeff and daughter-in-law Kelli of Wenatchee, Washington, his son-in-law Randy Jaynes of Westland, Michigan, his daughter-in-law Nan Dilks of Plano, Texas, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren
Dad’s greatest satisfaction came from being useful to others. If you would like to honor him, volunteer for the organization of your choice or donate to the organization of your choice. A particularly appropriate donation would be to your local Honor Flight chapter (www.honorflight.org).