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Senior Citizen Takes Flight Down Memory Lane
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By Meg Grey Hendricks County Flyer
Bob Mathis prepares to board a 1945 AT-6 at the Mt. Comfort Airport.
In the cockpit, Mr. Mathis prepares for takeoff.
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INDIANAPOLIS — In his younger days, Bob Mathis flew Torpedo Bomber, AT-6, and
Stearman planes during World War II. Now 85, Mathis is a resident at Summit Place West who hadn’t flown a plane since 1946. But, he says, once a pilot, always a pilot. That’s why Mathis jumped at the chance to climb back into the cockpit when the Never Too Late organization offered him the opportunity. “You’re always eager to fly and when the opportunity came, I grabbed it,” Mathis said. After the war, Mathis went on to teach aviation school for seven years in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He said he enjoyed it, but was anxious to get back to Indiana and that’s when his flying career ended. It was resurrected last month at Mount Comfort Airport when Mathis was invited to take a 1945 AT-6 on a half hour flight. His return to the air was witnessed by four generations of his family, along with staff and other residents from Summit Place West. Ellie Paino, activities director for Summit Place West, said Mathis often talked about his love of flying and she decided to get him back into the air. Paino took the idea to Bob Haverstick, creator of the Never Too Late program. And he not only made sure the wish was granted but was on hand to see it for himself. “He had a sparkle in his eye,” Haverstick said of Mathis. Haverstick began the Never Too Late program in January 2000. He said he was looking for something significant to do when he saw the play “Touching Lives.” Haverstick said he decided to grant wishes to seniors and terminally ill adults over the age of 18 because that’s a group that the Make-A-Wish Foundation doesn’t serve. He said he tested the waters by granting one wish and then watched the program grow. As of January 2007, he said about 1,200 wishes will have been granted. “The public seems to enjoy hearing about the wishes,” Haverstick said. For more information on the Never Too Late program, visit the website at www.nevertoolate.org. |
