Gerald R. Latimer, 85, of Wichita, Kansas, went to be with his Lord on March 1, 2021 at Oxford Grand in Wichita.
Gerald was born to Herley and Bertha (Barnett) Latimer on a dryland
cattle and wheat farm in Rawlins County, northwest Kansas on September
22, 1935 during the dust bowl days. He and his older sister, Charlene,
grew up raising pigs, Angus cattle, and farming with their dad and
uncle, Herman Latimer. Gerald attended Hawkeye country school and later
attended school in Rexford. He became a Christian at the age of 16 while
attending summer camp at Maranatha Bible Camp near North Platte,
Nebraska. Gerald was a member of the Kansas National Guard in Colby.
Gerald attended Rockmont Bible College in Longmont, Colorado, where
he met Janet Hinshaw. The two were married on August 10, 1956, in
Denver, Colorado. After completing flight lessons, Gerald bought his
first plane. The couple operated a ranch in Colorado and welcomed three
children into their family. Gerald earned his Airframe and Powerplant
Mechanic License, as well as both private and commercial pilot licenses.
He worked for Rocky Mountain Airways and the United States Forest
Service before moving to Irian Jaya (now West Papua) in 1974 to fly for
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). He made life-saving medical flights,
delivered supplies to isolated villages, and provided transportation for
both locals and missionaries. The planes he flew included a Cessna
180, Cessna 185, Cessna 206, and a Twin Otter. In 1976, Gerald’s Cessna
185 crashed into a mountainside and caught on fire. Gerald helped all
his passengers escape and was credited with saving their lives.
Gerald and Janet left Irian in 1984 to aid famine relief in
Mozambique, Africa. Gerald served as the MAF Program Manager in Mali,
Africa until 1989. He visited Timbuktu while serving in Mali, and
“TIMBUC2” became his easily-recognizable Kansas license plate. In 1989,
Gerald and Janet set up a new flight program for a mission hospital in
Angola, Africa before leaving MAF in 1990.
In 1994, Gerald earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Human
Resources Management from Friends University in Wichita. Gerald then
established and served as the coordinator and instructor for the Pratt
Community College Aviation Technician-Airframe Training Program in
Pratt, Kansas.
In July 1994, Gerald began a new and interesting chapter in his
aviation career, working for Cessna. He visited Cessna service stations,
owners, and operators in Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Japan, Korea,
China, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Egypt, the
Maldives, Singapore, and Hawaii.
After losing Janet in 2001, Gerald married Louise Schielke on
December 22, 2002 in Washington. He and Louise had known each other for
50 years from their school days in Rexford. Together Jerry and Louise
traveled around the world volunteering their service. They went to
Mexico with their church, to Kenya, and to Angola, Africa and
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia with MAF. They also spent time volunteering at the
MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho.
Gerald will be remembered for his devotion and service to Jesus
Christ, his aviation career, his love for his family, his entertaining
stories from his world travels, and his big red rock that he pulled from
a river in his Colorado ranch. That rock has been a familiar sight at
his residences in Longmont, Colorado; Rexford, Kansas; Calimesa,
California; Pratt, Kansas; and finally Wichita, Kansas.
Gerald is survived by his wife Louise Latimer; children Tim (Stacy)
Latimer, Trish (Chuck) Murphy, Chris (Tina) Latimer; grandchildren Scott
Latimer, Jake Latimer, Grant Latimer, Charlene Friesen, Holly (Luke)
Oswald, Emily (Andrew) McHargue, Elliot (Janelle) Murphy, Talia
(Anthony) Faeh, and Tara (Logan) Faeh; great-grandchildren Tobin
Friesen, Carl McHargue, Rex McHargue, Willa McHargue, Hudson Murphy,
Ezra Murphy, Lincoln Murphy, and Gwenyth Faeh.
Gerald was preceded in death by his wife Janet Latimer,
great-granddaughter Lucy Friesen, father Herley Latimer, mother Bertha
Latimer, and sister Charlene Latimer.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
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