James Baumgarner was born on December 28, 1938 in Wellington, Kansas.  He died of pneumonia on January 2, 2017 in Bedford, Pennsylvania, after having defeated cancer (prostate, tongue, throat, lung) nine times.

He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Ani, of Bedford, Pennsylvania, his brother David of Wellington, Kansas, his sister Sue Freemyer and husband Howard of Jayton, Texas, his brother Johnnie Mack of Wichita, Kansas, his sister-in-law Teresa Baumgarner of Hilo, Hawaii, many nephews and nieces in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Hawaii, North Carolina, California, and many lifelong friends, with whom he kept in touch through the years.  He was preceded in death by his parents James and Clara (Ogle) Baumgarner, one brother, Richard, and three sisters, Margaret Rayl, Mary Anice Turley, and Jane Bennett.

Jim was enthusiastic about life.  He was a loving, talented, and passionate man who was always there to help family, friends, and strangers alike.  He was an encouragement to all and his family will always be thankful for his loving guidance and help.

Jim was a wildcat oil field “roughneck,” a Golden Gloves boxer, and a 101st Airborne paratrooper.  After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, he worked for UPI, Ziff-Davis magazines, Rupert Murdoch publications, and McGraw-Hill’s Washington DC bureau, covering stories for Aviation Daily.  Along the way he received writing awards from Aviation/Space Writers Association, Air Traffic Control Association, and International Loran Association.  He lived in Kansas, Missouri, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, and spent his final years in Bedford, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife opened a gift shop, enjoyed retirement traveling to visit family, going on day trips, and with his spare time Jim did what he wanted to do most—write a book.

Jim was an aviation reporter who traveled the world.  His favorite trips were his biennial trips to the Paris Air Show in France and the Farnborough Air Show in England on which he took his wife along.  It was on one of his trips, at JFK Airport, that Jim had met his future wife, Ani.  He was on his way to Jordan to write a story about the Royal Jordanian Airlines, and she was on her way back to her job at the United Nations in Beirut after a vacation spent with her family in Los Angeles.  That was a double memorable trip for Jim, as during that same trip he also met with King Hussein of Jordan.  Beirut was in civil war then, communicating was hard, and eleven years after they met, Jim and Ani were married.

In his words, Jim “lived his life well.”   

Memorial service to celebrate Jim’s life and internment will take place in Spring 2017 in Wellington, Kansas. The family has requested no flowers at this time.  

 Service Information